If you’ve suffered a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence, you will likely hear from an insurance company in the days afterwards. The Injury Blog has detailed how insurance companies are not your friends and work with their bottom lines in mind when handling personal injury claims, and a recent Florida car accident verdict validates this point. After her insurance company offered her $10,000 for injuries that she sustained during a drunken driving accident, 61-year-old Joan Ruch was awarded $232,866.71 in her personal injury case against Donald Ray Clawson, a three-time convicted drunk driver who caused the accident. The lesson once again: don’t let insurance companies force you into rushed decisions when dealing with your personal injury claim, and rather enlist an experienced personal injury attorney in your area for more assistance.

On May 11, 2004, Ruch was involved in a four-person car accident that was caused by the 69-year-old Clawson. A Naplesnews.com story detailed that Ruch’s personal injuries included a herniated disk, chronic headaches and connective tissue damage. The personal injury lawsuit claimed that Ruch now suffers from chronic neck pain that will hamper her “golden years” and prevent her from working as an interior decorator. The story added that Clawson’s defense attorneys tried to minimize Ruch’s personal injuries and said that she could work again.

On Friday, a Collier Circuit Court jury awarded $180,067 in damages to Ruch, a former Fort Myers resident. Upon hearing that Clawson was convicted three times of DUI, the jurors added $52,800 in punitive damages. Ruch now lives in Georgia. Of further interest, her daughter Kimberly Carpenter was involved in the accident and originally awarded $1,050,979 for her neck injuries. The story added that a judge later reduced the $275,000 in punitive damages in that case to $25,000.