Sample Verdicts & Settlements

In General

We have gone to trial many times, but the client may choose not to go to trial.  The key to understanding your legal rights is this simple – the client has the authority to settle or proceed to trial, and the lawyer has the duty to make a clear recommendation.  We help the client understand what the risks and benefits are, so that the client can make the best decision.  We believe that to obtain the best results we must prepare each case to be ready for trial.  The following list of verdicts and settlements is a partial list of our past work, and is intended to show some of the variety of results we have achieved.  In each case, we actually collected the amounts stated – there are no “phantom” settlements against uninsured defendants.  (Other law firms may advertise case results that the client never received.)

Product Liability Cases

Defective personal watercraft: $3.4 million verdict

The front hood of a Polaris personal watercraft flew off – striking the client in the face – causing fractures and a closed head injury.  Read News Article

Defective lift crushes factory worker:  Confidential structured settlement

Our research uncovered a $1,000,000 insurance policy that provided coverage for the incident. 

Automobile Accidents

Semi-truck driver suffers severe wrist injury: $1,200,000

arbitration/verdict and appeal

A long-haul driver swerved to avoid a hit-and-run driver, and despite heroically avoiding killing the hit-and-run driver, suffered a severe wrist injury when his rig jack-knifed.

Bicyclist killed by teen-ager on dark highway: $1,125,000 settlement

A teen-ager who had smoked pot ran into the client, who was riding his bicycle on a dark highway.  Read News Article

Wrongful Death Cases

Railroad Crossing Death: $7,500,000 verdict – $9,000,000 settlement

There were multiple victims who died when their vehicle was struck by a train at a railroad crossing.

Intern Drowns in Factory Vat Due to Negligent Design: $975,000 settlement

A summer intern working in a factory was found drowned in a vat.

Employment Cases

Secretaries/Staff Constructively Discharged for Testifying for Co-worker: $1,100,000 verdict and confidential settlement

The law forbids discrimination for two types of whistleblower – 1) the person who reports wrongdoing, and 2) any person who testifies in a whistleblower case.  Read News Article

Sexual Harassment of Corrections Officers: $475,000 settlement

State officials are not immune from liability for co-workers making crude remarks and harassing women, once the State supervisors find it is occuring.

Premises Liability Cases

Malfunctioning Electric Door: $450,000 settlement

An 80 year old man entering a grocery store was pinned by a malfunctioning electric door.

Septic Tank Handle Trips Woman: $425,000 settlement

A slight hazard caused a woman to fall and suffer serious knee injury at a local business. 

Property Damage Cases

Property Insurance Denied: $825,000 partial settlement

The insurance company refused to pay the property damage bill.

Contractor Builds Foundation Below Water Table: $475,000 settlement

The foundation of a new home had a permanent water leak.

Toxic Exposure Cases

Toxic Leak in Workplace: $1,500,000 settlement

A worker was exposed to the toxic chemical benzene, when piping in the workplace leaked.

Mold in the Workplace: Confidential settlement

Several staff working in an office building developed allergic reactions over a period of time.

Workplace Accidents

Construction Equipment Flips Due to Soil Collapse: $1,500,000 case evaluation

A construction worker was paralyzed from the waist down when the machine he was in tipped over.

Painter on Jobsite Falls: $425,000 settlement

A painter doing the finishing exterior coat fell from his ladder.

Civil Rights - Police Misconduct

Sexual Assault on Children in Daycare: $1,000,000 verdict/settlement

We proved that the Daycare and State failed to screen caregivers. 

Sheriff Interferes with Cold Water Drowning Rescue: $600,000 verdict($1,000,000 settlement)

A young man was pushed, or jumped off a bridge in Manistee, after drinking.  We proved the Sheriff had a “turf war” with local divers, and threatened them not to rescue drowning victims.  Read News Article

Boating Accidents

Maritime leg amputation: $3,000,000

The client’s leg was amputated by a conveyor on a Great Lakes vessel.

Edmund Fitzgerald

Tim Green represented 7 families during the Edmund Fitzgerald hearings.  The resolution of these cases is confidential.