Minnesota Personal
Injury Lawyers

Rich suffered a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg following a recreational vehicle crash caused by a defective control mechanism. Partner Rich Ruohonen litigated this case extensively for several months. The case settled for $3,750,000.

Virginia was a 53-year old nurse who was rear-ended by a semi-truck on highway 94 at highway speeds.  She was hit so hard that her vehicle was pushed into a truck in front of her which pushed into another car, thereby totaling all three vehicles. 

At the scene Virginia was disoriented but it is unknown whether she lost consciousness.  She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  She had significant treatment over the next several months for a mild traumatic brain injury and neck and back injuries.  She now has trigger point injections every three months for ongoing neck and back pain along with occipital nerve blocks for intense headaches resulting after the traumatic brain injury.  She takes significant medications for pain, headaches and other complications form the mild traumatic brain injury.  Her home life and relationships were affected considerably.  While she is able to work, it requires an heightened level of attention and focus resulting in worsening fatigue and requiring significant rest on her off days.  She also suffered from PTSD and anxiety as a result of the crash and her injuries.  She also has some vision loss in one eye in the lower right quadrant.

Virginia was just starting a second job as a nurse where she anticipated working substantially more than full time between the two jobs.  Following her recovery from this crash, she was out of work for almost 10 months and could only get back to 24 hours a week, which is a permanent restriction requiring a day off between shifts due to her traumatic brain injury and significant fatigue. Her wage loss was substantial.  Three coworkers and supervisors testified as to her significant problems at work and changes in her previous abilities as a nurse before she was injured in this crash.  Her husband and daughter also testified as to her changes in personality, home life and cognitive deficiencies.  Her husband suffered significant damages for loss of consortium as well, due to his wife’s changes in personalities and abilities. 

Virginia’s neurologist, psychologist, and internist all wrote reports confirming the ongoing and permanent nature of her brain injury, PTSD and anxiety condition, fatigue, and neck and back injuries.

The trucking company admitted the crash was the fault of its driver, but refused to agree that her injuries were as significant as alleged or that she had a significant wage loss.  They hired a neuropsychologist who stated that Virginia did not have an ongoing cognitive injury from her traumatic brain injury.  They also argued the ongoing damages in the case were fairly minimal and that she had fully recovered from the injuries she suffered in the crash.

Partner, Rich Ruohonen, represented Virginia from the beginning of the case and worked on the case for four years.  The parties agreed to enter binding arbitration on the case with a three-attorney panel to make the decision regarding the amount of damages in this case. The case was tried to this panel of arbitrators in a full-day hearing and resulted in an significant award for Virginia and her husband.  The following amounts were awarded:

Past Medical Expenses: $116,784.10

Past loss of earnings: $400,000

Future earning capacity loss: $550,000

Future medical expenses: $100,000

Past pain, disability, emotional distress and embarrassment: $500,000

Future pain, disability, emotional distress and embarrassment: $750,000

Past Loss of Consortium: $225,000

Future Loss of Consortium: $400,000

Total Award in this case was $3,041,784.10, which will compensate Virginia for her significant loss resulting from being hit by this semi-truck.  Virginia now recovered a significant portion of her lost wages and future losses, which will help her go on her with her life.  This was a four-year battle with the trucking company, which finally resulted in a tremendous and deserving award for Virginia and her husband. 

Vic and Tracy were injured in a significant motorcycle accident. Each of them broke several bones that required multiple surgeries. When TSR Injury Law and Partner Chuck Slane were initially hired, there was concern that there would not be sufficient insurance coverage available. We undertook an investigation of the case and determined that the young lady that was driving the vehicle that caused the crash had only a driver’s permit and her driving was being supervised by her grandfather. Because of these facts, we were able to double the insurance limits that were available to this young driver. In addition, we learned that the driver resided in a household separate from her grandfather and thus, another policy was accessed.

The claim was resolved when the insurance carriers agreed to double their policy limits and they eventually paid out over 2.8 million dollars to compensate Vic and Tracy.

Julia was a passenger on a golf cart. She was ejected from the golf cart when the driver took a sharp turn. The driver of cart was intoxicated and he admitted Julia was thrown out to the right when he turned to the left. He later changed his story. Rich Ruohonen and Nate Maus worked up this case over a few years and litigated this matter, settling shortly before trial. TSR hired numerous experts to prove her ejection was the fault of the driver and the owner of the golf cart. Julia hit her head on the cart path and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. She had subarachnoid hemorrhaging and subdural hematomas. She underwent a craniectomy where part of the skull is removed for a few weeks, to allow for the brain to swell, and later put back on to her head after the swelling subsides. Julia had seizures and has no memory of the first few months in the hospital and a rehabilitation center. She had medical bills of approximately $700,000, most of which were incurred in the first six months following the golf cart crash. Julia has significant ongoing symptoms including loss of cognitive and executive function, personality and behavioral changes, fatigue, loss of motivation, memory problems, dizziness, inability to learn new information, retrieve information, and numerous other issues. The case was settled for $2,750,000 during an all-day mediation.

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.