Case Results

The client was a passenger in a semi riding with her boyfriend at the time of an accident. Her boyfriend the driver was not paying attention when he rear-ended the trailer of another semi on the interstate. The client reached out to brace herself on the dashboard and suffered a broken hand requiring surgery. The claim was asserted under the commercial policy for the semi she was occupying as a passenger at the time of the accident. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $201,000.

The client was a passenger in a semi at the time of injury. As a result of a defective door latch on the passenger side of the semi-tractor, the client fell out of the moving semi. Client suffered a concussion and did have shoulder surgery as result of the incident. The commercial insurance carrier initially denied any insurance coverage because the passenger was not an employee lawfully occupying the semi-tractor at the time of the incident. Because the passenger was in the semi-tractor with the permission and consent of the driver, the denial of coverage was reversed by the commercial insurance carrier. The case was resolved for $194,500.

The client was rear-ended by a distracted driver while at a complete stop in a construction zone on the interstate. The client had appropriately come to a stop as a result of road construction which was taking place. The at-fault driver was not paying attention and did not notice the stopped vehicles in the clearly marked construction zone. The client did have minor back surgery as a result of the incident. The case was resolved for $170,000.

The client was a teenage boy playing basketball at a local youth center. The youth center had a leaking roof with water accumulating on the basketball court. The youth center was aware of the roof leaking and did nothing to remedy or repair the leak. The youth center also failed to prevent use of the basketball court during the leaking conditions, even though that condition was known. The client sustained a knee injury when in the course of a basketball game, he slipped on the accumulated water and struck his knee causing a substantial injury. A settlement was obtained in the amount of $160,000.

Client was a six-year-old girl that was a back seat passenger in a vehicle which rolled off the highway. She sustained a concussion when she was thrown inside the vehicle. A claim was asserted against the driver for not only negligence but also failure to have the child properly restrained in a car seat. Settlement for this young victim was obtained in the amount of $145,000.

A driver was at a complete stop when they were rear-ended by another driver that was texting and not paying attention. There was substantial property damage. The client had a concussion as well as neck injury not requiring surgery. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $130,000.

The client was struck while riding his bicycle in a congested city area. The bicyclist did nothing wrong as he proceeded through the intersection on a green light. The driver of a motor vehicle was making a right turn and failed to look for bicycle or pedestrian traffic causing. As the driver made his right turn without looking, he struck the bicyclist and knock the bicyclist to the ground. Because the driver had looked where he was turning, he was unaware initially he struck the bicyclist and as a result dragged the bicyclist a substantial distance. The bicyclist suffered several broken bones but no surgery was required. The case was resolved for $130,000.

The client was a passenger in a car that rear-ended another vehicle. The client passenger was obtaining a ride from a family member. The passenger was unaware the driver was under the influence of illicit drugs. Although the insurance company initially denied any coverage, it was proven the passenger was completely unaware of the driver’s drug use prior to getting the vehicle. The client did undergo minor surgical procedure as a result of the accident. The case was resolved for a total of $130,000.

The client was at a complete stop for a stop sign in traffic. The vehicle stopped in front of him began pulling out into the roadway and realized a large semi was coming high rate of speed. That driver slammed his vehicle in reverse to avoid the collision with the semi and instead struck the client’s stationary vehicle while moving backward. As a result of the at fault driver pulling in front of an oncoming semi thereby requiring the evasive action of throwing his vehicle in reverse, the client suffered a minor injury to his knee requiring a minor surgical procedure. That case was eventually resolved for $52,300.

The client was injured while a passenger in a vehicle which left the roadway and struck an embankment. Client did have minor shoulder surgery as a result of the automobile accident where she was a passenger. It was unknown to the passenger that the driver had been drinking before providing a ride to the passenger. The passenger was completely unaware as to the extent of the alcohol consumption by the driver in advance of the accident. The insurance company initially denied any coverage whatsoever as a result of the driver’s intoxication and asserted the passenger should have been aware the driver was intoxicated and impaired. Through significant investigation, it was shown the passenger was unaware of the driver’s alcohol consumption. The case was resolved in the total amount of $130,000.

While working as a farm hand on a small North Dakota farm, the client suffered a compound fracture of his lower leg as a result of being struck by an auger which was accidentally activated by another coworker. Because this was a small North Dakota farm, there was no worker compensation coverage. The claim was a basic negligence claim under the farm negligence policy. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $118,000 for this leg injury.

Client was stopped waiting to make a turn on the highway. He was rear-ended by an intoxicated driver at a high rate of speed. The injuries were soft-tissue in nature. The at fault intoxicated driver was not only intoxicated but driving at a speed of approximately 100 miles per hour and had a prior history of alcohol offenses. The case was settled for $100,000.

The client and his wife were driving down a roadway in North Dakota when another driver pulled out from a stop sign directly into their oncoming path failing to yield the right-of-way. A significant accident occurred between the vehicles. The client was an elderly gentleman who sustained a broken leg. He was confined to a wheelchair for approximately three months given his age and issues with his broken leg. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $99,000.

The client was standing in the parking lot of a large commercial business having a conversation with an acquaintance he came across in the parking lot. While standing and speaking to his friend, the client was struck by a driver pulling into a parking spot when that driver pinned the client between the driver’s vehicle and a parked vehicle. The pumpers caused an injury to the client’s knees which did not result in surgery or any broken bones. However, the client did have a significant soft-tissue injury to his knees as a result of being pinned between these vehicles by the negligent driver. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $70,000.

Client was a resident of an apartment building where the sidewalk was in significant disrepair. The property owner was aware of the deteriorated sidewalk and despite numerous complaints from residents, failed to repair the condition of the deteriorating sidewalk which included exposed rebar. While walking on the sidewalk, the client fell when her foot struck the exposed rebar. She fell to the ground and required a minor shoulder surgery procedure. The case was resolved for $63,000.

Client was in the course of his employment regarding a fuel delivery a commercial business site. The commercial business site did not have a safe or appropriate manner to access its fuel tanks requiring the employee to hoist himself onto a platform while carrying a heavy fuel delivery hose. The employee was injured in the course of the fuel delivery and suffered soft tissue injuries. The case was resolved for $61,000.

The client tripped over a utility wire which had been left by a local utility company across a public walking path. The wire had been buried but became dislodged and posed a hazard across the walking path. The client was walking his dog at night when he tripped on the wire while on the walkway which had been negligently left by the utility company. The client sustained a concussion and settlement was obtained in the amount of $55,000.

The client was walking to her apartment building when she fell on the sidewalk as a result of significant deterioration in the condition of the sidewalk. She suffered a broken wrist which did not require surgery. Insurance carrier for the apartment initially denied coverage for the injury. It was discovered through the information gathering that the property owner had obtained bids for repairing the dangerous condition but felt the bids were too high so the owner never made the necessary repairs. The case was resolved the total amount of $45,000.

Client was involved in a car accident involving a driver that went through a red light. One of her front teeth was knocked out as a result of the incident. Settlement was obtained in the amount of $45,000.

The client was dropping off his vehicle at a motor vehicle repair shop. The shop was performing repairs which included the removal of a drainage cover on the floor. The shop did not have any warning signs or orange cones indicating the floor drain cover had been removed. The client was walking across the floor and stepped in a normal area of travel when his foot went into the area where the floor drain cover should have been located. The client sustained soft-tissue injuries to his back as a result of stepping into the drain up to his hip. The claim was resolved against the property owner for $40,000.

The client was a Highway Patrol officer stopped by the side of the road when he was rear-ended by a driver not paying attention. The officer was stopped on the side of the highway with his lights activated responding to another vehicle which had to ditch. The at fault driver was either not paying attention or distracted and rear-ended at the officers patrol vehicle high rate of speed. The law firm obtained a settlement of $40,000 plus all medical expenses paid separately for soft-tissue back injuries.

The client was a woman with no prior farming experience or experience with animals. She was asked to assist in regard to gathering cattle for loading and shipment related to sale. She ended up being kicked by one of the animals in the knee causing an injury requiring minor surgery. The case was settled for $39,500.

The law firm represented the family of a 16 year old who died as a result of being given a mixture of chemicals constituting a drug without his knowledge. The drugs were a lethal mix of chemicals being mixed at home where it was apparent drug manufacturing was taking place. The claim was made under that homeowner policy for negligence regarding the homeowner. It was alleged in the policy that the homeowner was negligent for allowing drug manufacturing to take place in the home. Coverage was initially denied by the home owner insurance carrier on the basis drug manufacturing was excluded under the policy. A substantial settlement was obtained for the family related to the death of this young man. This was one of the first successful cases in Minnesota involving a successful negligence claim as a result of the manufacture of unlawful drugs. As a result of the precedent set in this important case, a number of other settlements were obtained by the law firm involving the death of other young adults under similar circumstances involving the manufacturer of lethal substances.

A claim was asserted against a life insurance company regarding the death of the named insured. That named insured had a life insurance policy through the company. The company denied coverage under the policy on the grounds the decedent committed suicide within the initial policy period, thereby voiding the life insurance policy. There were facts presented in the investigation which showed that although the decedent contributed to his death, he did not commit suicide. Our office represented the surviving two children of the decedent since both were beneficiaries under this life insurance policy. A claim against was asserted the life insurance policy contending its denial of coverage was improper. The life insurance company reversed its position and paid all death benefits plus attorney fees and interest for the stated amount of the death benefit as a result of the litigation.

The client owned a small home in a rural area. The home was used for occasional rental on a periodic basis. The client never occupied the home as his residence and had a completely separate home in which he lived. Given the rural nature of the home, it was vandalized and set on fire by a group of unknown individuals. The homeowner did have insurance coverage for any damage or destruction to the property. Because the home was clearly destroyed as an intentional act, the insurance company denied any coverage whatsoever and refused to pay the homeowner for the damage to the property caused by the vandalism. Through extensive litigation it was proven that the home burned as a result of vandalism rather than any actions on the part of the homeowner. The litigation brought about a reversal of the denial of coverage and payment for the full loss of home was issued by the insurance company under the insurance policy.