This is an example of an insurance company interview analysis. The names and some facts have been changed to protect the privacy of the people and companies involved. Reading this will assist a personal injury auto accident attorney or automobile accident victim in knowing the point of view of an insurance company in analyzing witness and victim statement.
September 28, 2009
Ms. Joanne Frankhurst
The H_______ Insurance Company
P.O. Box 905
Harrisonville, MO 64701
Re: Kurst, Jerry and Judy v. Hart, Robert
Case No.: CV39-438 CC
Claim No.: 68 AL 8814 and 698 AL 8107
Our File No.: 0602-2571
Dear Ms. Frankhurst:
I have interviewed several parties that have provided information relevant to our investigation. Summaries of what has been discovered are as follows:
Personal Injury Auto Accident Defendant – Robert Hart
Mr. Hart is a long-time resident of Harrisonville, Missouri. For thirty-three years, Mr. Hart served as the postmaster of Raymore, MO before retiring in 1978. He is a decorated World War II veteran. Mr. Hart has never committed a crime and has no recent traffic violations.
Mr. Hart received the purple heart when a grenade took one of his eyes in World War II. The Department of Motor Automobiles does not consider Mr. Hart’s lost eye a handicap for driving purposes. He takes blood pressure medication, arthritis medication, and an aspirin a day. Mr. Hart’s arm shows shrapnel scars from a battle injury. It has never impaired his abilities. Mr. Hart had not consumed any intoxicants the day of the accident. He comes across as alert, intelligent and honest. He will make a good impression to a jury.
This Harrisonville, Missouri auto accident occurred on July 12, 2006 at 1:34 p.m. on King Hill Avenue. Mr. Hart was coming out of a Dairy Queen parking lot, the only Cass County business operating in the area at that time. There was a lot of traffic. From Mr. Hart’s view, a car was parked on the street immediately to the left and a van was parked to the right of the Dairy Queen’s exit. These factors caused Mr. Hart to put his signal on, wait two or three minutes, and then slowly pull out into the traffic. Mr. Hart repeatedly looked left, right and forward before pulling out. Further, he glanced forward within 30 seconds of pulling his car into the traffic and did not see another automobile.
The truck driven by the Kursts pulled up to a stop sign directly across from Mr. Hart while he was waiting to exit the Harrisonville Dairy Queen. Mr. Hart’s automobile was clearly within the view of the Kursts. The Kursts intended to cross the street and enter the Harrisonville, MO Dairy Queen parking lot. The auto accident occurred when the two automobiles attempted to cross King Hill Avenue at approximately the same time. The point of impact was on the driver’s side of the Kursts’ truck. It occurred just before the Kursts crossed the center line of King Hill Avenue. Due to the position of the roads, the Kursts’ automobile was turning slightly to the left when the auto accident occurred. Mr. Hart was turning to the right and may have entered the street first. Neither automobile was traveling over five miles per hour.
After the auto accident, Mr. Hart and the Kursts exchanged insurance company names in the Harrinsonville, Missouri Dairy Queen parking lot. Both automobiles suffered minor damage. Mr. Hart was not hurt. No emergency automobiles were called to the auto accident scene for either party. The police accident injury report indicates that two persons had personal injury. The Kursts refused medical treatment and, initially, did not appear injured. However, the Kursts began to complain of back and neck pain when the police arrived. Specifically, when the Harrisonville, Missouri police officer asked Mr. Kurst if he was hurt, Mr. Kurst hesitated, looked to his wife, and said to her “your back hurts, doesn’t it?” Mrs. Kurst hesitated as if she did not know what Mr. Kurst was talking about. Then, she stated that her back did hurt. There is no evidence that the Kursts were driving while intoxicated in this Harrisonville, Missouri auto accident.
Mr. Hart received a ticket for failing to yield at the auto accident scene. He plead guilty in the Circuit Court of Cass County, Missouri at Harrisonville. He did not have a Harrisonville criminal defense attorney at that time. Mr. Hart feels that he was not totally at fault in the Harrisonville automobile accident.
Witness – Eve Johnson
Eve Johnson lives in Harrisonville, Missouri. She was working in the Dairy Queen at the time of the automobile accident. She did not actually see the auto accident occur. However, she talked to the Kursts a few days after the accident and reports that they told her that they expected to “get some money” out of the wreck. She states that the Kursts were “O.K.” before the Harrisonville Municipal police arrived but started complaining of pain thereafter. She heard the Kursts cussing about the damage to their new truck. Eve believes that the Kursts are at least partially at fault for the Cass County personal injury auto accident.
Reputation witness – Tessa Johnson
Tessa Johnson is the daughter of Eve Johnson. They live and work at the Harrisonville Dairy Queen together. She did not witness the Cass County auto accident but knows the Kursts’ reputation for suing people in the area on questionable claims.
Witness – Sandy Grey
Sandy Grey was working at the Dairy Queen on July 12, 2006. She witnessed the Harrisonville automobile accident between the Kursts and Mr. Hart. We have contacted her and expect to take her statement in the near future.
It is my opinion a counterclaim should be filed on behalf of Mr. Hart for the property damage to his automobile. A possible theme for this case is that the plaintiffs were “cruising for a bruising” by using this minor incident to finance treatment for their preexisting medical problems.
I look forward to continuing to work with you on this case and will keep you updated as our investigation develops. If you have any questions or if I can help in any manner, please feel free to contact me.
Very truly yours,
Matt Hamilton