NEGLIGENCE

Grain auger injury leads to above-knee amputation.

Our client, a 30 year old farm laborer, suffered a badly mangled leg when his foot slipped into a large grain auger, leading to an above-knee amputation.  Suit was filed against the employer farmer (exempt from workers’ compensation laws) who activated the auger while knowing our client was standing near the auger in the bottom of a large grain bin.  The case was complicated by the fact our client actually instructed the farmer to activate the auger, but then changed his mind and yelled at the farmer to “wait a minute” which instruction the farmer did not hear.  Despite our client’s obvious contribution to his own injury, with the help of Jim Lindell and Grim Howland, the case settled in mediation for $1 million.

Caretaker’s leg injured when an improperly locked jack stand collapses.

A 58 year old caretaker was assisting his employer’s son in moving equipment the son stored on his mother’s property. The employer’s son improperly set the lock on a jack stand supporting a heavy wood chipper. When the plaintiff was assisting the son in connecting the chipper to a trailer hitch, the unlocked stand collapsed striking his leg and pinning his foot. He suffered a serious compartment syndrome injury to his leg, which required multiple surgeries to repair. The homeowner’s son was insured by both homeowner’s and auto liability policies which are normally mutually exclusive. Grim recovered damages from both policies, as well as from the plaintiff’s own auto policy. Represented by Grim Howland. Result – $350,000 settlement.

Appeal – Jim Lindell & Grim Howland successfully reinstated a $584,023.93 medical malpractice jury verdict.Following Jim Lindell’s jury verdict on behalf of the injured plaintiff, the defense moved to overturn the verdict, which the trial court granted. Jim and Grim appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and a unanimous panel reversed the trial court, reinstating the jury’s verdict (see document). The defendant’s petition for review to the Supreme Court was denied. Plaintiff’s total recovery will be approximately $800,000.

Commercial vehicle collision results in leg amputation, $2.2 million settlement.

Our client was a passenger in a dump truck which was rear-ended by a semi driver at 70 mph, forcing our client’s vehicle off the freeway and into a ditch where it rolled several times. He suffered a crushed leg which was amputated below the knee as well as a traumatic brain injury. Represented by Jim Lindell. After a very complicated case in Federal court, in which we employed experts in vocational rehabilitation, medicine, neuropsychology, tax law and economics, we settled the case in three stages for proceeds totaling over $2.2 million.

Near death incident causes PTSD in client, insurer persuaded of injury.

Our client was a well-performing salesman for an electronic communications company when his vehicle was sideswiped by a negligent semi driver. The collision spun our client’s vehicle through the median of the freeway and up onto the lanes of oncoming traffic. A second collision with a semi driver was narrowly avoided. Our client was virtually uninjured from a physical standpoint but was left with extreme emotional distress due to the near-death experience. He never returned to work and was awarded Social Security disability benefits. Represented by Jim Lindell. The case settled in mediation for $500,000.

Defective design in skid steer leads to foot amputation, over $1 million settlement.

Our client was a traveling mechanic for a construction machinery retailer. While servicing a large skid steer (often known by one manufacturer’s trade name of “Bobcat”) the upraised arms of the skid steer, under which our client was working, suddenly and without warning dropped the heavy bucket attached to the arms. The large steel bucket struck our client injuring his shoulder and crushing his foot, which lead to amputations of the limb, first at the ankle and later just below the knee. Investigation revealed that a newly designed attaching device failed when it suffered a decrease in hydraulic pressure allowing the bucket under certain conditions to detach from the locking device. Expert engineers determined that the locking device was defectively designed and that its failure allowed the bucket to (dangerously) become detached from the machine instead of (safely) preventing the bucket from detaching from the machine. An intensely litigated case in Federal District Court included many depositions including that of the engineer who designed the blocking device and served as the manufacturer’s expert witness. Represented by Jim Lindell. The case was settled with a Federal Magistrate Judge serving as mediator for $1,015,000.

Failure to illuminate utility pole hanging off of trailer bed causes collision, case settles for $1 million.

Well after dark on a summer evening, our client, driving a small sedan, approached a flatbed semi-trailer truck on a stretch of rural highway. Unknown to our client, the truck was transporting a single long wooden utility pole that extended far beyond the bed of the flatbed trailer and its illuminated taillights. The transport driver negligently failed to illuminate the end of the pole with additional red lights as State law requires. As the transport turned left on an intersecting county road, the un-illuminated end of the pole swung out into the traffic lane where it crashed through the windshield of our oncoming client, striking our client in the face and literally impaling her vehicle on the pole. Our client suffered serious facial fractures and traumatic brain injury. Represented by Jim Lindell. The case settled out of court for $1 million.