Case Result Type: Personal Injury

Adam was at an outdoor concert when bad weather came in and blew down a promotional tent. The tent pole hit Adam in the side of the head, damaging his brain and spinal cord. The bar that held the event denied responsibility, blaming the weather and everyone else they could find. TSR Injury Law partner Nate Bjerke started a lawsuit and unearthed facts that showed the bar was told to have a plan to take the tent down if bad weather was in the forecast, but the bar chose not to do so. The case resolved for a confidential seven-figure sum after a binding arbitration.

A retired man was at a discount store buying supplies for his granddaughter’s kindergarten class when a store employee picked a fight with a customer. The customer, after being beaten by three store employees, came back into the store with a gun and started shooting. The retired man was hit by a stray bullet and was killed. Lyndsey Jorgensen and Nate Bjerke started a lawsuit for the man’s family and proved that if the store had followed its own safety protocols, the shooting never would have happened. The case settled for a confidential sum.

Partner Rich Ruohonen represented two minors who were assaulted and abused by an employee of juvenile detention center called the Hills in Duluth, Minnesota. These minors were in the Hills for legal issues and were serving time related to court-ordered juvenile detention. These cases were settled for confidential amounts to the satisfaction of the clients involved in both cases.

J.D., a minor, suffered salmonella poisoning from a local Chinese buffet restaurant. He spent five days in the hospital with severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. He had ongoing fatigue and general malaise for about two weeks following this food poisoning. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for $85,000.

W.P. was 4 year-old playing in his back yard sandbox when a neighbors cat, who was often allowed to roam the neighborhood free, jumped the fence and attacked W.P. causing facial lacerations. W.P. had some mild scarring as a result of this vicious cat attack. The case was sued out by Partner Rich Ruohonen and settled for $60,000.

A father in his late 30s was working at an open mining pit, stacking a heavy conveyor belt onto a truck. He and the construction team were using a front-end loader to raise the conveyor onto the truck when the hydraulics on the loader failed, causing the conveyor to fall and crush the young father. Nate investigated the incident for the family and, with the help of an engineering expert, determined that there was a defect in the hydraulic system that caused the failure. The case settled without a lawsuit for a confidential seven-figure sum.

Jack fell off of a stairway when leaving a customer’s home. There was no guardrail to protect him from falling off the stairway platform. He suffered a fractured talus. This injury took months to heal. He suffered through intense pain and fracture blisters. American Family offered only $80,000, arguing Jack would be found to be largely at fault for his fall. Attorney Rich Ruohonen and Jack refused this offer. A Hennepin County jury returned a verdict of over $156,000 with only a 10% finding of fault on Jack.

C.L. was hit by a golf cart driven by an employee while attending a baseball tournament in Cooperstown, New York. The place where this injury occurred had over 100 baseball teams every week with thousands of kids who stay in dormitories and played baseball on a weekly basis. C.L. suffered a broken femur, which required surgical repair with one screw being put in to stabilize the femur fracture. The screw was taken out several weeks later. C.L. really had no ongoing problems following the removal of the screw. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for $110,000.

Jordan was only six when he was severely injured in an elevator incident. He and some friends were going up to the sixth floor of a building to visit another friend. The elevator malfunctioned and got stuck in between floors. Jordan and his friends pried the doors open and tried to climb out onto the floor. Unfortunately, Jordan was unable to do this and fell three stories down the elevator shaft. Jordan suffered a fractured skull and had a documented brain injury. His mother had to take one year off from work to help care for Jordan, but through the good work of Hennepin County Medical Center, Jordan was able to go back to school, regaining 97 percent of his mental functioning and most of his physical functioning.

Jordan’s case took eight years to wrap up, mainly because it is hard to document a brain injury for a child. Jordan had prior Attention Deficit Disorder issues and the insurance company argued that his current symptomology was caused by the ADD and not the fall. Testimony from numerous HCMC doctors supported a brain injury and a settlement was achieved of approximately $350,000. Because Jordan was a minor at the time of settlement, Partner Steve Terry created a qualified assignment annuity that allowed Jordan to receive smaller amounts of payments from age 18 to 30. In addition, Jordan’s mother was compensated for the time she missed from work and for all of her out-of-pocket medical expenses. After the annuity was set up, the $350,000 settlement had a projected value of approximately $850,000 by the time it paid out.

DP was a young man injured by another kid. He was a birthday party and another (uninvited) kid threw a hammer at his head. The hammer caused significant injury which required surgery. A claim was made against the hammer thrower’s parent’s homeowner’s insurance. DP made a miraculous recovery that included fully resuming soccer activities in school. He made it back to school and his grades are exceptional. After waiting a few years to make sure there was no residual brain injury, a settlement was reached of over $270,000.00. DP had an annuity set up to make payments (tax free) over time. Partner Steven Terry created a qualified assignment to make sure the entire amount of proceeds were tax free (base investment and the accrued interest).