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.