William J. Ronalter

Our clients, a 3-year-old boy and his 33-year-old father, suffered third degree burns to over 70% and 50% of their bodies respectively and we argued that a lithium ion battery exploded from an electronic device. We brought claims against the product assembler, distributor, and seller. After three unsuccessful mediations and more than 50 depositions, the claims were presented to an arbitration panel. The result of the arbitration was a gross recovery of $36,500,000 for our clients.

Our client, a 63 year old man, suffered third degree burns to 40% of his body when a defective product exploded during a social event.  We brought claims against the product manufacturers, a large national retailer, and a third party consumer who used the product.  After preparing a multi-media presentation, the claims against the various defendants were settled following an arbitration and mediation for a combined amount of $5,025,850.

We represented the employee of a longstanding corporate client, who was sideswiped by a truck when he was riding his bicycle home from work. Initially, the truck driver told the cops our client was on his phone, no witnesses to the crash were identified, and we did not know if our comatose client would live and/or remember how the crash occurred. We got our client’s phone records (through his employer) and proved he wasn’t on his phone. Our accident reconstruction expert inspected the scene and the evidence, and we taught the detective the specific state statutes that protect cyclists. We requested the 911 dispatch tapes and learned that there were witnesses to the aftermath of the crash that called 911 reporting that the truck driver was attempting to leave the scene. We later learned that the truck driver lied to the cops and used another name at the scene of the crash because he was in the United States illegally. Unfortunately, due to the extent of the injury to his left leg, our client had his leg amputated above the knee approximately a month after the crash. We gave the insurance carrier an opportunity to settle the case as we drafted the Complaint to commence the lawsuit explaining that if they did not offer their $5,000,000 limits, we expected a verdict over the coverage when the case was tried. The carrier responded by offering its $5,000,000 policy limits available for this loss, which will give the client financial security as he starts the next chapter of his life.

Our client was a married, 46 year-old mother of three, and an award-winning emergency room nurse stopped for traffic on I-84.  She was struck from behind by defendant traveling 45 mph in a company SUV and had a mild concussion, but it never resolved.   Permanent post-concussive symptoms included headaches, depression, and visual deficits with sensitivity to light.  She lost both of her ER nursing jobs at local Connecticut hospitals and cannot work in any capacity.   Defendants admitted causing the crash but argued: (1) x-rays and 4 MRIs failed to show any objective evidence of a brain injury; (2) some symptoms pre-existed the crash; and (3) she might recover later.  Our expert was Erin Bigler, PhD, a top international researcher in traumatic brain injuries from Brigham Young University in Utah.   His testimony explained how this mild traumatic brain injury with “no objective findings” on radiological tests caused our client’s permanent significant problems: she sustained traumatic axonal injuries (microscopic stretching injuries at the cellular level, too small to be revealed by available imaging).   An economist quantified the economic loss of her two jobs and benefits.  A professional video company worked with us to create a video of our trial witnesses describing dramatic changes they observed of our client before and after the crash.  The defendants’ insurance company and the experts saw the anticipated powerful trial testimony.  After presenting at a mediation an hour-long PowerPoint bill-boarding much higher damage potential at trial, the case settled two weeks before trial for $4,875,000, with $4,500,00 for our brain-injured client and $375,000 for her husband’s loss of consortium claim.  A portion of the money was placed in a structure and in trust to ensure our client’s well-being for her entire life.  This settlement is Connecticut’s largest known settlement reported for a mild traumatic brain injury.

We represented the estate of a 73 year old man for a wrongful death claim and his wife for a loss of consortium claim arising out of a head-on crash with a drunk driver.  The drunk driver was operating her spouse’s company car.  As a result of the impact, our client died instantly.   Working with a professional video company, we created a video depicting the powerful testimony expected from trial witnesses, who explained the many enjoyments of life lost by our client.   In addition to the video, we presented a power point presentation  laying out the harms and losses attributable to the crash.  While the insurance carriers initially disputed coverage and the amount that the harms and losses were worth, the case settled after a second day at mediation and days before eight depositions were going to be taken of the defendant driver, the owners of the business, and other essential witnesses.

We represented the estate of a 72 year old bicyclist for a wrongful death case and his wife of 50 years for a loss of consortium claim.  Our client was hit and killed instantly by a company pick-up truck making deliveries when the defendant veered onto the shoulder of the road.  Our client preferred that litigation be avoided if possible.  In order to demonstrate to the defendants’ insurance company the enormity of the damages at this early stage of the claim, we worked with a professional video company to create a video of our trial witnesses describing the unique qualities of our client.  This video was sent to the decision makers at the insurance company prior to a mediation.  In addition, at the mediation, we presented a PowerPoint with evidence establishing how our client had lived life as an adventure and his special bond with his soul mate and wife of 50 years.  A portion of the settlement was donated by the client to charity in our client’s memory.

We represented the estate of a 58 year-old single man with no children for a wrongful death claim against the assembler of a commercial truck.  Our client was found dead entangled in a PTO shaft underneath his parked truck with a screwdriver in his hand while he was making a delivery for his employer.  There were no witnesses to this tragedy.  Our mechanical engineering expert opined that the truck was defectively assembled because: (1) it should have included a guard around the PTO shaft; (2) the pump in the truck was facing in the wrong direction requiring any repairs on the pump to be made while under the truck rather than along side it; and (3) the truck lacked any warnings about the dangers of going underneath the truck and near the spinning PTO shaft.  Defendant denied that the truck was defective and instead blamed our client for going underneath the truck and putting himself in harms way.  We had an economist that concluded the loss of earnings to the estate was between $282,000 and $397,000.   After more than 10 depositions were taken of first responders, our client’s employer, the parties and our experts, the case settled following a mediation several weeks before trial was scheduled to begin.


* Please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in other matters or cases, as each case has a unique set of facts and circumstances.

We represented the estate of a 91-year-old WWII combat veteran and POW survivor, who was a wheelchair passenger being transported in a wheelchair van. The first defendant caused a crash with a third vehicle that struck the wheelchair van head-on. We recovered all available insurance from the first defendant, which was $495,000. We then proceeded with a second claim against the owner and operator of the wheelchair van alleging that our client was not secured with a lap and shoulder belt at the time of the crash and the failure to secure our client led to his death. These defendants claimed our client was belted at the time of the crash. We relied on testimony from a first responder and experts in accident reconstruction, wheelchair securement, biomechanics, and pathology, to show that based on our client’s injuries and the lack of forensic evidence to the lap and shoulder belts, our client was not secured. The case against the wheelchair van owner and operator settled for $970,000 at mediation for a total recovery of $1,465,000 for our client.