Riddle and Brantley

A negative rating would be appropriate.

Absolute most unprofessional organization I have seen in my life. After being struck by a car while cycling, I saw them within the first week.

The accident left me confused. I wanted to make sure I was properly protected. After over 2 years, 3 different lawyers, and some 6 different case managers, I was exhausted by their unprofessionalism. I agreed to settle the case and move on with my life.

I could no longer bear the weight of this issue further.

I was struck while making a legal left-hand turn (left-hand turn lane with left arm fully extended) at a traffic light. A car attempted to pass me by crossing the double line and proceeding into an oncoming left hand turn lane on the other side of the light.

I lost conciseness. Hours later I realized I was in the hospital and the police were trying to ask me what I was doing. For a moment, I thought that they may have considered that I caused the accident.

After a ½ day in the hospital, I was released under the care of my family.

I no longer had skin on my knees, lost sensation in my feet, was black and blue from my knees to my waist, had a broken arm (found later as the hospital somehow missed this), a 2x4x8-inch hematoma at my belt level, no sensation in my mouth (teeth), skull fracture (helmet mostly intact), shattered eyewear embedded into my eyebrow, and over one thousand dollars damage to my bicycle.

A week later, I was starting to follow sentences better and I successfully walked nearly a mile (Prior to the accident I was walking 5 to 10 miles a day.) After two weeks, my use of speaking in sentences started to improve.

Six months after the accident, I suffered severe mental trauma. I lost 6 months of work and was in and out hospitals for months. Almost a year to the date of the accident, I found a doctor who successfully got me out of the darkness.

During all this suffering, my legal team never contacted me to advise me on status. Instead, I had to contact them.

Nearly every time I contacted them, I found out the staff changed, all documentation was lost, and there were no records or notes could be found related to my case. To state this clearly, HIPPA related materials were mishandled/lost by Riddle & Brantley. (HHS' Office for Civil Rights should investigate as this should be a clear violation of HIPPA.)

On each of the many transitions of their team, I had to brief them again the entire history, remind them of the artifacts previously provided, resubmit all sensitive artifacts, and summarize what I last knew from the various teams previously assigned to my case.

Riddle and Brantley were incapable of negotiation. The other partys representation essentially made an initial offer within weeks and refused to budge.

I had several doctors document that the one and only breakdown in my 50 plus years of life was related to trauma from the accident.

When presented with this information, the other partys representation again refused to budge on negotiation. Instead of continuing to push on my behalf between representations, Riddle and Brantley offered bringing the case to court. This would extend the case by a few years and require appearances by doctors and employer. Obviously, a defense team would have access to all HIPPA information and could easily suggest reasonable doubt by implying an unrelated life event.

It was evident from experience that Riddle and Brantley would not prepare well. I was offered a long delay with little outcome of success. At the same time, I would further suffer challenges to mental health and my privacy.

I became exhausted. Two years had passed.

I had to put this behind me to focus on mental and physical health.

I agreed to have Riddle and Brantley settle as best they could. A few months later, they sent me less than sixteen thousand in damages and suffering.

Note: Thanks to North Carolina law enforcement, the driver who struck me passing illegally by crossing a double line into an oncoming turn lane was never charge with breaking any law. Riddle and Brantley did nothing to elevate the charges or pursue a personal suit on my behalf.

After 18 months, I got the courage to try to get on my bicycle (now equipped with recording cameras) once again. I managed to return the location of the accident for the first time.

As I write this, it has been some 28 months since the accident.

I now have scars for knees and still have no sensation in my feet.

Please take your case else ware. When sorting by recent date or by lower ratings, you will find my story is consistent with most other experiences. Riddle and Brantley spends large sums on advertising. They may be using their power and money to influence ratings displayed.

I find it hard to believe they can obtain 4 stars from any honest review. Do your homework and try to find a better firm. Although, I fear this behavior may be consistent in North Carolina. I am learning that North Carolina law favors the wrong and the legal system itself.

There is money to be make and even incompetent lawyers can make a good living in North Carolina.

Better luck to all. Please try a different firm.