Noteworthy Cases | Stephen Gabrielson, Ltd | Personal Injury Attorney | Brain Injury Lawyer | St Cloud, Minnesota

Spine	Brain	Orthopedic
Disfigurement	Wrongful Death	Miscellaneous

Injury Summary	Case Summary	Recovery
Spine Herniated Lumbar Disc with Radiculopathy	Our client, a young mother with two children, suffered a low back injury when rear-ended by another vehicle. She delayed surgery, in spite of the recommendation of her surgeon, because she feared a poor result would prevent her from caring for her children.	$1,050,000.00 verdict. Defendant UIM insurance carrier offered $10,000.00 to settle the claim. The amount was reduced to the Defendant UIM carrier's liability limit.
Spine Thoracic Disc Herniation	Our client suffered a mid back injury when his vehicle t-boned a truck that entered a rural intersection against the right of way. Our client's injuries were not well diagnosed until he sought treatment from a chiropractor, who ordered an MRI scan revealing a thoracic disc herniation.	$89,000.00 verdict. The Defendant's top offer was $4,500.00.
Spine Chronic Wide-Spread Pain Syndrome, Degenerative Spine Disease and Chronic Low Back Pain	Our 39 year old client was rear-ended at low speed, aggravating pre-accident low back problems which had already resulted in two surgical procedures, including lumbar fusion at L4-S1. Her injury caused her to lose her job as a part-time LPN.	$216,936.00 verdict. Defendant UIM carrier offered $0 to settle the claim. The amount was reduced to the Defendant UIM carrier's UIM liability limit.
Spine L3-4 and L4-5 Disc Herniations with Radiculopathy	Our 60 year old client suffered a low back injury in a rear-end intersection collision. He lost his job as a truck driver and had to obtain re-employment in a different occupation.	$200,000.00+ arbitration award, limited to $200,000.00 by agreement to cap damages at the combined liability limits.
Spine Right Transverse Process Fracture and Disc Herniation	Our 40 year old client, a non-commissioned officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, suffered neck injuries when rear-ended at a stop light. His injuries prevented him from being deployed, and he was involuntarily retired from the military service.	$240,000.00 recovery.
Spine Lumbar Burst Fracture with Ligament Damage	Our minor client was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a two car crash. Both drivers were at fault. We were able to obtain multiple recoveries, including liability settlements against both drivers, an underinsured motorist recovery on the policy insuring the vehicle our client rode in, and an underinsured motorist recovery from our client's own automobile policy. At the time of the settlement, there was no clear case precedent permitting this additional recovery.	Confidential.
Spine Lumbar Compression Fracture, Chronic Low Back Pain	Our 37 year old client sustained low back injuries when her car was struck from behind hard enough to break the seat back of her car. She lost her job as a housekeeper.	$150,000.00 arbitration award.
Spine Lumbar Disc, Cervical and Lumbar Sprain/Strain	Our 32 year old client was a passenger in a vehicle that was t-boned at an intersection. She aggravated pre-existing neck problems and sustained disc injuries to her lumbar spine, resulting in surgery.	$145,000.00 recovery.
Brain Traumatic Brain Injury, Vertigo and Orthopedic Injuries	Our 52 year old client sustained skull fractures and traumatic brain injury, inner ear damage, and orthopedic injuries, when she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a street. Our client was able to retain her job.	$1,500,000.00 recovery.
Brain Concussion, Loss of Consciousness and Non-Displaced Skull Fracture	Our 62 year old client slipped on an icy sidewalk outside the entrance to her son's apartment, causing her to fall and strike her head. Thaw/freeze conditions had caused snow to melt on the apartment building roof, flow through the downspout and onto the sidewalk near the entrance of the building.	$82,500.00 recovery.
Brain Concussion with Loss of Consciousness and Retrograde Amnesia, Knee Ligament Damage, Pelvis Injury	Our college-age client was struck by a car as she crossed a street near her campus. Our client had no recollection of the accident, and there were no eyewitnesses other than the driver of the car that hit her. The initial police report placed our client well outside of the designated crosswalk area at the time of impact, which was consistent with the statement provided by the driver of the car. Our accident reconstruction proved that our client was in the crosswalk at the time of the collision.	Confidential.
Orthopedic Comminuted Fracture of Femur, Lacerations of Liver and Spleen	Our 19 year old client was involved in a head-on highway collision. Within a matter of a few months, we obtained all available PIP, liability and UIM insurance coverages available, on a reduced fee basis.	$150,000.00 recovery, plus ongoing PIP benefits.
Orthopedic Pelvis, Wrist and Rib Fractures, Rotator Cuff Tear, Concussion, Neck and Low Back Injuries	Our 53 year old client was t-boned in a high speed intersection accident. Liability was initially disputed until we demonstrated that the Department of Transportation signage sequence was consistent with the testimony of an eye witness. Our client had no recollection of the accident. In addition to the recovery received by our client, the Defendant was responsible to pay all medical liens.	$442,500.00 recovery.
Orthopedic Bilateral Shoulder Injuries Involving Rotator Cuff	Our client was a passenger in a late-night one vehicle accident. The other occupant of the vehicle claimed that our client was the driver. We demonstrated through accident reconstruction, physical and circumstantial evidence that our client was the passenger at the time of the accident.	$105,000.00 award.
Orthopedic Hip Dislocation, Tibia/Fibula Fractures Involving Knee, with Symptoms of RSD	Our 47 year old client was a passenger in his own vehicle, which went off the road and crashed following a possible entanglement with a semi tractor/trailer. The driver could not identify what caused him to lose control of his vehicle on the highway. The driver was uninsured. We made recoveries against our client's liability coverage, and against our client's uninsured motorist coverage, based upon our theory that the car had a collision with a semi that left the scene of the accident, and that both driver's were negligent.	$306,000.00 recovery.
Orthopedic Knee Injury	Our client stepped into an unmarked hole in a darkened parking lot at his place of employment. The hole was dug by a city crew looking for an underground pipe. Our client had previously undergone surgery as a result of an injury to this knee. Following this accident, he underwent further knee surgeries.	$165,000.00 recovery.
Orthopedic Comminuted Fracture of Distal Fibula, Fracture/Dislocation of Lateral Calcaneous, Comminuted Fracture of Lateral and Proximal Cuboid	Our 33 year old client was involved in an intersection t-bone accident with another vehicle. She underwent open reduction and internal fixation of her lower fibula and ankle, with residual weakness, pain and some limitation in movement.	$175,000.00 recovery.
Orthopedic Crush Injuries, Lacerations and Fractures of Foot and Ankle	Our 36 year old client was riding as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by a train backing through a grade crossing. Our client underwent several surgeries for damage caused by the coupling that impaled the side of our client's vehicle. The Railroad carrier denied responsibility for the collision. The driver of our client's vehicle was convicted of driving through a grade crossing at a time when the crossing gate had come down and other warnings were activated. In spite of this, we demonstrated that the electronic circuit identifying the train's presence near the grade crossing was not activated until the train was approximately 40 feet from the grade crossing. We demonstrated that our vehicle was in the grade crossing before the warning signs were activated, and that the Railroad carrier failed to take proper steps to warn motorists of the presence of the backing train approaching the grade crossing at night.	$380,000.00 recovery.
Orthopedic Femur Fracture with Delayed Union	Our 62 year old client was a passenger in a motor vehicle involved in an intersection accident. She suffered a femur fracture requiring surgical reduction with instrumentation and bone grafting.	$130,000.00 recovery.
Disfigurement Lacerations to Left Arm, Left Hand and Right Hand	Our 47 year old client was visiting a friend when a pit bull owned by her friend's son came through an open door and attacked our client. Our client was able to get her left arm up in time to stop the dog from reaching her throat, but the dog bit her arm, then tore the thumb on her right hand when she used that hand to grab the dog's collar.	$225,000.00 recovery.
Disfigurement Facial Lacerations and Right Ear Lobe Deformity	Our 15 year old client was injured when the vehicle he was riding in went out of control on a dirt road and rolled. He suffered lacerations to his right cheek and jaw, and damaged his right ear lobe.	$80,000.00 recovery.
Disfigurement Burns to Lower Extremities	Our 2 year old client was burned when a blanket in which he was wrapped came in contact with an ember from a campfire and ignited. We proved that the blanket was improperly labeled, and demonstrated that the blanket was extremely flammable.	$375,000.00 recovery.
Disfigurement Loss of Teeth, Facial Scars and Back Injury	Our 46 year old client was involved in an intersection accident. He suffered the loss of several teeth, a facial laceration and an aggravation of pre-existing back problems.	$230,000.00 verdict, reduced by $20,000.00 previously paid by the liability carrier. The amount was further reduced to the Defendant UIM carrier's UIM liability limit. The UIM carrier had offered only $1,000.00 to settle the case.
Disfigurement Perioral Injuries with Loss of Teeth	Our 22 year old client was riding as a passenger in a vehicle operated by his fiancé. She lost control of her vehicle and our client was ejected through the soft roof of the vehicle, landing on the roadway ahead of the vehicle. Our client underwent dental surgery resulting in multiple dental implants and a facial laceration.	$95,000.00 recovery.
Wrongful Death Blunt Force Cranio-Cerebral Injuries	Our 13 year old client was ejected from a vehicle that went out of control and left the road. We obtained medical and out of pocket reimbursement from the Crime Victims Reparations Board, and made recoveries from the owner of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, and our client's UIM carrier.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Blunt Force Trauma	Our 17 year old client was killed when he was struck by his own car, operated by one of his friends. We made recoveries against the friend's insurance policy, the policy covering the car, and a separate policy covering the friend's parents.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Impalement and Blunt Force Trauma	Our 66 year old client was killed by the falling wing of a field cultivator. There were no witnesses. Our investigation revealed that the field cultivator was subject to a number of dangerous design defects, which combined to allow the wing of the cultivator to fall on our client. The case was settled shortly before trial.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Crush Injuries with Internal Bleeding	Our 19 year old client was riding his motorcycle in a residential area. He collided with a backhoe in an uncontrolled intersection. Very little damage was done to the front prongs of our client's motorcycle, indicating a low speed at the time of impact. However, our client was crushed by the tire of the backhoe. The State Patrol investigation faulted our client, based upon excessive speed. Our investigation revealed that the State Patrol's reconstruction was incorrect in that it assumed the possibility of 100% braking efficiency by a motorcycle on a gravel road. We also located a witness who had observed the backhoe approaching the intersection at a high speed, contrary to the assertion of the backhoe operator. The case was settled shortly before trial.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Chiropractic Manipulation	Our client died as a result of intracranial hemorrhage. The hospital pathologist conducted an autopsy which revealed the presence of white blood cells in the area of a damaged artery. Our client's spouse advised the pathologist that our client had undergone recent chiropractic manipulation of his neck. The chiropractor denied neck manipulations and denied that neck manipulations could cause this type of arterial damage. The case was settled shortly before trial.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Head Injuries	Our 16 year old client was ejected from a motor vehicle. Co-Trustees were appointed by the Court. Maximum insurance policy recoveries were made from all responsible parties.	Confidential.
Wrongful Death Ruptured Aorta	Our 55 year old client suffered internal injuries, including a ruptured blood vessel, when she was t-boned on a city street. We made the maximum insurance recoveries from all responsible parties.	Confidential.
Miscellaneous Crush Injury to Left Foot	Our 37 year old client fell from the side of a road grader at a construction site, and was run over by the grader's rear tire. Liability was initially denied. We proved that our client was taken by surprise when the operator moved the grader. Our client suffered a transverse fracture of his left lateral malleolus and a crush injury to his lower leg and foot. Our client underwent a corrective osteotomy of his left fibula.	$175,000.00 recovery.
Miscellaneous Hand Lacerations, Shoulder Injury and Tinnitus	Our 30 year old client purchased supplies for a muzzle loading black powder rifle at a sporting goods store. The store mistakenly provided him with more explosive powder, which caused the barrel of the rifle to blow up when the primer spark ignited the gun powder. The explosion caused our client to suffer ringing in his ears, a partial avulsion of a finger, hand lacerations, and shoulder trauma.	$132,000.00 recovery.
Miscellaneous Open Head Injury, Contrecoup Brain Injury, Femoral Fracture, Talar Neck Fracture, with Possibility of Avascular Necrosis	Our minor client was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a head on accident. She suffered head injuries, upper leg injuries, and an ankle injury resulting in loss of blood supply to the dome of her talus.	Confidential.
Miscellaneous Partial Hand Amputation with Reattachment	Our 39 year old client, a self employed home builder, suffered an amputation of part of his hand while using a radial arm saw. There were no witnesses to the incident. The manufacturer asserted that our client had used the saw improperly. We proved through destructive testing of exemplar saws that the motor housing unit of the saw was improperly designed, rendering the saw subject to coming out of its locked vertical position. The amputated portion of our client's hand was successfully reattached, and our client was again gainfully employed as a home builder by the date of settlement just prior to trial. The manufacturer subsequently redesigned its saw in a manner consistent with some of our engineer's recommendations.	$225,000.00 recovery.
Miscellaneous Loss of Eye	Our minor client sustained the loss of an eye when he was struck by a metal object thrown by his 5 year old cousin. Coverage was initially denied on the basis of the cousin's age.	Confidential.
Miscellaneous Tendon Injuries to Hand	Our client caught his hand in the unguarded power take off unit of a conveyor belt system at a poultry plant. He suffered frayed tendons to his fingers requiring occupational therapy. Our client's employer had installed the conveyor belt system, and the Defendants claimed that our client was thereby restricted to the exclusive remedy of worker's compensation benefits. We proved that both the manufacturer of the conveyor belt system and the distributor of the conveyor belt system assisted in the design and placement of the system in the poultry plant.	Confidential. The case was settled shortly before trial.
Miscellaneous Rotator Cuff and Labrum Tear, RSD	Our 35 year old client was rear-ended by a truck at a stop sign. She suffered injuries to her neck and shoulder. She underwent surgery for a labral tear. A diagnosis of possible reflex sympathetic dystrophy prevented her from undergoing further surgery.	$175,000.00 recovery.