David A. Payne

Craig & Ofelia Dugal

Hi David,

This letter comes at a very difficult time when we are enveloped with chaos as a result of the injuries sustained by our 9 year old daughter from a 2010 motor vehicle accident.

We’ve only met you in late 2014 after transitioning from another law firm but the work you’ve accomplished is outstanding. In a short period of time, you have fought the battle that we almost doubted you will win (as a result of our bad experience from the previous law firm). David, we are forever grateful for fighting and winning for our family and more importantly, for our daughter. The mental, emotional and financial stress to provide the resources needed to support her treatment in her lifetime has been lifted off our shoulders. The team working behind you is spectacular and are always available when a crisis arises. Because of our daughter’s injuries, we never know when we get hit by a storm but we are confident that we will always have your support. For any family out there that is going through a similar experience, connect with David’s team and you are guaranteed they will fight your fight and advocate for your best interests. We are forever indebted to you for everything you have done for our family.

H. Hargraves

New Years Eve 2000-2001 was almost my final year on this earth. It took one risky turn and before I knew it I was in a Chrysler Malibu and Oldsmobile Aurora sandwich. Sitting in the passenger seat of the Malibu as the Aurora drove broadside into me, and left me with eight fractures to my pelvis, three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken jaw, shattered teeth, bi-lateral nerve damage to my arms, many torn muscles and countless bruises. It took forty five minutes to be cut out of the car, seventy two hours survive, two months of bed rest, three jaw surgeries, two nerve surgeries, dental reconstruction, Post Traumatic Disorder, Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia and eight years of legal battles. Amazing the difference seconds can make in a life.

When it happened my family had no idea what to do, we didn’t even know we should be seeking legal advice, the sheer shock and fear of the situation left us confused and my entire family in shambles. Finally we realized that legal action was necessary. Unfortunately we found a shark, and around the ocean he swam us for three years, slowly eating away at our innocence and fear. Running out of money, help and patience I was quickly, day by day deteriorating, both mentally and physically. The shark hadn’t worked to help me, thus I wasn’t being taken care of by doctors or the insurance company. Within inches of a complete break down I was lead to David Payne by a close family friend.

David turned the lights on. He made things move. He showed me that my life wasn’t over and that there were caring people out there who wanted to help me. Not everyone was out to get me and take advantage of my disadvantage. He got me the doctors I needed, the financial help I needed and more importantly he treated me as a human being, he listened to everything I had to say and never wasted his time or mine to try and tack it onto the bill.

My case was a horrible mess, the insurance company didn’t know who I was. They did not want to know who I was and they tried everything to make my case as difficult as possible, but David never gave up on me. Finally, after eight years of fighting, a settlement was reached and my future was secured. Also, because of the help David had gotten me, via therapists and doctors who cared for my injuries, I was able to reconnect with myself and regain as normal a life as I can after such an ordeal.

David did what a good lawyer is supposed to do and he did it with empathy, ethics and kindness. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards him and his staff.

Carley Ouellette and Family

The very first time I met Laura Parent, I understood what the difference was between our lawyer and David Payne. Laura was the very first person to believe in me and my pain. She told me that David was on our side and that he was going to take care of us. No doubt, he absolutely did.

In 2007, at the age of 12 years old, I was in 2 car accidents 5 weeks apart from each other. The first accident, I was riding my bicycle and I was hit by a woman backing out of her driveway. I had broken my elbow and my growth plates had separated. I was in a cast for 4 weeks. A week after the cast was taken off, we were in another car accident. This time, a car was turning into a parking lot and turned right in front of us. I braced myself but my Mom couldn’t stop and we crashed into their vehicle. Since that moment, I have had constant pain. Three weeks later, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy a.k.a. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. All I knew was that I was in constant 10/10 pain all the time, with no medical professional understanding my injury. Then we met David Payne and our world changed. He was like our guardian angel sent to help us. He believed in my pain and rare condition. He helped us find doctors that understood RSD who could help treat my pain.

With RSD, comes many expensive treatments to help manage chronic pain. On a daily basis, we would be going to either a doctor’s appointment, physiotherapy or any other type of alternative therapy to help manage and keep my mobility. I was considered to be faking, dramatizing and over exaggerating my condition. David always believed in me, and supported every alternative and medical therapy I tired. Without his support, belief and “magic wand” I don’t know where I’d be. I know I would not be nearly as mobile as I am today. He has made sure that I can manage my treatments for a lifetime and I am not going to be a financial burden on my family. I’ve realized how much my Mom has fought for me and she could not have done what she did without David being right beside her. David was our voice to the insurance companies fighting every step of the way for my treatments. Even though I was 12 years old and didn’t necessarily understand his legal conversations with my Mom, who is my litigation guardian, David always took time to translate and help me understand how he was representing me. He always kept me in the loop.

Over the last 5 years, I have the highest utmost respect for you, David. I know that you have always had my best interest at heart and I am so thankful and appreciative for what you have done. I may have to deal with RSD for the rest of my life, but you have made it a lot more manageable.

I know that if someone ever came to me with a personal injury, and needed legal advice, the very first person I would recommend is David Payne.

Thank you David!!!

Kimberly Nelson

They say “among all grey clouds there is a silver lining”….. My grey clouds came in the day my daughter, Carley Ouellette, who was 12 years old at the time, was hit by a vehicle and broke her arm while riding her bike. Just five weeks after that accident we were in another car accident that left my daughter unable to move her left arm. She complained of extreme pain to the point I could not even touch her. After bringing her to several doctors I was then told she had Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy a.k.a Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. caused by the last accident we were in. I was completely at a loss as to how to get treatment for my daughter because the Insurance Company was not validating her injury or the treatments being prescribed to treat her illness. Just six months after the accidents the Insurance Company was denying to pay for treatment plans for my daughter and forcing me to pay for the treatment plans.

I remember the day I was first told about David Payne and yes, it was from another satisfied client. This past client of David’s recognized my frustrations and stress of trying to get care for my daughter. He told me, “if this illness is as bad as you are telling me, you need David Payne representing you and your daughter because he would never allow her treatment to stop. He is a Pit Bull, but if he believes you have a case he will never let you down. Go home, look him up on the internet and tell him I told you to call him.” That night I came straight home, Googled the name David Payne and called him right away. I just so happened to catch him just as he was leaving the office, but he took my call and I explained to him what was going on with my daughter. I remember him saying to me “I’ll be honest I don’t know much about RSD, but no child should be denied and have to live in pain so, yes, I will represent you”.

From the day he took us on as his clients, this was the silver lining in our clouds, almost heaven sent…David. He has always had my daughter’s and family’s’ best interest at heart. When the Insurance Company was denying us treatment, it was as though David had a magic wand, he would wave it and her treatments were suddenly approved. David took away all the stress of dealing with the Insurance Company. This allowed me, as Carley’s Mother, to focus on taking care of my child medically, knowing I was in good hands with David legally.

Although, we still have to deal with Carley’s RSD daily, if it were not for David’s compassion, empathy and belief to fight for an otherwise unheard of disorder like Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy a.k.a Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. I know I would have gone bankrupt trying to manage the necessary daily treatments for Carley. His knowledge and expertise combined with his compassion, empathy and passion to fight for ‘what is right’ is what sets him apart from other personal injury lawyers. I know if I had stayed with the lawyer representing Carley in the very beginning, we would never have seen the type of settlement David was able to win for Carley. David made sure that my daughter will be taken care of financially for life so that she will never have to worry about the financial burden of treatment to manage her pain. David protected my daughter as though she was his own and I am eternally grateful for all that he has done for her.

Yes, being permanently injured in an accident is one of the most horrible and stressful things that can happen to a person, but like I tell my daughter, look at all of the amazing people it has brought into our lives that we otherwise, never would have met such as David Payne.

Thank You David, for being not just a Lawyer, but an Amazing Lawyer!

Shawn, James, Avery, Sofie, Angus and Ellie

It sounds cliché, but my family was living a fairy tale — four beautiful, healthy children; married to my soul mate, all while enjoying a fit healthy life as a Conditioning Specialist. On July 2, 2009 a man drove right through our dreams and thrust my entire family into a world of uncertainty and turmoil. A truck had hit me and I never imagined it would shrink my world with pain, PTSD, depression and anxiety.

A neighbor suggested my husband call a lawyer “in case” I needed therapy in the future. I literally spent the entire summer in bed and my husband called a local lawyer he saw on the back of our phone book. Almost 12 wasted months later I was getting worse and my entire family was sinking with me. A person who cared about me said I needed to contact Mr. David Payne immediately…she knew I was in so much pain and in such distress she made a call to his office and Mr. Payne was at my home virtually the next day. Suddenly I was receiving treatments and benefits I had never had access to with my previous law firm. My husband and children were provided for and cared for in a way that proved to me Mr. Payne and Thomson Rogers truly understood that this accident had injured all six of us profoundly.

Mr. Payne and his team are remarkable people. I always said my husband was my knight in shining armor, but even he says that it was Mr. David Payne that gave us back our happy ending.

With gratitude beyond words,