Introduction
Imagine surviving a devastating pedestrian accident, enduring six surgeries, and fighting to rebuild your life, only to have the driver who caused it all refuse to take responsibility.
That is exactly what our client faced. And it is not as uncommon as it should be.
Pedestrian accident victims are often targeted by insurance companies looking for a fast, cheap resolution. Insurers know that an unrepresented victim is far easier to lowball than one backed by an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer. Their strategy is simple: move quickly, offer little, and close the claim before the full picture of a victim’s suffering and losses comes into focus.
At Kohan & Bablove, we refused to let that happen. By deploying private investigator surveillance, conducting a thorough asset discovery investigation, and proving liability early, we secured a $3 million pre-litigation settlement for our client in just 12 months, without ever setting foot in a courtroom. At the time, it was the largest pre-litigation settlement in our firm’s history.
This is how we did it.
The Challenge: Catastrophic Injuries and a Denied Liability Claim
The Physical and Emotional Toll
Our client’s life changed in an instant. The impact of the pedestrian accident left her with multiple fractures requiring six separate surgeries to stabilize and repair. Her physical recovery was long, painful, and ongoing. But for many catastrophic injury survivors, the emotional weight can be just as debilitating as the physical damage. Living with uncertainty, not knowing whether justice will ever come, adds a layer of suffering that no settlement figure can fully capture.
What made her situation even more difficult was the defendant’s response. Despite the clear and serious nature of the crash, the at-fault driver flatly refused to admit fault. For our client, that denial was not just a legal obstacle. It felt like a personal injustice, as she was being forced to fight for her dignity and her future at the very moment she needed to focus on healing.
The Insurance Company’s Strategy
Shortly after the accident, once the insurer recognized the potential magnitude of the damages, they moved quickly, but not in our client’s favor. The insurance company pushed hard for early mediation, presenting it as a cooperative path toward resolution. In reality, it was a calculated tactic designed to limit their financial exposure.
Here is why: before a formal lawsuit is filed, the opposing side is not legally required to hand over internal communications, phone records, or dashcam footage. The insurance company understood this procedural reality and tried to use it as leverage. By keeping critical evidence out of reach, they hoped to pressure our client into accepting a settlement far below what her catastrophic injuries and suffering actually warranted. They were counting on her desperation and exhaustion to do the work for them.
We had other plans.
The Strategy: Building Leverage Through Investigation
If They Will Not Give Us the Evidence, We Find It Ourselves
Kohan & Bablove injury attorneys are not a firm that waits. Rather than accepting the limitations of the pre-litigation phase, we immediately launched our own independent investigation.
Our team hired a private investigator surveillance team to physically canvas the area where the pedestrian accident occurred. We were not waiting for the defendant’s cooperation or the insurance company’s timeline. We were looking for the truth, and we found it.
Our investigators identified third-party security cameras from nearby businesses that had been overlooked by both the police and the insurance adjusters. The footage was unambiguous. It captured the collision in clear detail and established that the defendant was entirely at fault. With that evidence in hand, the defense could no longer deny liability. We had not relied on their records or their cooperation. We had built our case independently, and it was airtight.
Asset Discovery: Ensuring the Defendant Could Pay
Proving fault is only one part of securing meaningful compensation for a catastrophic injury. In cases involving severe damages, a standard insurance policy limit is often not enough to cover a client’s full losses. Our team knew we had to look deeper.
We conducted a comprehensive asset discovery investigation to evaluate the defendant’s full financial picture beyond their basic coverage. What we found was significant. The defendant had substantial financial resources that had not been disclosed upfront. This was the final piece of leverage we needed.
By combining undeniable video evidence of liability with documented proof of the defendant’s assets, we put the insurance company in an impossible position. They knew that if this case went before a jury, the outcome would almost certainly exceed anything they had offered. The risk of going to trial was simply too great.
The Outcome: A $3 Million Pre-Litigation Settlement in 12 Months
A Historic Result for Our Client
With liability proven on camera and asset discovery confirming the defendant’s ability to pay, the defense’s strategy collapsed. Kohan & Bablove successfully negotiated a $3,000,000 settlement within 12 months of the pedestrian accident, without filing a lawsuit.
At the time, this stood as the single largest pre-litigation settlement in our firm’s history. Achieving this level of catastrophic injury compensation outside of a courtroom is rare. It is a direct result of aggressive preparation, proactive investigation, and an unwillingness to accept anything less than full value for our client’s suffering.
What This Meant for Our Client
Beyond the financial outcome, what mattered most to our client was that she never had to relive the trauma of her accident on a witness stand. She did not have to endure years of litigation while still recovering from her injuries. Instead, she received the justice she deserved in under a year, allowing her to close this painful chapter and focus entirely on her recovery and her family.
Throughout the process, the Kohan & Bablove team maintained constant communication, answering every question and providing steady reassurance during one of the most difficult periods of her life. She was never left to navigate this alone.
Securing this pre-litigation settlement was not just about winning a case. It was about protecting our client’s future and her well-being from the very first conversation to the final resolution.
Conclusion: Proactive Advocacy Makes the Difference
Many law firms wait for the formal discovery process to unfold before building their case. Kohan & Bablove takes a different approach. We go out and find the evidence ourselves. We investigate assets. We refuse to let insurance companies control the timeline or dictate the value of our clients’ suffering.
In this case, that proactive approach turned a completely denied liability claim into a $3 million victory for a pedestrian accident victim who deserved so much better than what the insurance company was willing to offer.
The difference between a lowball offer and a life-changing settlement often comes down to the determination and resources of your legal team. If you are dealing with serious injuries while an insurance company drags its feet, you deserve a firm that will fight for your future with everything available to it.
Contact Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation. Let us build the leverage you need to maximize your recovery.
Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys was founded by three former defense attorneys who were tired of helping insurance companies and big corporations save money by paying the least amount possible to resolve claims. We wanted to open a law firm where we could use our years of experience handling the toughest and largest claims to benefit the individual. Each of us were tired of being cogs in the wheel that focused on paying the least amount possible to injured persons regardless of injuries or the validity of their claims.
