Results

Shawn was severely injured when he was riding his bicycle on a roadway and a vehicle being driven by a 90 year-old man turned left into his immediate path.  Shawn flew into the air landing on his head and neck. He ended up suffering a traumatic brain injury resulting in numerous cognitive problems including attention, concentration and memory problems. Shawn also had a C1 burst fracture in his neck and two transverse process fractures in his lower neck at C7 and T1. Surgery was not required but he was forced to wear a brace for months. Shawn ended up having radio frequency neurotomies once a year to burn the irritated nerves in his neck. The traumatic brain injury improved with treatment and time, but S.S. continued to experience problems with memory and attention, word finding difficulties and trouble concentrating. Shawn was an avid runner and bicyclist and went on several training runs per week and was likely a top five percent athlete in his age class.  While he got back to some semblance of training, he never attained or competed at the level he did previous to this crash. Rather than try the case to a jury, the parties agreed to binding high/low arbitration with a neutral arbitrator. Partner Rich Ruohonen presented the case during a full-day arbitration that resulted in an award of $750,000.

Plaintiff was a passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend on Highway 55 in Eagan in the middle of the afternoon. The car stalled at the light. The hazard lights were put on. Plaintiff went to look under the hood to see what was wrong while his girlfriend attempted to start the car. The vehicle was rear-ended at highway speeds. Defendant admitted he was looking down at something in his car. Plaintiff was thrown into the engine compartment.

As a result of the crash, Plaintiff sustained a serious traumatic brain injury requiring surgery, a broken nose, cracked ribs, cracked pelvis, bruised lungs and liver, lacerations to his leg, burns from the engine of the vehicle, and numerous other scrapes, cuts and abrasions. He was transported to Regions Hospital and spent about 30 days in the there. He suffered diffuse cerebral edema and a left hemispheric intraparenchymal hemorrhagic foci with a large subdural hematoma. He underwent surgery which included a left frontotemporal parietal craniectomy to relieve swelling, decompression and removal of the subdural hematoma and partial evacuation of the left temporal lobe hematoma. The plan was to save part of the cranium that had been removed and replace it after the swelling subsided. However, the bone ended up getting infected and was not usable. Instead, a couple of months after discharge, he underwent an acrylic cranioplasty. Plaintiff has recovered from most of his injuries, but continues to suffer the effects of the traumatic brain injury. He is able to live on his own and handle all of his daily activities. The case was settled for the liability limits of $500,000 and the UIM limits of $100,000 for a total of $600,000. A large portion of the settlement proceeds were put into a structured annuity.

Josh, pedestrian, was hit by a vehicle after he and the driver exchanged words. Josh was knocked to the ground and hit his head on another car and the pavement. As a result, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. The driver left the scene and was turned in by the passenger a couple of days later. The driver accused the passenger of driving the vehicle, but later plead guilty to an offense involving driving the vehicle. Josh spent four weeks in the hospital. In order to receive special treatments in a hyperbaric chamber involving direct oxygen on his brain, a large piece of his skull was removed and then replaced a few weeks later. Josh experienced a remarkable recovery. He was left with only mild traumatic brain injury residuals. Rich Ruohonen got the case settled for a total of $600,000.

Colten was smashed into by a driver that ran a red light. His body was thrown into the driver’s door and window and Colton’s spine was whipped back and forth. Colten ripped a disc in his low back and the disc pushed up against a nerve. Colten was left with pain that traveled from his back down the back of his leg. The doctors treated the injury by using epidural steroid injections. The treatments provided temporary relief but the injury became chronic.

Allstate offered only $5,000 stating it was just a “soft-tissue injury” and he should get better. Chuck took the case to trial and the jury appraised the value of the harm caused at $597,000.

MD was a teenager who was caught in a snowstorm while trying to get home. He was hit head on by a professional driver who was transporting passengers. The insurance blamed “the kid” and felt their professional driver could not have lost control causing the crash.  Partner Steven Terry proved though investigation, “the kid” did nothing wrong and in fact the professional driver was traveling too fast for the snow conditions and was 100 percent at fault for the crash.  Accident reconstruction and data from the black box proved who was at fault. MD had many leg fractures and also needed dental work done. After two years of treatment, MD required no more care and “felt great.” The case was settled for $525,000.00 after the initial offer of 0.

One morning, a school bus driver in Blue Earth County was driving 11 kids on a gravel road. As she drove up to an intersection with a paved highway, she slowed for a yield sign, but did not stop. The school bus driver pulled out in front of a mother and her child and caused a horrific crash. The mother’s spine was permanently injured. She found a doctor in Mankato who was able to help with her pain by using treatments called Radio Frequency Neurotomy (RFN) to burn the nerves in her back and by injecting cortisone into her neck to calm the pain caused by herniated discs. The treatment went on for five years and cost about $250,000. The bus company, its attorneys, and its insurance company blamed the mother for not stopping and letting the bus pass in front of her. They said she did not really need the medical treatment that helped her live her life, and that even if she did need the treatment, it was too expensive and they should not have to pay for it. Another firm was handling the case and the bus company’s insurance company offered less than $10,000 in settlement. The other firm called Nate to try the case. Nate tried the case to a Blue Earth County jury in Mankato. The jury found the harm done to the mother was worth $485,000.

Jody was rear-ended by an SUV at a high rate of speed. She originally hired a downtown law firm that worked on the case for one year. The at-fault party offered them $7,500 to settle all cases. Jody fired that firm and then hired a small firm who told her the case was worth a lot more. That lawyer sat on the case for nearly five years. Jody had neck surgery and had thousands of dollars worth of unpaid bills and wage loss. The lawyer would not return calls or emails and it became apparent that nothing was getting done.

A friend of Jody’s suggested TSR Injury Law and Steve Terry noticed the six years statute of limitations was going to expire in less than one month of our being hired. We served a summons on the defendant, but struck a deal with the insurance company to stay the statute. This allowed us to gather the records (which had not been done for the last six years) and get a final report from the neurosurgeon. Based on our timely effort, a settlement of $475,000 was eventually received and all of Jody’s bills were paid.

Leslie was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her friend in Iowa. A man failed to yield from a stop sign and caused a t-bone collision at highway speeds. The man died in the collision. Leslie suffered a dislocated hip and acetabular fracture. She was airlifted to the hospital. The doctors popped her hip back into joint by pulling hard on her leg. She required a few months off of work to take it easy and she walked with a limp. Leslie continued to have pain in the hip; x-rays from two years after the accident revealed early arthritic changes in the hip. The defense attorney tried to argue that her pain was from pre-existing back pain and not from the hip injury that was a result of the accident. A previous attorney obtained the $20,000 liability limits from the deceased defendant. Leslie asked attorney Rich Ruohonen to pursue the underinsured motorist case. The insurance company offered $30,000 to resolve the case and the mediator told attorney Ruohonen they should accept the offer and that juries did not award very much money in Iowa.

Leslie and Rich thought this offer was ridiculously low and decided to try the case to a jury. The jury awarded $448,000. This jury verdict was believed to be one of the biggest personal injury verdicts in Des Moines in several years.

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.

Ben was injured when he was on his way to a job site and his van was rear-ended at a high rate of speed. He ended up having injuries including a cervical disc herniation resulting in neck pain and mild traumatic brain injury. Ben received several injections for the pain in his neck and therapy for his brain injury. Partner Rich Ruohonen was able to obtain a settlement for $325,000 for Ben.

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.

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.

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.

Susanne was injured in a rear-end collision and sustained a significant shoulder injury that required surgery. Susanne was a union heavy equipment operator and her injuries ended her career.

The insurance carrier claimed that it was not possible for someone to sustain such a substantial injury due to the amount of property damage to the vehicles involved. They refused to make any offer to settle the case.

A lawsuit was started by Partner Chuck Slane and depositions of the doctors involved were taken and, based on the medical evidence, the case was settled for close to $200,000.

Walter was pulling over along the side of local highway where people stop and park to fish in a local lake that abuts the highway. Walter was completely off the roadway when he was struck by young teen who was not paying attention to where she was going. Initially, she blamed Walter, saying he stopped in the roadway and the police seemed to take her side. Her insurance company initially denied the claim. Partner Rich Ruohonen went to the scene of the crash to help document the evidence shortly after the crash. Rich helped determine an obvious point of impact that was not only off the traveled portion of the roadway but even mostly off the paved shoulder of the road. After this evidence was submitted to the insurance company, the company changed its denial of the claim and accepted liability.  Walter suffered neck injuries including a C6 fracture and herniated discs resulting a two-level fusion. The case settled for the liability limits of $100,000 and underinsured motorist limits of $100,000 for a total of $200,000.

Partner Rich Ruohonen represented R.D. who was injured in a car crash and suffered a broken right arm and shoulder injury. She had immediate surgical repair to fix the bones in her arm, which included open reduction internal fixation of her arm with a plate a few screws. She also later had a minor arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair a tear in her labrum. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for a total of $200,000.

J.S. was injured in a car crash and suffered neck and back injuries. Partner Rich Ruohonen representing J.S. After numerous and various types of injections, and chiropractic and physical therapies were all tried, J.S. finally began receiving radio frequency neurotomies, which were extremely helpful toward reducing her pain to a manageable level. The first policy limit was tendered, and then after litigation was initiated the underinsured motorist policy was also offered for a total of $200,000 recovered for this wonderful client.

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.

Toni was injured in a rear-end collision. She was driving on the freeway when she encountered a vehicle stopped in her lane of travel. She was able to come to a full stop, but was then rear-ended by the vehicle behind her.

Toni had significant injuries that required major back surgery. There was a concern that there was not enough insurance coverage available to compensate for what she had gone through.

Our investigation revealed that the vehicle stopped on the highway had run out of gas. However, it was the second time that this lady had run out of gas that morning. She had just passed the highway exit near the gas station and was attempting to go further knowing she was about to run out of gas a second time. Based upon these facts, Partner Chuck Slane was able to access a second policy of insurance and resolve the claims for $187,500.

April sustained soft tissue injuries in a car collision in which she was rear-ended. There was not much damage to her car, so the insurance company did not take her injuries seriously. Although she had medical bills in excess of $10,000, the insurance company was only willing to offer $9,500. The insurance company only had a minimum policy limit of $30,000.

The case was submitted to a jury. After a 3-day trial led by Partner Chuck Slane, the jury rendered a verdict of over $90,000. We then sued the insurance company for their bad faith decision in failing to settle the case and eventually received three times the amount of insurance coverage that was originally available.

Rachel was driving to work and was almost there when she stopped in a line of traffic at a red light. Out in the middle of the intersection two cars crashed into each other. One of those cars came careening toward Rachel. There was no place for her to go. That car smashed into the left rear of Rachel’s car and spun her around. Rachel was looking to the left watching that car coming at her. At impact her head was whipped from side to side and she struck her head on the side window.

Later Rachel called her insurance company, American Family. They talked about the crash and the fact that Rachel’s neck was tightening up and that she was going to see her chiropractor. She hoped she would not need much treatment. Rachel told American Family that she had some neck and shoulder pain before the accident, but it was really no big deal. In fact, she had an MRI scan done years ago that showed no significant injury to her neck.

Rachel received treatment from her chiropractor, but her pain did not go away. The pain started traveling down her arm and would wake her up at night. Rachel saw a medical doctor and an MRI scan was ordered. This test revealed a herniated disc pushing on Rachel’s spine. The doctors were recommending that she get epidural steroid injections.

Rachel again talked with American Family and told them what was going on. American Family asked her to see one of their doctors for what is called an “adverse medical examination.” That doctor found that the injury was caused by the crash and the treatment to date had been reasonable, but that Rachel would not need any further treatment.

Several months later when the epidural steroid injection wore off, Rachel’s arm pain started to return. Her doctors recommended that she obtain repeat injections, but American Family refused to make payment. Rachel hired TSR Injury Law and an Arbitration proceeding was commenced. After the hearing, the Arbitrator determined that American Family needed to pay the bills for all of the treatment that she had had so far.

Unfortunately, Rachel’s condition did not improve and the pain in her arm continued. She decided to undergo a cervical fusion surgery to fix her neck. The bills for that surgery were submitted to American Family and they were processed and paid. Then something strange happened.

American Family cancelled the check and took back the payment that they had already made. Then American Family asked Rachel to see a second doctor of their choosing for another “adverse exam.” They claimed that this doctor was an expert in cervical fusion surgeries and could give them an opinion as to whether the surgery was related to the accident.

That second doctor gave American Family the opinion that the surgery was not related to the accident and American Family refused to pay. However, American Family did not tell this second doctor that Rachel had had an MRI scan of her accident before the crash which did not reveal an injury, and when that MRI scan was compared to the MRI scan taken after the crash, it was clear that there was a new herniated disc caused by the crash. It was also discovered that the doctor selected by American Family had never performed a cervical fusion surgery in his career.

TSR Injury Law sued American Family for failing to keep their promises to pay for medical expenses and other human losses. American Family agreed to settle this matter for the amount of $175,000, which was more than the insurance coverage that had been purchased by Rachel. TSR Injury Law had asked the Court to allow a claim for American Family’s failure to use good faith in claims handling and the Court allowed the claim to proceed “ which is why American Family agreed to pay more than their policy limits to settle this matter.

Kelly was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband. Her husband was attempting to take a drink of water while driving and began to choke. He lost control of his car and went into oncoming traffic, which caused a tremendous collision. The insurance company claimed that it was "an act of God," and initially wanted to deny all the injury claims to Kelly and her two children, who were backseat passengers. Investigation revealed a different story and eventually policy limits were paid of $100,000 for Kelly and an additional $160,000 for her two children. Steve Terry put her children’s cases together in an annuity with a qualified assignment and they will receive compensation through age 25 on a tax-free basis.

Tiffany was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit head-on by a drunk driver. She sustained a femur fracture and was hospitalized. Steve Terry of TSR Injury Law met with Tiffany at the hospital on Thanksgiving Day in Rochester, Minnesota. (He has family in the area and actually left dinner to see her.) The policy limits were gathered from the drunk driver, as well as the vehicle she was in, totaling $130,000. In addition, evidence was produced that showed that the bar had over-served the drunk driver. Another $25,000 was received from the bar. All of Tiffany’s medical bills were paid by health insurance; however, the bills were negotiated down so that Tiffany could keep the majority of the compensation she was due for her injuries.

Brenda was injured when she was rear-ended by a negligent driver. Brenda had neck and shoulder pain that showed up a day after she was hit. She had shoulder surgery just 4 months after the crash for a torn rotator cuff. The other driver's company denied that their driver was at fault for the crash.  They argued the collision was unavoidable due to slippery road conditions and said he sneezed while driving. The insurance company also denied that Brenda was hurt because she did not have shoulder pain the day of the crash.  They argued her shoulder surgery was unrelated to the crash and instead was caused by "degenerative changes." The insurance company offered $0 before the lawsuit, and offered $5,000 right before trial.  Lyndsey brought the case to trial and won a verdict of over $150,000.00.

Gina was driving on Highway 94. While heading to work, she was forced to slow down in traffic, and was rear-ended at a high rate of speed. She had immediate neck pain, but decided to go to work. She eventually went to her family doctor who told her to follow up in 30 days because he was convinced the pain would go away. Gina decided to go to a chiropractor who then referred her to an orthopedic surgeon. An MRI showed a disc herniation in her cervical spine, which was causing compression on her nerves. She underwent a neck decompression.

The case was settled for policy limits of $50,000 from AIG and policy limits of $100,000 for underinsured motorist with General Casualty. Partner Steve Terry, who handled the case, encouraged Health Partners to waive the subrogation claim and they complied.

R.K. was rear-ended when a teenager was going too fast in icy conditions and could not stop in time. R.K. suffered a mild traumatic brain injury with mild post-traumatic stress disorder. She also suffered neck and upper back injuries with associated headaches pain which were treated with occipital nerve blocks. The PTSD really only affected her ability to drive in snowy and icy conditions without anxiety. She received therapy for her PTSD as well. There were numerous accidents across the metro area that day due to icy roadways. The teenage driver of the car claimed there is nothing she could do as she slid on ice for several hundred feet. Partner Rich Ruohonen took her deposition and proved her inexperience in driving in icy conditions was the reason she crash into R.K. that day. This matter was resolved for the policy limits of $100,000 shortly after the deposition. The underinsured case then was settled for an additional $40,000 resulting in a total settlement of $140,000.

MB was driving home from Dairy Queen for a birthday party. The day was ruined by a bad driver. MB had some pain but nothing major right away. Unfortunately, after some time, the pain increased and she sought chiropractic care. In MB’s case, the chiropractic care did not help. A referral was encouraged and set up to a pain management doctor who suggested a radiofrequency rhizotomy (nerve burn). MB got 100 percent relief from the RFN. A settlement for $135,000.00 was reached by Partner Steven Terry for past pain and suffering to cover future RFNs that may be needed.

Jessica, 16, was riding in a car being driven by a friend when the friend rolled the car. Jessica was taken to the ER with immediate complaints of back pain, but it went untreated. Over time, the pain became more severe and an MRI was performed, showing a disc herniation referring down her leg. Because of her age, it was obvious that the injury was from the roll-over crash.

The insurance adjuster from Jessica’s father’s insurance did not agree that the back injury was sustained in the roll-over crash and declined to pay the medical bills. A no-fault arbitration was commenced. The insurance company still denied payment of the bills. A hearing ensued and all of the medical bills were awarded at the hearing and a second claim was made against the insurance company of the vehicle that Jessica’s friend drove. A policy limit settlement of $30,000 was reached. Another claim for underinsured coverage was presented to Jessica’s father’s company and they were forced to pay the policy limits of $100,000, even though Jessica never had surgery.

At a later date, Jessica was involved in another car crash. Her previous non-surgical injury was exacerbated and she required spinal fusion. Even though the crash happened in Florida, Partner Steve Terry was able to secure another policy limit settlement that paid the bills and compensated Jessica for her aggravated back injury.

J.R. was driving to work when he was rear-ended by a negligent driver. J.R. suffered back pain and saw a chiropractor for months before discovering he had an injury to his lumbar disc. He went on to undergo two epidural steroid injections which helped immensely. The insurance company for the negligent driver, Allstate, denied fault for their insured hitting J.R claiming he stopped too fast. Allstate also refused to pay his medical expenses. They made a top offer of $5,000.00.  Lyndsey Jorgensen took the case to trial and won a verdict of over $121,000.00.

As a pedestrian attempting to cross the street, Patsy was injured. The police report indicated that Patsy was significantly intoxicated and jay-walked in front of the vehicle that hit her. It looked to be a very difficult case.

Partner Chuck Slane worked on this case for TSR Injury Law and our investigation revealed that the crash had actually been witnessed by a Minneapolis police officer. The officer was on patrol in the area and the details that he observed did not end up in the final police report. He observed that although Patsy was intoxicated, she was in the cross walk with the walk signal at the time that she was struck. In fact, this was confirmed: she dropped the can of soda that she was carrying at the point of impact and it was still located within the cross walk.

When this additional investigation was presented, the case was resolved for $118,000.

Tasha was killed as a passenger in her husband’s vehicle. Her husband had been drinking at a bar, picked Tasha up, and proceeded to run off the road into the side of a hill. Tasha was killed instantly.

What makes the case unique is that Tasha’s husband hired his own lawyer and tried to insert himself as a trustee to bring a claim against himself to receive compensation for his wife’s death. Tasha’s mother hired Attorney Steve Terry and TSR Injury Law and a petition was filed to seek a different trustee. The defendant then decided he wanted to put his father in as the trustee instead of himself, since it was a direct conflict of interest, but the judge saw through this attempt and selected the trustee that Tasha’s mother had chosen.

Policy limits of $100,000 were secured, but once again, the husband tried to stick his hand out as an “heir” and another contentious hearing had to be won before he understood that not only was he going to jail, but he would not receive compensation for killing his wife. The rest of his family was very grateful for the end result.

KH was rear ended by a young driver who was texting. There was not a lot of property damage but KH had immediate back pain from the crash. He was worried because he had already had two prior back surgeries and leading up to the crash he still had some back pain. The at-fault driver’s insurance company claimed minimal damage to the car and a preexisting back injury meant KH had no claim. Partner Steven Terry took the case and proved the injury was real and in fact worse because of the mental anguish KH had to have to “get his back fixed again.” Policy limit settlement of $100,000.00 from the at-fault party insurance and full medical bill policy limit payment after an arbitration.

Arthur, father of six, was on his way to work at five in the morning. A drunk driver swerved into Arthur’s lane and was going to hit him head-on. Arthur took evasive action and swerved to the left. The drunk driver then swerved back and crashed into him head-on. Arthur sustained severe injuries to his leg and had several hundred thousand dollars worth of medical bills. Unfortunately, the drunk driver had no insurance, so we were forced to make a claim for policy limits against Arthur’s own policy.

We were quickly able to secure the $100,000 limit for his injuries, but Arthur had an ERISA health insurance policy with language guaranteeing all of the money was to be repaid to the plan before Arthur would be compensated. Through diligent negotiation by Partner Steve Terry, we got Arthur’s health insurance to walk away with zero compensation, enabling Arthur to receive all the compensation he deserved for his injuries. TSR Injury Law also made sure all future bills would be covered by the health insurance company.

GW is a retired law enforcement officer who got struck by a drunk driver. He had a long history of prior back problems from his years on the job. The crash caused significant aggravations to the injuries with several hundred thousand in medical bills. Partner Steven Terry made three claims. Investigation located the bar where the drunk driver was overserved. There was no alcohol evidence except for the blood alcohol limit of the driver. A confidential settlement was reached with the bar. The driver’s insurance paid the policy limit of $100,000.00 with GW only having to repay a small portion of the medical bills paid by his union health insurance who sought subrogation. The third level was a policy limit demand to GW’s underinsured policy since we proved he was not fully compensated by the first two settlements.

Brook was riding her bicycle when a car that failed to yield turned left into her as she was crossing at an intersection. Brook suffered an upper back and neck injury along with a foot injury from where the car struck her foot. Doctors recommended foot surgery to repair a torn tendon, but Brook had not had the surgery at the time of the settlement. Partner Rich Ruohonen settled the case for both the liability and underinsured motorist limits totaling $80,000.

CA was employed as a professional driver. He travelled to Colorado for work and was rear ended by an uninsured driver while in a work provided rental car. The rental car and employer both denied the claim, blaming each other. Partner Steven Terry brought claims against all policies allowed and convinced the primary to pay CA and litigate against the other polices on their own dime. A $75,000.00 settlement was reached which covered the Minnesota treatment CA underwent and repaid the work comp claim that paid wage loss.

I represented a young 23-year-old man who was biking across the crosswalk one day with a green light and white walk sign. He was struck by a driver who was stopped at a red light looking to his left for traffic to clear before turning right and hitting my client without ever seeing him. My client hit the hood of his car and rolled to the ground, temporarily blacking out. He was taken via ambulance to Mercy Hospital for a head injury and a left leg injury that required 32 stitches. Progressive put 50 percent of the fault on my client who called me to help because he wanted them to pay 100 percent of the cost to repair his damaged bike, not 50 percent. We ended up settling the case for $54,500.00. My client wasn’t going to call an attorney if they would have just replaced his bike for him.

BH was hit by a negligent driver with limited insurance. She suffered catastrophic injuries with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills and wage loss. Collecting the policy limits from multiple polices was easy. The harder job was Partner Steven Terry convincing the health insurance subrogation claims to accept $50,000.00 to reimburse them when they had a legal right to 10 times that. The reduction helped compensate BH for pain and suffering and reimburse her wage loss.

Dawn was stopped in rush hour traffic on Interstate 35 near downtown Minneapolis. The vehicle directly behind her was slowing to a stop when another vehicle rear-ended him at 45 miles per hour, propelling that car into Dawn. Dawn’s car was pushed forward 5 to 10 feet into the car in front of her. She sustained neck and back injuries in the crash. American Family offered $7,500 to settle the case. Dawn would have accepted $9,000, but American Family refused to pay.

Attorney Michael Courtney took this case to trial, where the jury awarded her over $29,000. In addition, American Family will also be forced to pay an additional $14,000, twice the amount that it cost Dawn to go to trial, as a penalty.

Yong called TSR Injury Law approximately seven months after a car crash. The car she was in rolled, and her arm was fractured in two places. Yong was told the final offer for her injuries would be $10,000. After hiring Partner Steve Terry and TSR Injury Law, the correct medical documentation was presented to American Family and the case was settled for policy limits of $30,000.

HL was struck by car while riding her bike. She was treated by chiropractors while in Minnesota, but also in Louisiana when she moved there. Minnesota no-fault did not want to pay the out of state treatment. Partner Steven Terry forced all bills to be paid and a $28,000.00 settlement was reached with the bad driver’s insurance for pain and suffering.

Shanna, a young, single mom, was driving her child to daycare. The defendant turned into the driver’s side of Shanna’s vehicle at a stop sign. The vehicle sustained minimal damage. Shanna was diagnosed with disc bulging at C6-7 and C4-5, loss of alignment suggesting muscular spasm, and occipital neuritis (commonly called post-traumatic neck syndrome).

Shanna just wanted to cover her expenses and sought $7,500. Geico offered $6,000. TSR Injury Law and Shanna refused this offer. Two weeks prior to trial, Geico settled the case for $26,000.

Abdusalam was from New York and moved to Minnesota. He had insurance on his vehicle through Progressive Insurance Co. His policy stated that it would not cover any accidents that happened outside of the state of New York.

Abdusalam was driving in downtown Minneapolis when another vehicle ran a red light at high speed and t-boned his car. The vehicle then fled the scene of the crash and was never found. As a result of the crash, Abdusalam suffered injuries to his neck and back and incurred nearly $13,000 in medical bills. When the medical bills were submitted to Progressive for payment under Minnesota No-Fault, they refused to pay. Despite the fact that the insurance company is well-known and writes policies all over the country, they claimed that because their subsidiary did not write policies in Minnesota, they did not have to comply with Minnesota law.

It became necessary for Abdusalam to begin a lawsuit to force the insurance company to pay for his medical bills. Attorney Michael Courtney handled the case. The lawsuit resulted in the insurance company paying for the medical bills, as well as over $3,500 as a penalty for denying Abdusalam’s claim.

VJ was a passenger in a car hit head on by a drunk driver. The drunk had minimal insurance and VJ did not own a car with his own insurance. He suffered a facial fracture and needed hip surgery.  Unfortunately, all people in the car were severely injured (one who died) and had to share the policy limits of the drunk’s insurance and the underinsured policy from the car they were in. Four attorneys agreed to a binding arbitration and a hearing were conducted by a sole arbitrator with VJ receiving fair compensation for his injuries. The agreement to arbitrate saved thousands of dollars in costs and two years of litigation.

CM was involved in a crash. He had some initial physical injuries, but the ending biggest concern was post-traumatic stress that caused him to avoid driving. The bad driver had no insurance. Partner Steven Terry pursued an uninsured claim and convinced the carrier that the mental claim was worth just as much as a physical injury.

Annie was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a young man who had been drinking. He lost control of his car, rolled the vehicle, and Annie was thrown from it. She sustained significant brain and spinal cord injuries and will never be the same.

Our investigation revealed that the young man driving the vehicle had obtained a bottle of alcohol from his friend’s father. The father knew that the driver was underage and should not be drinking alcohol, but knowingly provided alcohol to a minor.

As a result, we were able to access not only the automobile insurance, but also the homeowners’ insurance for the father who provided the alcohol. When the money was received, Attorney Chuck Slane negotiated with the Veterans Administration, who had paid for many of Annie’s medical bills, and they agreed not to pursue collection out of the settlement monies.

The settlement monies were then placed in a special needs trust so that they could be available to provide things for Annie that are not covered by her medical plan through the State of Minnesota. No amount of compensation would ever be adequate for the injuries that Annie sustained, but we were able to get all money that was available, shelter the money, and put it to the best use possible.

David was riding his bicycle to work in a Southern Minnesota town when a commercial truck driver got distracted and hit David and his bicycle. David suffered broken bones in his legs, hips and back in addition to a traumatic brain injury. He was not able to return to work. TSR Injury Law partners Erik Willer and Nate Bjerke convinced the commercial truck’s insurance company to settle the case for a confidential sum before starting a lawsuit.