On a summer afternoon in June 2024, our client, Alexa R., was five months pregnant and driving home through Ruscombmanor Township in Berks County when another driver turned directly into her path. In an instant, a routine drive became a nightmare — a violent head-on collision that shattered the bone in her right knee and put her pregnancy at risk.
Alexa is a registered nurse. She’s someone who spends her career caring for others. But after this crash, she was the one who needed help — hospitalized, facing emergency surgery, unable to walk, and terrified about the baby growing inside her.
At Kitay Law Offices, Attorney Ryan P. Merrill, Esq. fought to ensure that Alexa wasn’t left to shoulder the financial devastation of this crash alone. By navigating two separate insurance claims and securing the full available policy limits from both, our team delivered a total recovery of $300,000 — giving Alexa the financial security she and her growing family deserved.
A car accident can change your life in an instant, especially if you’re pregnant when it happens.
On an afternoon in June 2024, Alexa R. was traveling east on Pricetown Road near its intersection with Orchard Road in Ruscombmanor Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was 21 weeks pregnant at the time.
A 2020 Jeep Cherokee traveling south on Pricetown Road attempted a left turn onto Orchard Road — without clearing the lane of oncoming traffic. The Jeep struck Alexa’s 2017 Toyota Highlander head-on. The force of the impact deployed Alexa’s airbags, caused disabling front-end damage to her vehicle, and sent the Highlander careening approximately ten feet into a nearby yard, where it crashed into a fence before coming to rest.
Alexa was transported to the emergency room by ambulance. She reported head pain, abrasions to her forehead and both shins, and severe right leg pain. Diagnostic imaging revealed a closed fracture of the right tibial plateau — the flat surface at the top of the shinbone that forms part of the knee joint.
The very next day — less than 24 hours after the crash — Alexa was wheeled into surgery. Orthopedic surgeons performed an Open Reduction Internal Fixation (ORIF) procedure to stabilize the fracture using metal hardware. She was hospitalized for two days.
What followed was a grueling recovery — made exponentially harder by the fact that Alexa was carrying a child. She was placed on strict non-weight-bearing status for her right leg, required oxygen and medical supplies at home, and began physical therapy almost immediately after discharge. She was unable to work as a nurse for 31 consecutive weeks, spanning the remainder of her pregnancy and into the early months of her baby’s life.
The good news: Alexa’s baby was born healthy. But Alexa’s own body continued to suffer. She developed chronic pain in her dominant right leg, underwent chiropractic care, trigger point injections, nerve conduction studies, and an MRI of her lumbar spine. By December 2025 — more than 17 months after the crash — she required a second surgery to remove the metal hardware from her knee and to surgically revise a large, permanent scar stretching 2×20 centimeters down her right leg. That second surgery kept her out of work for another three weeks.
Despite all of this treatment, Alexa continues to live with permanent scarring, chronic pain, and lasting functional deficits in her dominant right leg — conditions her medical providers have described as lifelong.
The liability in this case was straightforward — the other driver turned left without yielding and caused a head-on collision. The at-fault driver’s insurance company accepted 100% responsibility relatively early.
But clear liability doesn’t always mean fair compensation. And that’s where this case got complicated.
The at-fault driver’s bodily injury (BI) insurance policy was capped at $100,000. For a young mother who needed two surgeries, missed more than seven months of work, accumulated over $52,000 in medical expenses, and faces a lifetime of chronic pain and disfigurement, $100,000 wasn’t close to enough. It didn’t even cover her documented out-of-pocket losses — let alone compensate her for everything this crash stole from her life.
This is the harsh reality that thousands of Pennsylvania accident victims face: even when the other driver is completely at fault, their insurance policy may not carry enough coverage to make you whole. Without an attorney who knows how to identify and pursue additional sources of recovery, injured people are left holding the bag.
In Alexa’s case, the path to full compensation required navigating a second, separate claim — an Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claim against Alexa’s own auto insurance policy. UIM coverage exists for exactly this situation: when the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t enough to cover your injuries. But UIM carriers don’t hand over policy limits willingly. They conduct their own evaluations, apply their own scrutiny, and require a comprehensive, airtight presentation before they’ll agree to pay.
Ryan P. Merrill, Esq. – Managing Attorney at Kitay Law Offices
Attorney Ryan P. Merrill, Esq. developed a strategic, two-phase approach to maximize every dollar of available insurance coverage for Alexa.
Attorney Merrill compiled a detailed demand package documenting Alexa’s emergency surgery, her extensive orthopedic treatment, her inability to work for 31 weeks, and the devastating impact the crash had on her pregnancy, mobility, and daily life. With over $42,000 in documented special damages at the time of the BI demand — and clear evidence that the true value of the case far exceeded the $100,000 policy limit — the at-fault driver’s carrier agreed to tender the full $100,000 policy limit.
But Attorney Merrill knew that wasn’t the end of the fight. It was only the beginning.
Before accepting the BI settlement, Attorney Merrill obtained UIM consent to settle from Alexa’s own insurance carrier — a critical procedural step that preserves the right to pursue a UIM claim. Missing this step can destroy a client’s UIM rights entirely.
As Alexa’s treatment continued — including her second surgery in December 2025 to remove hardware and revise her scarring — Attorney Merrill waited until the full picture of her injuries was clear before presenting the UIM demand. When the time was right, he submitted a comprehensive UIM demand package that included:
The demand made clear that a jury would award Alexa far more than the available UIM limits, given the severity of her injuries, her two surgeries, her permanent disfigurement, the disruption to her pregnancy, and the lifelong impact on her mobility, work, relationships, and quality of life.
The UIM adjuster completed his evaluation and agreed: the claim warranted a full policy-limits settlement of $200,000.
Through Attorney Merrill’s strategic, two-phase approach, Kitay Law Offices secured a total recovery of $300,000 for Alexa R.:
Both settlements represent the maximum available insurance coverage — meaning our team extracted every single dollar that could be recovered from the policies in play.
For Alexa, this result means financial security during an incredibly difficult chapter of her life. It means her medical bills are covered. It means the lost wages that piled up while she recovered from two surgeries — including the months she spent healing while pregnant and caring for a newborn — are accounted for. And it means she is compensated for the permanent scarring, chronic pain, and lasting physical limitations she will carry for the rest of her life.
UIM coverage is a type of protection you carry on your own auto insurance policy. It kicks in when the person who caused your accident doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries. In Pennsylvania, many drivers carry only the state minimum liability coverage — which can be completely inadequate for serious injuries. UIM coverage bridges that gap. If you’ve been seriously hurt in a crash and the at-fault driver’s policy isn’t enough, an experienced attorney can help you pursue your own UIM benefits for additional compensation.
Yes — but the process must be handled carefully. In Pennsylvania, before you accept a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, you typically need to obtain written consent to settle from your own UIM carrier. If you skip this step, you may forfeit your right to pursue UIM benefits entirely. This is one of many reasons why having an experienced personal injury attorney is critical when multiple insurance policies are involved.
First, seek immediate medical attention — both for yourself and your baby. Document everything from the start. Then contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Pregnancy adds complexity to a car accident case because your treatment options may be limited, your recovery may be prolonged, and the emotional toll is magnified. An experienced attorney will ensure these factors are fully documented and accounted for in your claim.
Every case is different, but cases involving multiple layers of coverage — like a bodily injury claim plus a UIM claim — often take longer than a single-policy case. This is because the full extent of the client’s injuries must be known before the UIM demand can be effectively presented. In Alexa’s case, the process took approximately 21 months from the date of the accident to the final UIM settlement — time that allowed her medical picture to fully develop, including her second surgery.
This is more common than most people realize. If you carry UIM coverage on your own policy, you may be able to recover additional compensation beyond what the at-fault driver’s insurance pays. If you don’t carry UIM coverage, your options may be more limited — which is why we strongly encourage all Pennsylvania drivers to carry robust UIM/UM coverage. Either way, if you’ve been seriously injured and suspect the other driver’s policy isn’t enough, contact an attorney for a free evaluation of your options.
Alexa’s case is a perfect example of why the attorney you choose matters. On paper, the at-fault driver’s insurer accepted liability quickly. But without an attorney who understood how to navigate the UIM process — who knew to obtain consent to settle before accepting the BI limits, who knew to wait until Alexa’s full medical picture was complete before presenting the UIM demand, and who knew how to build a package compelling enough to secure full policy limits without litigation — Alexa could easily have walked away with much less, instead of $300,000.
That’s not a small difference. That’s the difference between being left underwater on medical debt and being made financially whole.
At Kitay Law Offices, The Law Firm With a Heart®, we don’t just handle the obvious claim. We look at the entire picture. We identify every available source of recovery. And we fight to make sure our clients receive the full value of what they’re owed — not just what an insurance company wants to pay.
For over 30 years, our firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured Pennsylvanians. We work on a contingency fee basis — meaning if you don’t win, you don’t pay. There’s no upfront cost to hire us, and no financial risk to you. We take the risk because we believe in our clients and in our ability to deliver results.
Your Kitay Law Offices Team
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a car accident — especially one where the at-fault driver’s insurance may not be enough — you don’t have to figure this out alone. The insurance system is complicated, and critical deadlines and procedural steps can make or break your recovery.
At Kitay Law Offices, your consultation is completely free. We’ll review your situation, explain your options in plain language, and fight for every dollar you deserve.
Call us today at 1-888-KITAY-LAW (1-888-548-2952) or visit us online for a free consultation. Remember: if you don’t win, you don’t pay.
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