Richard Oliver, 75, was a block from home in Buckeye, AZ. as he returned from a bicycle ride on June 20, 2025. It was a hot morning. Suddenly, he was struck from the side by a car he never saw coming. The impact threw him from his bicycle, causing him to land flat on his back. He was wearing a helmet, but his head still struck the pavement.

Unable to move and in intense pain, he lay on the scorching cement in the intersection. The driver, who had failed to yield at the stop sign, got out of her car.

“She was hysterical,” Richard recalled. “She couldn’t believe she hit me. She kept saying, ‘Come on, get up, get up. You’re O.K.’ I told her, ‘Lady, I’m not O.K.’”

A witness called 911. When an officer arrived, she placed a blanket under Richard to give him relief from the hot pavement and stayed with him until paramedics arrived and transported him to the emergency room at Abrazo West Campus Hospital.

Richard was treated for severe back pain. Doctors gave him IV morphine and other medications to control the pain before releasing him several hours later. He went home with prescriptions and instructions to seek follow-up care.

In the days immediately following the collision, Richard and his daughter, Sara, began looking for an attorney. They agreed that the Kelly Law Team’s online presence and strong reviews made the choice easy.

“The reviews were so good, I didn’t even call anybody else,” he said.

When Richard contacted the Kelly Law Team, Managing Litigation Attorney David Iversen immediately began working with him. After learning that Richard was still in considerable pain, both David and Senior Case Manager Trent Miller helped him find good doctors who would provide great service.

They communicated frequently with Richard and were able to get records in a timely manner.

In the days that followed, Richard continued to experience severe neck, middle back, and lower back pain. He also had headaches and significantly reduced range of motion.

MRIs Revealed Injuries

MRIs performed several weeks after the accident revealed multiple disc bulges and herniations throughout his neck, middle and lower back. Richard began what would become months of treatment. Again, the Kelly Law Team helped him find good neuro-care options for chiropractic care, therapeutic exercises, acupuncture, and a series of trigger-point injections.

The treatments helped, but it did not eliminate the pain. After months of conservative care, Richard and Trent provided options for even more specialized treatments. Richard underwent nerve ablation procedures to provide longer-term relief.

“I was really active before the accident, but since then I haven’t been able to do as much,” he said. “I do some yard work, I walk and exercise, but it really set me back.”

Throughout the long months of treatment, Richard said David and Trent stayed in regular contact. That communication was important to him, and he always felt comfortable picking up the phone and calling if he had a question.

“I could always talk to them, and I trusted them,” Richard said.

The first part of the case moved relatively quickly. Iversen said the Kelly Law Team assembled a comprehensive demand documenting Richard’s treatment and the severity of his injuries.

“Mr. Oliver’s injuries were so devastating that the defendant’s insurance tendered their full policy amount after being met with the demand letter,” Iversen said. “There wasn’t any back and forth.”

The claim against Richard’s own insurance company proved more difficult.

David said he knew it was going to require some extra effort to produce a settlement which would adequately compensate Richard for both his economic losses (medical bills, trips to the doctor, etc.) and non-economic losses (pain and suffering, loss of activities, loss of enjoyment of life).

Although Richard had been riding a bicycle when he was struck, Iversen said his policy’s underinsured motorist coverage still applied because the collision involved a motor vehicle.

Kelly Law Team Stepped Back

Countering the original offer from Richard’s insurance company would have been one option at that point, but David said the Kelly Law Team decided to take a step back and take a fresh look at the entire case.

“We looked at the case again to see what we could do better,” he said.

That second look uncovered something important.

Months after the accident, Richard underwent hip surgery. The hip had not initially seemed to be one of his most serious collision-related injuries because his severe neck and back pain demanded most of his attention.

When David reviewed his medical records again, however, he found a small but significant notation from the day of the crash. An ER nurse had documented tenderness in Richard’s hip.

“His hip was not an obvious immediate accident injury,” Iversen said. “Since it was noted in the day-of-accident records, we knew that could be important.”

The firm followed up with Richard and his medical providers and learned that he had experienced hip pain since the collision but had largely attributed it to his age while dealing with his more immediate injuries.

“Mr. Oliver is strong, and he hadn’t complained about the hip pain,” Iversen said.

The follow-up information gave Kelly Law Team additional evidence connecting Richard’s hip problems to the collision and strengthened his claim with his own insurance company.

Medical Bills Tell Only Part of the Story

For Mr. Iversen, the approach illustrates an important part of evaluating damages in a serious personal injury case. Medical bills tell only part of the story. Understanding the full value of a claim can require looking closely at how an injury has affected a client physically and personally, including pain, loss of activity and changes in everyday life.

The Kelly Law Team could have continued negotiating based on what was already known about Richard’s case. Instead, Iversen said, they chose to investigate further.

That additional work resulted in the insurers making all insurance coverage accessible to Richard and a total recovery of $600,000. Iversen described it as an “amazing settlement.”

“They Kept Me Informed”

For Richard, the months his case was being investigated and reviewed were filled with continued exercises to regain strength and balance. He said the Kelly Law Team continually kept him up to date on what was happening with the insurance companies.

“They kept me informed, and if I had a question, they’d always give me a straightforward answer,” he said.

The financial consequences of the collision were significant. Richard accumulated substantial medical expenses during months of treatment, with the possibility that he could need additional care in the future.

The settlement has provided Richard and his wife, Doris, with an additional measure of security in retirement. The resolution of his case helps ensure that an accident they never saw coming will not undermine those plans.

Just as important to Richard is getting back to the life he enjoyed before the collision. Being an active husband, father and grandfather have always mattered to him, and his injuries temporarily limited many of those activities. As his recovery has progressed, he has been able to focus again on his family and the years ahead.

The case also left Iversen with a message for other Arizona drivers.

“This case highlights the importance of insuring yourself with uninsured motorist coverage,” he said.

Asked about his overall experience with the Kelly Law Team, Richard’s assessment was even more succinct.

“Ten out of 10,” he said.