Case Result Type: Car Accident

Cindi was hit by a SMART car that was pushed into her when it was rear-ended by semi-truck at a high rated of speed. Cindi suffered a mild traumatic brain injury with post-concussive syndrome and significant neck and back pain. She received significant therapies, and also trigger point and occipital nerve block injections. Cindi had ongoing neck and upper back pain but most of the residuals from the traumatic brain injury were better with the exception of ongoing headaches. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for $190,000.

Terry was rear-ended while driving in Mankato in 2017. She was working with a lawyer who did not have any luck getting the insurance company to offer a fair settlement. That lawyer called TSR Injury Law partner Nate Bjerke to help with the case. Because courts were not holding jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nate convinced the insurance company to agree to a binding arbitration. The arbitrator awarded $225,000. The highest offer before arbitration was $10,000.

Maridell was a passenger in her boyfriend’s car when he ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle. Maridell was paralyzed from the waist down and had several hundred thousand dollars worth of medical bills, which were eventually paid by health insurance and Medicare.

Maridell was reluctant to sue her boyfriend for his negligence. Eventually, Maridell’s son took over and allowed TSR Injury Law to go forward in a comprehensive manner. An accident reconstruction was preformed, and it was determined that Maridell’s boyfriend was the majority at fault, but the other driver failed to take any type of evasive maneuvers. Even though the other driver had the right of way, photo and skid mark analysis proved the second driver was not keeping a proper lookout.

Because of the severity of the injuries, we were able to secure the full $100,000 policy limit from the other driver, as well as collect $250,000 from the vehicle Maridell was riding in. Although the total of $350,000 settlement was not a full reimbursement of what she was owed for her injuries, we had collected from every insurance policy available. Partner Steve Terry was then able to negotiate with Medicare and create a special needs trust so that Maridell was able to receive most of the compensation and also keep her federal government benefits, which could have been extinguished due to the large settlement.

Sheila was coming out of a Lund’s grocery store when an inattentive driver turned out of parking row and ran into her. She suffered serious ankle and tibia/fibula fractures and had three separate surgeries. The first surgery was to stabilize the fracture with an external fixator, the second surgery was for internal fixation with a plate and several screws, and the third surgery was to remove the metal hardware in the leg and ankle. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for $325,000.

Amanda was injured as a result of negligent driver. She had recent back fusion surgery for an unrelated condition just prior to being in this car crash. A screw from that surgery was broken in the car crash resulting in the need for an additional surgery and fusion at an additional level of her spine. She also had other injections and therapies for ongoing pain. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for a total of $300,000.

In August 2020, Partner Rich Ruohonen had a three-day trial in Hennepin County. This was the first civil trial in the State of Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was different – plexiglass was everywhere, masks were mandatory, and jurors were sitting spread out around the courtroom and forced to stand behind the podium. We all felt safe with the precautions taken but it was weird! TSR continues to be a great leader in our civil justice system!

Rich and his client Sarah crushed the Good Neighbor (State Farm) for $260,000, 26 times the offer made. This was an uninsured motorist claim, so it was a direct claim against her own insurance company State Farm. You do not get Jake from State Farm when you file a claim with State Farm. Instead, they call you a liar, they tell you that you are not hurt or if you were it was only for six weeks, they say it was all preexisting and then they pay a lot of money to hire a doctor to say the same thing. So, sometimes you have to let the people of your community speak. And they did, and did it loudly with masks on. They told State Farm the way it treated its own customer was not acceptable.

Denise was a passenger in a vehicle when the vehicle was hit by a man trying to elude the police after they attempted to pull him over for a traffic infraction. Instead of pulling over, the defendant initiated a high speed chase and struck the vehicle Denise was riding in. Denise sustained a brain injury that caused her to fall into a coma.

Denise’s mother originally hired a different law firm, but the law firm wouldn’t even send a lawyer out to meet with the family. One of the staff members did try to sign up the case, but Denise’s mother determined she wanted someone that would be a little more hands-on and aggressive. Partner Steve Terry was hired and our investigation quickly revealed there were numerous policies that would come into effect.

The type of injury was not in dispute. The question was how many insurance policies would assist Denise in her recovery. We received $100,000 from the owner of the vehicle, with $50,000 coming from the driver’s personal coverage. We received $50,000 for underinsured, as well as $18,389.25 in PIP benefits and $18,000 in wage loss benefits. Medical assistance paid for all of Denise’s medical bills and, in fact, still pays for the bills. The total amount of settlement was $236,389. This amount was put into a special needs trust so that Denise could continue to receive State of Minnesota medical benefits as well as social security benefits. In addition, a special trustee was appointed that allows her mother to receive money for Denise’s daily needs.

Mary was on her way to work when she was struck head-on by a vehicle that crossed the center line. The vehicle was owned by a car dealership, and one of their employees was driving drunk. Mary sustained injuries to her hand and was unconscious at the scene. She then developed symptoms of memory loss and strange behavior. She was diagnosed with a TBI, traumatic brain injury. She suffered with depression and the loss of the ability to carry on her cleaning business.

The insurance carrier disputed the brain injury, but after several medical exams and depositions, they finally conceded. Steve Terry got the case settled for $217,866.65.

Partner Rich Ruohonen represented Sabina. She was a passenger in her husband’s vehicle when he attempted to pass another vehicle while in a legal passing zone. While they were passing, a truck pulled out onto the highway, causing an immediate collision.

Sabina suffered a non-dominant, left humerus fracture which required open reduction internal fixation with the use of a plate and six screws. The fracture caused mild radial nerve injury, resulting in ongoing pain. She also suffered a soft tissue injury in her shoulder on the same side.

She incurred approximately $99,500 in medical bills and lost wages, most of it covered by no-fault. Sabina settled with her husband’s insurer for the policy limits of $30,000. The defendant offered only $85,000 to settle this case prior to trial. Sabina and Rich declined this ridiculously low offer and tried the case against the driver of the truck.

The case was tried to a Barron County jury with co-counsel Mark Yira of Yira Law Offices. The jury found 75% fault on the truck driver and 25% fault on Sabina’s husband. The jury awarded a total of $216,163.71. Ultimately, the amount paid was approximately double the final offer made by the defendant’s insurance. This is believed to be the largest Plaintiff’s verdict in Barron County, Wisconsin in several years.

Lori was injured in a simple rear-end car accident and she had an injury to the facet joints in her neck. The person that caused the accident had a minimum limit insurance policy of $30,000. They refused to make payment of that policy limit despite the fact that Lori would need significant medical care in the future.

Lori and Attorney Chuck Slane refused to accept payment of less than the policy limit and the case was submitted to trial in front of a jury. The jury returned a verdict of $128,000.

We then submitted a claim to Lori’s own personal insurance carrier and received payment in the amount of $80,000 and an assignment of their right to be paid back from the person who caused the accident. We then took that agreement and got the insurance company for the woman who caused the accident to pay the full amount of the judgment: $128,000. As a result, the minimum policy limit was transformed into $128,000 in coverage. Lori was also able to collect an additional $80,000 in coverage from her own insurance company.