You may be able to file a claim against the boat driver if you were injured as a passenger on their boat. A person is liable for the injuries they caused while operating. Warshafsky won a $250,000 dollar boating accident case that resulted in a passenger needing an amputation.
In 1979, 17-year old Kurt was a promising high-school athlete who loved to compete on his school’s track team and on the football field, too. Any dreams he had of pursuing a scholarship came to an end one August afternoon when his left foot became horribly mangled in a boating accident on Lake Michigan.
While aboard a 30-foot inboard engine fishing boat, Kurt put his left foot out in an attempt to prevent the boat from hitting a pier as it was preparing to depart. Suddenly, there was a surge from the engine and the boat lurched unexpectedly into the pier. Kurt’s foot was crushed between the stern and the pier. Although he was rushed to the hospital after the accident, the injuries to his foot were so severe surgeons had no choice but to amputate.
Faced with the prospect of life with a prosthetic foot and a mounting pile of medical bills, Kurt met with the personal injury attorneys of Warshafsky Law to find out what could be done. With our experience in lawsuits involving amputations and other serious injuries, our Milwaukee personal injury attorneys believed Kurt had a solid case for filing suit against the boat owner.
Often, the parties being sued in a personal injury lawsuit will make an offer to settle the case out of court. This is usually done not only to avoid the expense and the negative publicity of a trial but also to avoid the possibility of a jury awarding the maximum (or even more) being asked for in the suit.
Warshafsky Law is unique among Milwaukee personal injury law firms in that we prepare every case as though it will go to trial. We are not opposed to settling a case, but our experience has shown that unless the insurance companies we typically face in court know we are ready, willing and able to take the case before a judge and jury, they have little motivation to make a reasonable settlement offer.
While other law firms may boast about how many cases they settle, what they don’t say much about is how their clients are sold short by the way these firms are so quick to settle. Known as “settlement mills,” these law firms make their fortunes by the sheer volume of cases they push through to settlement. Unfortunately, the insurance companies know they are pushovers who have no intention of ever setting foot in a courtroom, so they make lowball offers. While their clients may get a settlement check in record time, it’s nowhere near the amount they should be getting.
At Warshafsky Law, we’re in no rush to settle with insurance companies. We always put our clients' interests first and do whatever it takes to secure the maximum possible compensation for their injuries. From the very first day, we take a case, we prepare as though it will be argued in court. Our opponents know this. So, when they come to us tail between their legs and wanting to talk settlement, they know it better be a good offer or they’ll be seeing us in court.
In Kurt’s case, the insurance company for the boat owner made overtures for a settlement conference before the case went to court. Although the boat owner denied there was any sudden surge of the engine which would have propelled the boat backwards into the pier, neither he nor his insurance company wanted the case to go to court. As reported by The Sheboygan Press in February of 1981, Kurt accepted an award of $250,000 to settle the case. This hardly seems like a sufficient amount, but it becomes more reasonable when you consider it equates to about $645,000 in today’s dollars.
Obviously, no amount of money could make it possible for Kurt to run the hurdles again, or play on the football team, but the settlement took a lot of uncertainty out of his future and made the loss easier to deal with. Even with a prosthesis and a cane, Kurt walked out of the settlement conference with a detectable bounce to his step.
If you have lost an arm or a leg as the result of a boating or ATV accident, a workplace injury, or any other scenario, the personal injury attorneys of Warshafsky Law invite you to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation on filing an amputation lawsuit in Milwaukee. During your initial consultation, one of our personal injury attorneys experienced with amputation lawsuits will assess the strength of your case, and explain how the personal injury lawsuit process works and what you stand to gain from filing suit.
Although amputation lawsuits are not exactly commonplace, Warshafsky Law has represented numerous individuals who have lost limbs due to the negligence or carelessness of others, as well as due to improperly maintained or operated workplace equipment. Our diligence in looking into every detail of these accidents to find all parties responsible has consistently yielded some of the highest settlements and jury verdicts in the history of Wisconsin law. It has also resulted in a growing number of Society Changing Judgments.
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