In the first accident, the gross recovery was $34,000. In the second accident, the defendant had no insurance, so we made a claim against our client’s un-insured carrier, Amica Insurance. The case settled at mediation for $18,000 (gross) but our client had already used up $5,000 of that money because he had [medpay coverage, rather than the recommended personal injury protection coverage.](/blog/pip-v-medpay/) There were a couple of significant takeaways from this case: 1. Our client went on vacation and had pictures taken of him (smiling of course because that’s what everyone does when their picture is taken) at various locations. The insurance company obtained these and, of course, said they showed he wasn’t injured. Moral, be careful what vacation pictures or really any kind of pictures you take while your case or claim is pending. 2. Our client, a runner, had run a marathon the year before his crash and then again after the crash. He hadn’t told us about this and we had to find out from the other side at mediation. Moral, tell your lawyer everything. 3. Our client, a guitar player, posted some videos of him playing guitar on the web. The insurance company found them. Fortunately, they weren’t dated and could have been before the crash. Moral, be careful what you put online. 4. The insurance company claimed that the defendant driver who hit our client was not at fault because, though he hit him from behind, it was due to his sneezing as he put his foot on the gas. While we never got a chance to test this “sneeze defense” in front of a jury, it shows that insurance companies will do anything to get out of paying the full value of a person’s injuries.