Have you ever felt like your voice didn’t matter? In the world of personal injury law, insurance companies make victims feel exactly that way every single day. They look at a case, assign it a number, and if that number is small, they assume you’ll just go away. They count on the fact that most people—and even many lawyers—won’t put in the effort to fight for a “small” recovery.
But at GAMESQ, PLC, we believe every client deserves dignity, regardless of the size of their medical bills. I recently handled an arbitration that perfectly illustrates why we refuse to back down—even when the defense offers absolutely nothing. This is the story of a recent win that proved when you treat every case like a multi-million dollar matter, justice prevails.
The $0 Offer: When Insurance Companies Refuse to Play Fair
In this case, my client was facing a wall of resistance from the insurance company. Despite having clear medical expenses resulting from a car accident, the defense offered zero dollars. They weren’t just lowballing the settlement—they were refusing to even cover basic medical bills. Their goal was what we call a “defense verdict,” which essentially means they wanted the arbitrator to rule that they owed my client absolutely nothing.
I’ve seen this tactic before. I used to work as an in-house defense attorney for Progressive Insurance, one of the largest auto insurers in the country. I know their playbook because I helped write it. Insurance companies will sometimes offer zero on legitimate claims, betting that the injured person—or their lawyer—will decide the case isn’t worth the fight.
Many Phoenix car accident law firms might have seen the low dollar amount and advised the client to walk away, fearing that the cost of litigation would outweigh the potential recovery. That isn’t how we operate at GAMESQ. When an insurance company tells a victim that their pain and their injuries are worth nothing, it’s an insult to their dignity. I decided right then that we were going to arbitrate this case and make them pay.
What Is Arbitration in Arizona?
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Arizona and your case doesn’t settle, you may end up in arbitration. Under Arizona’s compulsory arbitration rules, civil cases seeking monetary damages under $50,000 in Maricopa County are submitted to arbitration rather than going straight to a jury trial.
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution where a neutral third party—the arbitrator—hears the evidence and makes a binding decision. Think of it as a mini-trial. The arbitrator is a licensed attorney who has practiced law in Arizona for at least five years, randomly selected by the court. The hearing typically takes place in a conference room at the arbitrator’s office and usually lasts a few hours rather than the two to five days a full jury trial would require.
Here’s what makes arbitration powerful: it requires the same level of intense preparation and legal strategy as a jury trial, but it’s faster and more cost-effective. Both sides present evidence, examine witnesses under oath, and make legal arguments. The arbitrator then issues a decision within 10 business days.
For our client, arbitration was the path to making sure his voice was finally heard.
Treating a “Small” Case Like a Multi-Million Dollar One
One of the core philosophies at GAMESQ is that the “value” of a case isn’t just about the check at the end—it’s about the person behind the case. During this arbitration, I treated the proceedings with the same intensity and rigor I would apply to a catastrophic injury case. Why? Because it was important to my client. And if it’s important to them, it’s important to me.
I graduated from USC Gould School of Law, a top-20 law school in the country. USC’s motto is Fight On!—and that phrase has stuck with me throughout my career. It’s more than a slogan. It’s a mindset of resilience, determination, and advocacy. That mindset is baked into our firm’s tagline: Your injuries. Our fight. Your win.
To prepare for this arbitration, we didn’t just show up and wing it. We invested real time and resources into several critical areas:
Crafting the Narrative
We spent hours refining the story of what happened, ensuring the arbitrator understood the human impact of the accident—not just the medical bills, but the pain, the disruption to daily life, and the emotional toll on my client.
Visual Presentation
We created a professional PowerPoint presentation to walk the arbitrator through the evidence clearly and concisely. Visual aids matter. When an arbitrator can see the evidence laid out in a logical, compelling way, it changes the dynamic of the entire hearing.
Scripted Precision
We had a detailed script ready to ensure every legal point was hit and every piece of testimony was maximized. Nothing was left to chance. Every question, every exhibit, every argument was planned and rehearsed.
By bringing this level of professionalism to a “small” case, we sent a clear message: We are not here to play games. We are here to win.
The Result: A 46% Increase Over What Was Discussed and Penalties for the Defense
The outcome of this arbitration was a resounding victory for my client. Not only did the arbitrator completely reject the insurance company’s “zero dollar” stance, but we actually secured 46% more money than what was even discussed during the pre-settlement litigation phase.
But the victory didn’t stop there.
Because the insurance company was stubborn and forced the case to arbitration instead of resolving it fairly, they got hit with additional financial consequences:
- The defense was ordered to pay over $1,100 in additional fees and costs.
- They had to pay for their own legal staff, the cost of answering the case, and the expenses for deposition transcripts.
Under Arizona’s compulsory arbitration rules, when a party refuses to negotiate fairly and forces a case through arbitration unnecessarily, the financial consequences can add up fast. If this insurance company had simply acted fairly at the beginning, they would have saved themselves thousands of dollars in litigation costs.
Instead, their refusal to respect my client’s claim ended up costing them significantly more. This is a lesson many insurance companies learn the hard way: it is often more expensive to be unfair than it is to be just.
Why Dignity and Respect Matter in Every Personal Injury Case
Beyond the financial win, this case was about dignity. My job is to ensure that my clients are respected by a system that often tries to dehumanize them. Too many people are tired of being told that their injury, their physical pain, or their humiliation is worth “less” than someone else’s.
I do this work to make sure that my clients are respected, and that is why I am in this fight.
As an AV-rated attorney—one of fewer than five Black attorneys in Arizona history to earn Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating—I carry a responsibility that goes beyond any single case. When we fight these cases, we are fighting against the idea that a person’s suffering can be dismissed just because it doesn’t have enough zeros behind it. Every client who walks through our doors at our Phoenix office near Desert Sky Mall is treated with the same level of care and advocacy, whether the case is worth $10,000 or $1,000,000.
An Unexpected Moment of Honesty From the Defendant
One of the most interesting parts of this specific arbitration involved the defendant—the person who actually hit my client. Often, defense lawyers hired by insurance companies will coach their clients to deny responsibility, even when the facts are clear. In this case, the defense lawyer wanted the defendant to say he wasn’t responsible for the collision.
However, the defendant chose to be honest. He admitted on the stand:
“I hit him. I did it. I didn’t see him. I backed up and I hit him.”
This honesty was refreshing. And it highlighted the disconnect between the insurance company’s aggressive tactics and the reality of the situation. The insurance company was pushing for a zero-dollar outcome while their own insured was sitting in the hearing room admitting fault.
After we won the judgment, I actually reached out to the defense lawyer with a proposal. I didn’t want a judgment showing up on the defendant’s personal record and negatively impacting his life, especially since he was honest about his mistake. We worked to settle the matter in a way that protected the defendant while still ensuring my client got every penny he deserved.
That’s what separates GAMESQ from other Phoenix car accident law firms. We fight hard, but we also fight fair. We recognize that there are real people on both sides of every case.
What You Should Know if an Insurance Company Offers You Nothing
This case serves as a powerful reminder for anyone dealing with a personal injury claim in Arizona. Here are the actionable takeaways from this victory:
Don’t Accept a “$0” Offer
If you have legitimate injuries and medical bills from a car accident, an offer of nothing is an intimidation tactic—pure and simple. Insurance companies do this because it works on people who don’t have a lawyer willing to fight. Under Arizona’s pure comparative negligence system, even if you share some fault, you’re still entitled to compensation.
Small Cases Deserve Big Efforts
The amount of your medical bills shouldn’t dictate the quality of your legal representation. At GAMESQ, we limit our caseload to a maximum of 60 open matters so that every client gets direct access to me—not a case manager, not a paralegal. You get the attorney who graduated from a top-20 law school and has handled over 60 personal injury arbitrations across virtually every Arizona county.
Preparation Is Everything
Using tools like PowerPoint presentations and narrative scripts can change the outcome of a legal proceeding. This isn’t about flashy courtroom drama—it’s about clear, organized, professional advocacy that respects the arbitrator’s time and makes your case impossible to ignore.
Insurance Companies Aren’t Invincible
They often waste more money fighting a fair claim than they would have spent settling it. In this case, the insurance company ended up paying 46% more than what we would have accepted during pre-litigation negotiations—plus over $1,100 in additional costs. Their stubbornness was their downfall.
Your Injuries, Our Fight, Your Win
At GAMESQ, I have built this practice on the promise that I am going to fight every case. If it has value to you, it has value to me. Whether it’s a multi-million dollar car accident case or a smaller arbitration, if the circumstances are right, I will take it all the way to the finish line.
My name is Garrick McFadden. I’m an AV-rated Phoenix car accident lawyer and the founder of Arizona’s only Black-owned personal injury law firm. Our motto is simple: Your injuries. Our fight. Your win. We don’t back down, we don’t settle for less than you deserve, and we never let an insurance company strip away your dignity.
If you’ve been in a car accident in Arizona and an insurance company is lowballing you—or offering you nothing at all—call GAMESQ at 623-233-4416 for a free consultation. We’ll meet with you within 12 hours of your call.
Watch the full video where I break down this arbitration win:
Garrick McFadden is an AV-rated personal injury attorney, USC Law School graduate, and founder of GAMESQ, PLC—Arizona’s only Black-owned personal injury law firm. He is a former Progressive Insurance defense attorney and Deloitte tax attorney with over 23 years of legal experience. GAMESQ, PLC is located at 2330 N. 75th Ave., Suite 211, Phoenix, AZ 85035. Call 623-233-4416 for a free consultation.