By Adam Dodson | The Selma Times-Journal

A Dallas County jury took only minutes to levy a judgment of $500,000 against Allstate insurance company after they found the insurer to be negligent in covering one of their insured after he was injured in an automobile accident.

William Dillard was awarded the judgment after his attorneys proved his policy included coverage for damages caused by other motorists who do not have insurance, or are underinsured for their coverage.

In October of 2015, Dillard was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Allstate refused to pay for the damages, despite Dillard having the underinsured motorist provision as part of his policy.

Rick Williams and Tommy Jones of local law firm Pitts, Williams & Jones, represented Dillard in court.

In a statement on the case, Williams spoke about the importance of having uninsured/underinsured coverage as part of an automobile insurance policy.

“In most cases, people purchase underinsured motorist coverage so that they will have money available if they are hurt in an accident by someone who is either uninsured or underinsured,” Williams said. “I would encourage people to check their policies to make sure they have this coverage and make sure they learn more about it if they are unsure.”