Archive for August, 2010

As she was driving to work, a 32-year old woman was hit by a truck on the front driver‘s side. The truck driver was clearly out of his lane. The woman’s injuries were severe and included a severed aorta, which is the largest artery in the body . In life-saving surgery, her aorta was surgically repaired by means of inserting a mesh patch. Her other injuries, including a badly broken leg and broken wrist which made it impossible for her to work. Tragedy struck again as her boyfriend, with whom she had been living, died of brain cancer only a few months after her accident and while she was still recuperating.

Not surprising for cases with insurance companies, the case dragged on as she struggled to find ways to make a living and maintain a roof over her head.  Meanwhile, the attorneys at Hausmann-McNally, S.C. did what they could to keep up her spirits. After a long period, the case was settled with the insurer paying her $1 million for her injuries and losses. She now has a regular income from the structured settlement, which is an option clients can choose when they win a settlement.

In November of 2005, a young man was helping an individual who was repairing his home. He was mounting a ladder when it slipped and he fell to the ground head first.  As a result, he suffered serious brain injury.

He lost much of his memory and thought-processing ability.  Doctors could not promise full recovery. He was unable to work for an extended period and felt pretty hopeless about his future.

The first two attorneys he contacted flatly refused to take the case. They felt it was hopeless because it appeared most difficult to establish liability in the situation.

Charles Hausmann, president of Hausmann-McNally, S.C., felt this man deserved his day in court. Hausmann-McNally agreed to take the case.  The firm’s attorneys and investigators thoroughly examined the circumstances of the incident. The firm located and retained the services of a noted ladder expert, who reported to them that the specific  ladder used was clearly meant to be tied down and braced as outlined by the OSHA instructions. The process to bring the matter to justice included numerous depositions and motions by the defendant’s insurance company to avoid its responsibility for paying the claim. After a complicated series of procedures, the injured man agreed to accept a settlement in the amount of $310,000. He is now taking college-level courses and rebuilding his life after the accident.

The case was settled before it went to trial in Dane County Circuit Court. Attorney William Smoler represented the young man and worked to help assemble the case. Smoler is the head of the Madison office for Hausmann-McNally, S.C.

Hausmann-McNally Attorney William Smoler knew he had his hands full when he had a client who had suffered a back injury in a truck accident. Smoler heads the firm’s Madison office. The man was injured and required back surgery, but his legal problem was that he had a previous back injury.  The defendant’s  insurance company tried to use this man’s prior injury as a reason to dismiss the claims of the more recent injury. It takes a skilled attorney to present a convincing case that a pre-existing condition does not invalidate someone’s more current injury claim.

Smoler had to demonstrate before a jury in Rock County Circuit Court that the back injury from the most recent accident did cause the man’s injuries, pain and suffering. While the defendant’s insurance company never offered the man more than $200,000 during negotiations, the jury awarded him $518,000.

Smoler points out that it is often difficult, sometimes impossible, to receive a good settlement if there was a pre-existing condition because it is difficult to determine which injury caused the current pain and suffering. Smoler convinced the jury that the injuries—and resulting pain and suffering—resulted from the most recent accident. The  jury awarded him over a half million dollars, $518,000 to be more exact.

At the end of the hard-fought trial, the judge commented to the jury that they had witnessed two of Wisconsin’s attorneys going head-to-head in the trial before them. Fortunately for the client, the Hausmann-McNally attorney came out the winner.