Case Results, Verdicts & Settlements

Our firm represented a mother and her three children who were seriously injured when their vehicle was struck in a near head-on collision by a car fleeing from Iowa law enforcement. Although the crash occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, the pursuing agency was an Iowa political subdivision, creating immediate and substantial legal challenges, including:
• Whether the Iowa law enforcement agency was actively pursuing the fleeing vehicle at the time of the crash; and
• Whether the agency’s conduct created sufficient minimum contacts with Nebraska for the Nebraska federal district court to exercise personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state government entity

The district court initially dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. Our firm pursued an appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the out-of-state agency’s conduct and the foreseeable harm in Nebraska supported jurisdiction.

The Eighth Circuit reversed the dismissal and remanded the case to the Nebraska federal district court. With the jurisdictional barrier removed, the parties proceeded in litigation. The case ultimately resolved through settlement with the Iowa political subdivision responsible for the law enforcement agency providing compensation for the injuries suffered by our clients.

This case was an extremely difficult case. Our firm was the second law firm involved in our clients’ representation, as the first injury firm withdrew from representation shortly before the statute of limitations under the incorrect belief that there was no claim against the Iowa law enforcement agency. Our office took on representation and immediately filed a formal lawsuit, which ultimately resulted in a gross recovery of $1,000,000.00 for our clients.

Key Takeaway: When a car crash involves a high pursuit chase by law enforcement, there are often other avenues for recovery even if the vehicle that causes the crash is uninsured.