Case Result Type: Work Injury

Dave was working at a construction site in Northern Minnesota when a crane malfunctioned and pinned him between the crane and a scissor lift, breaking Dave’s back and lacerating several internal organs. Nate Bjerke sued the contractor that was in charge of the work along with several manufacturers and distributors of the crane and its electrical components. The case settled just before trial for a confidential sum.

Jon was doing his work as a tow truck driver and responding to a call. He stopped at a red light and was leaning over to look at his notepad to get an address when he was impacted from behind, sending his body jolting forward. At first, Jon did not feel that he was injured and got out to look at his vehicle and found no damage to the tow truck. The vehicle that hit him was a smaller sedan; it sustained some damage, but it was not significant. The next day, Jon went to urgent care because he was developing some lower back pain. It did not get better over time, so Jon started a course of treatment and eventually underwent RFN (radiofrequency neurotomy) treatments. These treatments relieved the pain by burning a nerve in the lower back that sends the pain signal to the brain. The treatment was successful, and Jon received a lot of relief.

State Farm insured the driver of the car that hit Jon. They could not understand how Jon could be hurt in the crash given that there was no damage to his large, flat-bed tow truck. State Farm hired a doctor to evaluate whether Jon was injured. State Farm was surprised when their doctor confirmed that Jon was injured in this crash. State Farm still refused to settle, in fact, they hired a biomechanical engineer and paid him over $20,000; he would testify that it was not possible for Jon to be hurt, as there was not enough force involved. State Farm refused to discuss a reasonable settlement, so the case was submitted to a jury in Hennepin County. The jury determined that Jon was, in fact, injured in the crash and that he did require medical care. State Farm provided significant compensation to help him deal with the injury caused by the crash.

SM was on the job as a landscaper. He was driving a work vehicle and was hit by another truck. He suffered general neck and back pain with an associated concussion from hitting the windshield. Work comp paid the bills and wage loss. Partner Steven Terry secured a “new money” settlement of $125,000.00 with a reduced amount repaid to work comp pursuant to the Lambertson formula.

Damian was injured in a severe crash while traveling to a client’s house for work. The bills were paid by workers’ compensation. He was treated by numerous doctors trying many kinds of therapy and treatments to relieve his chronic neck and back pain. He also had significant issues with depression related to being in daily chronic pain. Damian attended a chronic pain clinic. The liability case settled for $100,000. Damian paid off and purchased the workers’ compensation subrogation interest.

The underinsured motorist case was then pursued against Damian’s insurance company, Allstate. Allstate refused to offer one penny of the $50,000 policy limits. Attorney Rich Ruohonen tried this case to a Hennepin County jury, resulting in a verdict of over $188,000. Allstate refused to accept the award and appealed the case. Damian won the appeal and Allstate ended up paying the entire $50,000 policy limits along with an additional $13,000 in costs and interest.

Joe was seriously burned in a workplace accident while he was installing a loading dock door. Joe had hired a lawyer from a different law firm who did not do much work on the case. After waiting a long time to get the case settled, Joe fired his former lawyer and hired the law firm of TSR Injury Law to file a third party liability claim. Upon firing the former lawyer, Joe learned for the first time that the insurance company had made an offer to settle his case in the amount of $25,000.

When Partner Chuck Slane took over the case, they had to recreate the file and investigate the accident several years after it had taken place. During the course of that investigation, it was discovered that the defendant had violated numerous OSHA rules which led to Joe’s injuries. The insurance company raised their offer to $100,000. That offer was rejected and the case was tried to a jury which found the Defendant 100% responsible for the accident and gave a verdict in the amount of $1.9 million.

Michael was a driver of a commercial vehicle. Another vehicle swerved into his lane and side-swiped him, which caused him to go off of the road and hit a concrete median. He did not have immediate pain symptoms, but over a period of time his injuries continued to get worse and MRIs of his neck and lower back showed injury to the spine, including herniations, requiring both neck and lower back surgery.

Michael’s original medical bills were covered under workers’ compensation (handled by another law firm). Partner Steve Terry then negotiated an assignment of the workers’ compensation subrogation claim. The total medical and wage loss paid by the workers’ comp carrier was close to $240,000.

The bodily injury claim quickly settled with American Family Insurance for policy limits of $100,000, but the underinsured claim against The Hartford took more time. The Hartford started offering $50,000 and the matter was eventually settled for $400,000. The total amount received by Michael was nearly $750,000 from workers’ comp, bodily injury, and underinsured.