Chapter 6

Thad checked if the recorder did its job and it did. The video of Linda and him, which along with its audio was of good quality and he added this recording to the hard drive. He had the thought that he was gathering a very nice collection of recordings. These recordings were going to be for his eyes only as they were what he considered to be “insurance.”

Just about every one of the next six weekends Thad spent the Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings with Linda. Because of her aversion to having her boss seeing Linda with Thad they tried to avoid places where her boss would or could be. Linda would casually ask her boss during work if she had plans for the weekend to better be able to avoid places her boss could be. Ken’s in North Rivers and some of the games the University’s sports teams were where they spent most of the time away from Thad’s house. Linda was a good cook and made some delicious meals.

The last weekend they were together because the regular executive assistant said she was coming back from maternity leave gave them both mixed emotions. That was because the sex was good and they both were on a little bit of a downer because Linda was heading back to San Francisco. Linda said she had told her boss that if she ever needed a temporary assistant here she was available. Her boss said that could happen during the vacation season. Thad and Linda exchanged contact information with each promising the other they would stay in touch.

For some unexplained reason, the Turner lawsuit had been selected by the court to be put on what was called “Fast Track”. That meant it would go to the head of the line and be tried much sooner than other lawsuits. Because of that interrogatories had been asked and answered and depositions were taken. A tentative trial date was scheduled in two weeks and both attorneys were told they needed a damn good excuse if they tried to delay that from happening. The insurance company still held their offer of settlement at forty-five thousand. Their attorney Bernie Gunn couldn’t persuade them to offer the full fifty. Thad thought he would be as ready as he could be for this trial and practiced what he would say.

Thad signed up for the Saturday golf tournament at the club. It was a net tournament by class. He played with three other fellows and his seventy-six gross score netted out to be good enough for third place honors and a dozen golf balls.

The depositions in the Turner suit had been reviewed by Thad a few times. The trial was set to go in a week. Thad received a call from the insurance claim representative who told him he was offering fifty thousand dollars to settle the claim.

“You are much too late in making that offer. I am going to take this lawsuit to a verdict which should be a large one and then I am going to come after you for acting in bad faith.”

With a somewhat wise tone to his voice, the representative said, “Good luck in doing that.”

The morning of the trial Thad was in the courtroom with Harvey Turner. He had told Harvey about the offer as well as telling him what he thought of how the insurance company mishandled the claim and what he hoped he could prove. Harvey was no dummy and said he hadn’t had much out-of-pocket expense. His medical bills were paid for by his group insurance policy and the lost wages were covered under worker’s compensation. He told Thad to do what Thad thought was the right thing to do.

Bernie Gunn was the defense attorney and he asked Thad if he really was going to try this case. Thad told him this was a classic case of bad faith on the part of the insurance company and he was on a crusade to make them pay for it.

The voir dire to select a jury went quickly. Thad gave his opening argument telling them what he was going to prove in his presentation of the evidence. The defense waived giving an opening statement.

The first witness called was the police officer who investigated the accident. He read off his report which was admitted into evidence. He said that Turner was on a thru street when Rex Firman didn’t stop for a stop sign and struck the Turner’s vehicle on the left side rear causing Turner’s automobile to lose control and go off the road flipping on to its side. The officer said he asked Firman why he didn’t stop and Firman said he was trying to read a text message from his mother and he didn’t see the stop sign.

That was followed by the Doctor testifying as to the diagnosis of the injury and the surgery of putting in the screw to hold the cracked cervical vertebrae together. Harvey Turner then testified talking about the accident, his injury, what the bills and lost time were and how his recovery has been.

The cross-examination Bernie Gunn did of these people didn’t accomplish anything significant. He was attempting to show that while it was a serious injury, Harvey Turner had made was a good recovery.

With the plaintiff resting his case, the defense’s only witness was Rex Firman. He was a sympathetic witness and gave the impression of being a regular guy. He admitted to doing the texting with his mother because he was worried because she said she wasn’t feeling well. He also said he was unfamiliar with the area and didn’t see the stop sign. On cross-examination, he did confirm that the photos Thad introduced of the damage done to both vehicles.

At the start of the third day, Thad was first to give his closing argument. He covered how the accident happened in the testimony given by the police officer and Rex Firman. Thad pointed out why there are laws against texting and driving no matter the reason because accidents like this can happen.

“I want you to put yourself in Harvey Turner’s position. You are in your car minding your own business when you are suddenly struck on the side, go off the road with your car flipping onto its side, and seriously injuring you. A vertebra in your neck is cracked and I guess you can say you are lucky because you aren’t killed nor are you paralyzed because you could have been with that type of an injury. You undergo an operation where they take a drill and they drill into that vertebra in your neck and put in a screw to hold it together. Finally, after several days you are released from the hospital. You need to wear a neck brace for a long time both when you are awake and when you sleep till that cracked vertebra heals. Your medical bills and the time lost from work total close to one hundred thousand dollars. Tell me, what do you think would be fair compensation if it was you who was the injured person? When you decide what that amount should be, that is what I am asking you to award plus the medical bills and Havey Turner’s lost time from work in reaching your verdict.”