Courts in Lawrence County have appropriately approved $18 million in settlement monies to a motor vehicle accident victim and his family. The amount promised is a victory that is hopefully enough to take care of the young man for the rest of his life.

Attorney Dallas Hartman told reporters that he and his firm are "very pleased with this result." The case, which has been ongoing for nearly a decade, has rendered a result that has been recorded as the largest ever in Lawrence County history.

Attorney Doug Olcott of Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. brought about documents of settlement and distribution to the judge this past Tuesday, itemizing the proper amounts and reasons for such a detailed record.

This more-than-a-decade-old case was brought about by the February 2003 accident that involved two brothers as they were on their way to a church group. The 17-year-old driving lost control of his vehicle on Route 422 in Union Township and slammed into a steel pole, splitting the car in half and forever injuring his 15-year-old brother.

According to official police and hospital reports, the boy endured extensive injuries and a traumatic brain injury following the accident. He remains in a state of diminished mental capacity to this day.

Such cases deserve the utmost respect and attention from insurance companies. The boys' insurance provider, Erie Insurance Exchange, refused to settle on their behalf for a minimum of $300,000 and were thus taken to litigation when the victim's parents sought Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. for representation.

For more than ten years, the lawyers at Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. have tirelessly worked to ensure the victim's family would be liberated. Erie Insurance was negligent and ran that family through a gamut of unnecessary trials and tribulations. It was only after the victim's family approached Dallas W. Hartman, P.C., claiming breach of insurance, that justice was served and the family was done due diligence.