Case Results
Automobile Accident
Client: 57-year-old male
Injury: Bilateral pelvic fractures, meniscus injury to knee, possible rib fractures, aggravation of pre-existing low back pain, and a closed head injury.
Total Settlement: $295,000
County of Accident: Hennepin
Description: A 57-year-old male from Le Sueur, Minnesota, was hit broadside by a driver who ran a red light. Suffering pelvic fractures, and confined to bed, he was hospitalized for four days. However, his closed head injury was not addressed for over eight months after the accident and was then managed with speech therapy. Prior to this accident, the client was on full disability but had just been hired to start a part-time job. The negligent driver had inadequate insurance coverage of only $50,000. Those policy limits were collected, and an underinsured claim was successfully pursued with recovery of $245,000 out of a $250,000 policy. Despite his previous disability, we were successful in assisting our client obtain weekly wage-loss benefits due to his inability to start the part-time job.
Automobile Accident
Client: 62-year-old retired male
Injury: Neck and shoulder injuries
Total Verdict: $123,258
Total Settlement: $100,000
County of Accident: Le Sueur
Description: Our client was injured in a low impact rear end accident and suffered neck and shoulder injuries, which later required surgery. Despite a history of neck and shoulder complaints by our client, the policy limits of $50,000 were recovered from the negligent driver. Our client had an underinsured policy with limits of $50,000. An underinsured claim was pursued, with a demand made for the full policy limits of $50,000. However, the client’s insurance company immediately denied the claim stating his injuries were not related to the accident. The jury found the injuries were from the accident and awarded over $123,000, although only $50,000 could be collected due to the limits of the policy.
Automobile Accident
Client: 78-year-old female
Injury: Multiple injuries, including fractured ribs, pelvic fractures, right knee injury, severe bruising, and an aggravation of her diabetes.
Total Settlement: $283,878
County of Accident:
Description: Our client was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit by a semitrailer that failed to stop for a posted stop sign. Client was hospitalized for 10 days, then spent two months recuperating in a nursing home. Later, she underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, followed by knee replacement. The treating doctor assessed the knee replacement surgery was 50 percent causally related to the accident. Medical bills were $58,000.
Automobile Accident
Client: 21-year-old male
Injury: Closed head injury and low back injury.
Total Settlement: $50,079
County of Accident: Blue Earth
Description: Plaintiff was on-the-job and injured in an auto accident when his vehicle was hit by a driver who failed to stop for a red light. Plaintiff initially suffered a closed head injury, with disorientation at the scene of the accident. He was hospitalized overnight and had full recovery of this injury. For his soft tissue low back injury he was treated with physical therapy. Defendant denied liability. At trial, the jury found Defendant 100 percent responsible for the accident and awarded Plaintiff over $50,000.
Wrongful Death
Total Settlement: $600,000
County of Accident: Nicollet
Description: A 56-year-old male and his 54-year-old wife from New Ulm, Minnesota, were killed when a negligent driver crossed the centerline and hit the couple head-on. The policy limits of the negligent driver were collected, $100,000 per victim, for a total of $200,000. The deceased couple had an underinsured policy with limits of $250,000 per person, $500,000 per event. An underinsured claim was made and $400,000 was recovered.
Wrongful Death
Total Settlement: $250,000
County of Accident: Isanti
Description: A 43-year-old woman, her unborn child, and 4-year-old daughter were killed when a negligent driver crossed the centerline and hit the women head-on. The woman was eight months pregnant. Her spouse, a brother, three sisters and mother survived her. The negligent driver was not insured and had no assets. The vehicle Decedent was driving had uninsured policy limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per event. A settlement of $250,000 was obtained representing payment of the full policy limits of $100,000 each for the mother’s and the daughter’s death and $50,000 for the death of the unborn child.
Wrongful Death
Total Settlement: $429,695
County of Accident: Sibley
Description: Our client, a 62-year-old retired male from Mankato, was killed in a three-vehicle accident. A negligent driver failed to stop, hitting an oncoming boom truck. The boom truck tipped over, colliding with our client’s vehicle. Three people were killed in this accident, and another driver was severely injured. The policy limits of the defendant were split among the parties involved and an underinsured claim was successfully pursued for our client.
Wrongful Death
Total Settlement: $616,667
County of Accident: Berrien County, Michigan
Description: Our clients were the family members of a 21-year-old college student who was killed when the vehicle he was riding in went out of control, left the roadway, and was struck by oncoming semitrailer trucks. The young man was among a group of students traveling out of state for a college engineering competition. The policy limits for the college and the state totaled $1.5 million. This was divided among the parties involved, which included two other deaths and several other injured students. A claim is still pending with the insurers for the semitrailers; it is expected an underinsured claim will be pursued.
Automobile Accident
Client: 48-year-old female
Injury: Fractured jaw, fractured patella, loss of several teeth.
Total Settlement: $334,095
County of Accident: Freeborn
Description: Our client was the driver of a car that was struck head-on by a driver who crossed the centerline on a snow- covered roadway. Our client required two jaw surgeries, reconstructive braces, restorative crowns, bridgework and knee surgery. The driver of the vehicle causing the accident had inadequate insurance coverage. After collecting the policy limits of the negligent driver, we pursued an underinsured claim for our client. At trial, our client’s insurance company tried to claim that our client was more at fault than the driver who crossed the centerline. The jury found the driver who crossed the centerline 100 percent at fault and returned a verdict completely in favor of our client.
Slip and Fall
Client: 72-year-old female
Injury: Fractured hip.
Total Settlement: $97,500
County of Accident: Freeborn
Description: Our client fell as she exited a business at night through a door leading to the sidewalk. Outside the door was a drop-off to the sidewalk, but there were no warning signs and the area was unlit. The woman, being unaware of the drop-off, fell to the ground and fractured her hip.
Automobile Accident
Client: 42-year-old female
Injury: Herniated disk, closed head injury, laceration.
Total Settlement: $293,000
County of Accident: Waseca
Description: Our client lost control of her vehicle when she swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle that crossed the centerline. The driver of the other vehicle did not stop and was never identified. Other than our client and her 11-year-old daughter who was a passenger, there were no eyewitnesses to the accident. Our client pursued a claim for uninsured motorist benefits. However, our client’s insurance company denied the existence of another vehicle or that if another vehicle was present it could not have been the cause of the accident, and the claim was denied. The matter went to trial, and the jury returned a verdict completely in favor of our client finding that the unidentified vehicle did exist, and it was 100 percent the cause of the accident.