Hausmann-McNally Attorney William Smoler knew he had his hands full when he had a client who had suffered a back injury in a truck accident. Smoler heads the firm’s Madison office. The man was injured and required back surgery, but his legal problem was that he had a previous back injury.  The defendant’s  insurance company tried to use this man’s prior injury as a reason to dismiss the claims of the more recent injury. It takes a skilled attorney to present a convincing case that a pre-existing condition does not invalidate someone’s more current injury claim.

Smoler had to demonstrate before a jury in Rock County Circuit Court that the back injury from the most recent accident did cause the man’s injuries, pain and suffering. While the defendant’s insurance company never offered the man more than $200,000 during negotiations, the jury awarded him $518,000.

Smoler points out that it is often difficult, sometimes impossible, to receive a good settlement if there was a pre-existing condition because it is difficult to determine which injury caused the current pain and suffering. Smoler convinced the jury that the injuries—and resulting pain and suffering—resulted from the most recent accident. The  jury awarded him over a half million dollars, $518,000 to be more exact.

At the end of the hard-fought trial, the judge commented to the jury that they had witnessed two of Wisconsin’s attorneys going head-to-head in the trial before them. Fortunately for the client, the Hausmann-McNally attorney came out the winner.