Athens woman wins $361k verdict for injuries from wreck

April 05--Henderson County jurors have awarded almost $372,000 to an Athens woman injured in an accident in Gun Barrel City.

"Kelsi Gabbert was shocked when Allstate Insurance offered her just $1,500 for a car wreck ... that cost her over $20,000 in medical bills and left her wearing hearing aids due to permanent ringing in her ears following a concussion -- a condition called tinnitus," according to a press release. "When Kelsi received this offer, she hired a former assistant county attorney from the Henderson County Attorney's Office, Drew Gibbs, who is now a partner of The Carlson Law Firm in Austin."

Gibbs twice offered to release the defendant, Leasuance Caldwell, from further liability for Allstate's payment of its $50,000 policy limit, the press release shows. Company officials refused, Gibbs said.

"After a two-day trial (this month) in the Henderson County Court at Law No. 2 with Judge Nancy Perryman presiding, a six-person jury unanimously found that the proper value of Gabbert's injury was $361,748.43, including $20,748.43 for past medical bills and $25,000 for the cost of maintaining her hearing aids."

Caldwell, of Tyler, is liable for the amount of the verdict that exceeds her insurance policy, according to the press release.

"Kelsi has already submitted a claim to her own car insurance, Texas Farm Bureau, seeking recovery of a $30,000 underinsured motorist policy that is supposed to pay when a claim exceeds the value of the defendant's policy. Farm Bureau elected to not tender her policy limits and chose instead to make Kelsi wait for payment while she pursued a judgment against the defendant at her own expense."

Gibbs criticized the insurer for that tactic.

"Unfortunately, this is standard procedure in Texas, where insurers have been emboldened to delay and deny claims, choosing to gamble with the lives of their insureds and forcing reasonable people to become plaintiffs in personal-injury lawsuits in order to get a fair recovery."

Athens attorney Brian Schmidt monitored the two-year litigation.

"The reputation around the state is that these kinds of cases can't be won in Henderson County," he said. "I am glad that these six jurors set the record straight. Justice still matters here."

It is unclear whether Farm Bureau officials will tender the underinsured policy for which premiums were paid, and whether Allstate officials will continue to delay the case with an appeal, the press release shows.

"Kelsi will also seek payment of the full verdict from Allstate, rather than Ms. Caldwell, asserting that Allstate was negligent in not agreeing to tender their policy limit on the two prior occasions her attorney gave them. This process may require an appeal and even two more trials against Allstate and Farm Bureau separately. But we are hopeful that faced with this unanimous verdict, these companies will finally do the right thing and pay Kelsi what she is owed."

Gabbert, 30, was a home-health nurse returning to her office from a patient's home when she was reportedly rear-ended.

"Originally, her injury was submitted to her employer's workers comp insurance, but they denied the claim, saying she was not covered because she was not on duty," according to the press release. "However, her health-insurance company also denied the claim, asserting that she was on duty and the claim belonged to workers comp."

Gabbert said that she is "thankful" for the jurors' verdict.

"I have a great relief knowing those six people understood my situation and did not believe the case Allstate presented against me."

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