On September 20, 2009 Forrest Walker was driving his 1998 Ford Explorer.  He was stopped at the intersection of Arapahoe Avenue and Cherryvale Road in Boulder. Walker’s Explorer was rear-ended. His driver’s seat malfunctioned, and he was thrown backwards sustaining head and neck injuries.

Claiming that the Explorer’s seat was a defectively designed, Walker sued Ford. The first trial ended on March 25, 2013 in a verdict for Mr. Walker and against Ford.  The 2013 jury determined that Ford was liable for damages in the amount of $2,915,971.36.  Ford successfully appealed that verdict to the Colorado Court of Appeals, and then to the Colorado Supreme Court.  The high court ruled that the trial court had improperly instructed the jury on the correct test to apply to a finding of product liability. The Court threw out the verdict and the judgment against Ford and ordered a second trial to be conducted.

On March 1, 2019 a Boulder County District Court jury returned a verdict in favor of Forrest Walker, against Ford Motor Company in the net amount of $2,929,871.20.  With pre-judgment interest and costs the value of the judgment will rise to approximately $6.5 million. Mike Thomson of Purvis Gray Thomson chaired the trial and partner Evan Banker of Chalat Hatten & Banker second-chaired.

Johnny Kotun, age 28, was an expert recreational skier. On March 25, 2007 at 4:00 PM, Kotun was traversing along a lower cat walk across the “Wilbere cutoff” and was headed toward one of the lower parking lots at Snowbird Ski Resort. Defendant, a 16-year-old off-duty junior ski instructor, was descending the cutoff, directly under the Wilbere chair lift. Defendant took a jump off of a transition, and performed a 360. He landed, carved two wide arc turns and collided at high speed into Kotun. Kotun was seen and heard waving his arms and shouting at defendant to avoid him in the moments before the collision. At impact, Kotun was ejected from his skis and thrown into a nearby tree. Defendant also went airborne into the tree. About 25′ from the point of impact was a large, orange SLOW banner. The testimony from witnesses (including chairlift passengers who reported to the scene) and the defendant formed a basis for our expert to establish a minimum speed at point of impact > 42 mph.

Defendant sustained a non-displaced pelvic fracture, a concussion (no helmet) and bruising to his kidneys and spleen. He recovered without any impairment.

Kotun sustained mandibular and maxillary fractures. Although he was wearing a helmet, Kotun also sustained an intra cerebral and frontal lobe hemorrhage, and a severe shear injury.

He recovered from the facial fractures but is now hemi-plegic on his left side, and has significant cognitive and speech impairments. His ability to live independently and earn an independent living has been lost.

The parties settled for the policy limits of $1.5 Million. A significant portion of the settlement payment was structured. The case was filed in Salt Lake County District Court and local counsel on the case were Craig Adamson and Craig Hoggan of Dart Adamson and Donovan of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Theresa Seto, a 47 year old mother of five, underwent gallbladder removal surgery by Dr. Michael Fraterelli, M.D. at the Medical Center of Aurora.

A doctor’s goal in a gallbladder removal surgery is to identify the cystic duct, clip it, and remove the gallbladder. The cystic duct runs from the gallbladder to the common duct. It is the only duct that joins the gallbladder. The common bile duct never joins the gallbladder. Cutting the common duct is life-threatening. There is no meaningful difference in the appearance of the two ducts. The ducts are identifiable only by where they run. The common duct never joins the gallbladder. The cystic duct is the only duct that runs to the gallbladder.

Dr. Fraterelli failed to conclusively identify the cystic duct, and chose not to take the steps required of reasonably careful surgeons to conclusively identify the cystic duct before cutting. He assumed he had identified the correct duct, and cut the common duct instead of the cystic duct, causing significant injury to Ms. Seto.

Dr. Fraterelli refused to accept responsibility for his actions. Evan Banker of Chalat Hatten & Banker, together with the Sean Olson of the Olson Law Firm, represented Ms. Seto at trial, where a jury found Dr. Fraterelli liable for medical malpractice. The jury returned a verdict for Ms. Seto and against Dr. Fraterelli for $1.04 million. See Seto v. Fraterelli.

M.B., age 21 was a helmeted passenger on a motorcycle when a car driven by Ms. Robb, an elderly lady from
South Carolina, made a left hand turn and crashed into her. Robb was in a rented car and was given a traffic
citation at the scene of the accident. M.B. was taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center by ambulance and remained
there for two weeks. She was admitted into ICU for a lacerated liver, knee injury and broken hand.

She initially engaged a high-volume, “TV advertising” law firm but felt that “she was not being treated fairly or
communicated with properly.” Her matter involved both a criminal and civil side. Her claims were significant
for huge medical bills and lost income as a personal trainer. Insurance coverage was complicated with low
policy limits on the rental, and two other insurance policies providing coverage for the accident.

Partner Russell Hatten represented M.B. and achieved a $500K settlement on her behalf.