Our client was 18 years old and went hunting with a friend in northern Minnesota. While walking through the woods, the friend shot our client with a .20 gauge shot gun in the left lower extremity, causing a severe wound to the foot and ankle that ultimately required multiple surgeries. The friend claimed the weapon accidentally discharged, but through the use of ballistics experts and firearm safety experts, Jeffrey Montpetit proved that the friend used the weapon improperly and not according to accepted safe hunting standards.

The day after her 85th birthday, our client's independent mother met with tragedy. She was talking with her son and his children in a parking lot; her granddaughter's car was running. Unexpectedly, the vehicle's engine began to rev. As the driver ran to the driver's seat to turn off her vehicle, it suddenly lurched forward. The driver was thrown from the car and her grandmother--who was unfortunately standing in front of the vehicle--was pinned between the vehicle and the car parked in front of it. She crumpled to the ground as they called 911.

Our client was severely injured while performing routine maintenance on a hydraulic machine at work. The client sustained substantial physical injuries to his arm and wrist and endured significant pain. Cory Whalen commenced a product liability claim against the manufacturers that designed the defective product in Japan and their stateside distributor in Chicago. The product manufacturer denied liability and disputed jurisdiction in U.S. Courts. However, a mediated settlement in the amount of $400,000 was awarded.

Defendant homeowners hosted a 16th birthday party for their daughter at a farm located in rural Wisconsin. The party was attended by many teenagers--including our client. During the party, an ATV was brought to the farm by a neighbor. Many of the teens at the party were operating the ATV. At one point during the evening, the homeowner instructed the teens that the ATV was to be parked. Yet, the keys were not taken out of the ATV nor was it banished from the premises. Later that evening, one of the girls started the ATV and gave a ride to our client. They drove away from the party until they reached the end of the road, then turned around to head back to the party. Another teen had taken a motorcycle from the farm which did not have a working headlight. He was going to look for the girls on the ATV. In the dark, there was a collision between the ATV and the motorcycle and our client, a passenger on the ATV, was seriously injured.

Our client, the owner of a vending service company, was pinned to the rear bumper of his vehicle when it was hit by an out of control vehicle. The defendant made a right turn on a red light at an intersection that was specifically marked "no right turn on red". Our client was facing his truck and was pinned against his truck bumper by the front bumper of the vehicle that hit him. His right leg was crushed from the knee down as a result of this pinching. He also received injuries to his right shoulder, right arm and neck when he was slammed into the rear door of his truck.

Our client sustained a broken heel while at work. During the initial surgery to repair the heel, which was very successful, a drain was placed in the client’s foot to minimize the possibility of infection. The drain should have been removed in two to three days. However, our client was told to come back for a follow up in 14 days and leave the dressing undisturbed on his written discharge instructions. The client’s doctor admitted that his original discharge orders were wrong but argued that he told the nurses and our client that a two- to three-day follow-up was needed. Yet, none of the doctor’s records reflected this alleged verbal order. A nurse also testified that if something had changed, she would have amended the patient’s chart.

Our client underwent surgery to prevent a cancerous bladder condition.  According to his surgeon, the surgery was a success and he was released from the hospital 8 days later. Approximately three weeks after the surgery, our client was re-admitted with severe fever and vomiting. CT scans were obtained and showed that a laparotomy pad or sponge had been left inside our client's body cavity during the original surgery.

Our client's father had gone to a cabin in Northern Wisconsin. He was returning from the cabin riding as a passenger in rural Wisconsin. The driver pulled out to cross the highway from a side road and didn't see an oncoming vehicle. The two vehicles collided and our client's father sustained traumatic head injuries and internal injuries. He was transported by helicopter to North Memorial Hospital but died shortly after the accident.

While attending a granddaughter's lacrosse game in Prior Lake, another motorist in the parking lot pinned our client’s legs between her own car bumper and the rear bumper of the inattentive motorist backing out of a parking spot. Serious vascular damage was done to our client’s lower leg, necessitating the help of vascular surgeons.

Our client and a friend were spending the day together riding Jet Ski's on French Lake in Shieldsville, Minnesota. When our client was about 200 yards from the shore, he began to slow his jet ski down to come to a complete stop. His friend, driving behind him, turned his Jet Ski to the left but crashed into our client's Jet Ski. Our client was found face down in the water and his friend, who was not injured, got off of his Jet Ski and brought our client to shore. Immediately following the accident, our client was flown to North Memorial Hospital. He sustained a renal artery tear in the left kidney, which resulted in him losing one kidney. He also received a left iliac crest (pelvic) fracture with mild displacement, multiple left rib fractures, and significant bruising to his left side.