Chapter 17

Colleen and Mr. Bell were waiting when Beth Ann and I drove up. They seemed happy to see us and full of energy, even after a full work day. Mr. Bell was gently solicitous of Beth Ann and Colleen seemed to attach herself to me in a similar way. We chatted as the two of them got their documents arranged on the conference table.

Mr. Bell took control of the meeting. "Mrs. Morse, You knew I was taking young Brian to meet the owner of the company that owns the truck that hit you. Brian comported himself like an adult with superior training would have and on the strength of Brian's version of events, Mr. Hillman capitulated to my expectations for settlement.

"What that means is that Mr. Hillman agreed to accept liability for the accident, all damages, injuries and the unusual nature of Brian's permanent limitations. He had his in-house counsel prepare settlement papers and they were hand delivered to me just before I called you at the bank and set up our meeting.

"If you would give me a few minutes, Colleen and I will walk the two of you through them. They can be complicated but Colleen has spent every minute since they arrived summarizing and organizing them.

"Let's start with you, Mrs. Morse," Beth Ann interrupted and insisted that Mr. Bell call her by her name and he asked that she do the same. "The top document is a summary page. It lists the order in which the settlement is presented to you, the agreed terms in basic form and acts like a table of contents for us. Set it beside the stack and we'll use it to maneuver through the bulk of the document.

"The first section outlines the cause, nature and facts of the accident, Mr. Hillman's acknowledgement of liability and the specific points of our agreement. This first section is crucial in that Hillman accepting liability puts his re-insurer in a position where it is, for all intents and purposes, impossible for them to deny the claim. They can try but the courts have been very clear that once liability is established, the insurance carrier is required to cover the event consistent with the policy.

"What that will do is knock out the months of nit-picking the reinsurer typically does to delay paying as long as possible." Mr. Bell was clearly in his element. He spoke calmly, clearly and was in no rush.

"Mrs. Morse, oops, Beth, setting aside liability, the next section begins to describe the liability itself. You suffered very little in the way of injury; however, you lost the use of your family station wagon, your only means of transportation. It will have to be replaced.

"Your body was bumped and bruised, frightened and downright terror stricken because of the extreme injuries to your only child. That is worth something and I demanded that the Hillman Carriers reimburse you for your personal damages and loss in the amount of three-hundred, twenty-five thousand dollars, and Hillman agreed without reservation.

'You need to know that Hillman is self-insured up to the first two million dollars of any event. They have a Lloyds of London, excess liability policy for the next eight million dollars, then Hillman is back on the hook for any damages beyond that.

"Our investigation of the Hillman Company indicates Hillman has eleven million dollars escrowed against extreme events and Colleen discovered that the man who was killed in the accident has no named next of kin, and it appears there is no one who can bring a wrongful death suit on his behalf.

"That is like an escape hatch for Hillman, because wrongful death has no statutory award limit in Missouri, so a jury could bring back any award they see fit, and is why Hillman has structured their self-insurance plan as they have.

"Now, the good news for Hillman, is better news for you and Brian. Because they have no expectation of additional loss in this case, your bargaining position is strengthened. Colleen has a very good investigator and he has provided us a comprehensive, current profit and loss statement, which includes a detailed inventory of receivables. We know exactly how much the company has and how much it owes to go with details about their insurance."

I was following all this closely and it was giving me a head ache. As Mr. Bell droned on, my head hurt worse and worse. Colleen caught me rubbing my eyes and asked if I was Ok. "I'm fine. It's just a little headache," I said to appease her and Beth Ann.

Mr. Bell continued, "Brian's injuries, loss of reproductive ability and his memory is a bit of a wild card, in Missouri. Court decisions have failed to provide a clear level of loss, that we could use to demand full satisfaction for Brian. That being said, those same courts haven't hemmed us in, either. You can see how that might strengthen your argument.

"That lack of clarity, coupled with the facts known about the other victim, made me confident that we could structure a demand that basically would provide you and Brian with nearly the entire ten-million dollars in available insurance – Beth that is in addition to your separate damage award, which we discussed earlier - the full cost of our fees, which are twenty-five percent, shall be paid by Hillman, on top of the ten-million, plus several, very aggressive set asides for Brian's education, your health care needs for life, including one-hundred percent coverage for doctor visits, hospitalization, prescriptions and both inpatient and outpatient therapy, should any be needed at any time in Brian's life. I've included full payment for purchase of a very generous long term care policy in case you or Brian should need assistance with what is legally known as any of the activities of daily living.

"All of these coverage's are to be fully funded by Hillman, have zero deductibles, zero co-pays, zero exclusions or conditions, fully fund preventative testing and the language of the settlement is specific enough to cover any change, or medical need that might arise and includes fully funded dental, vision and hearing care for life, for both of you." When he finished the silence was pretty loud. We looked at one another, speechless. I offered no comment because my head ache just kept getting worse. It was like a bad tooth-ache in my head, by then.

"This must seem extremely confusing to you and I don't want to pretend it is simple but the settlement is quite straight forward and once signed off on by the re-insurer, it will be one of the simplest settlements we have ever negotiated, because there is no room for Hillman to quibble. Because the relationship between Hillman and the re-insurer, Hillman can be convinced to pay the ENTIRE claim and collect back from them, the insured part, speeding up the process.

"Colleen has created a summary for you to take with you and use to help understand the entire set of documents. As soon as you are confident that you understand it all, let me know how you feel about the offer and we will go from there" Beth Ann looked a question at me and when I slightly nodded in agreement, she spoke for the first time since Mr. Bell began.

"Jim. My daddy taught me to rely on smart people to help me understand complicated things. If this settlement is the best settlement and you are confident that it is, then we will accept your opinion and agree to it. "How long will it take to get everyone on board? I have to replace our car, return the rental and the hospital bills will be descending on us, very soon."

Mr. Bell looked at Colleen and she took over. "Mrs. Morse," Beth Ann interrupted and asked Colleen to use her name, too. "Of course - Beth. As soon as these documents are all signed and notarized, Daddy will instruct the hospital, doctors, including Rebecca and any other medical provider, including the ambulance service, to forward all invoices to us. All providers will be notified that The Hillman Company is responsible to pay all costs associated with Brian's care. You will not be billed by anyone for anything related to this accident.

"As for you hotels, meals, transportation and rental vehicle, we will handle paying those invoices, and/or reimbursing you for any out of pocket expenses and Hillman will be covering them, also. Once you sign these settlement contracts, we take care of everything and all you need do is give me any bills that accidentally come to you."

Beth Ann took a few moments to consider any questions she might still have, then picked up her pen and asked, "Thank you both. Where do Brian and I sign?" It took another half hour for Beth Ann to sign everything. Because I was a minor, she had to sign for me, including appointing Mr. Bell as my legal representative. Colleen represented Beth Ann and Mr. Bell was responsible for me.