Gump, Faiella & Bugalski, LLC

$1.2M

Truck Accident, Wrongful Death

Decedent was a 63 year old truck driver who was operating his tractor trailer rig just south of Chicago, Illinois, when he experienced mechanical difficulty and pulled to the shoulder and stopped. He had exited his vehicle and had completed setting out orange warning signs and was returning to his vehicle when another semi tractor trailer rig, swerved onto the shoulder and struck the truck driver while he was walking resulting in the truck driver’s death.

$800,000

Estate Litigation, Will Contest

Decedent was the elderly widow of a long time small town dentist. The couple had no children and had amassed a modest fortune. Decedent executed a will some months prior to her death and benefited three local churches with the residue going to a long time family friend who provided care and assistance to her on a daily basis during the waning years of her life. Upon her death the will was admitted to probate. A will contest was filed by two nieces who claimed that the decedent lacked testamentary capacity when she executed the will. The decedent was a resident in a nursing facility at the time she executed the will.

$1.2M

Commercial Litigation, Breach of Contract

Plaintiff brought claims for breach of contract under the Missouri Merchandizing Fair Practices Act. The case was settled with the class receiving compensation in excess of $1.2 Million.

$534,277

Auto Accident, Personal Injury

The 26-year-old plaintiff was a passenger in a car that collided with an ambulance at midnight in April 1995. The car driver, defendant Baker, was also seriously injured, and a passenger in the ambulance was killed. The plaintiff claimed that the ambulance ran a red light without its siren or flashing lights activated. The ambulance driver admitted entering the intersection against a red light, but claimed that his siren and lights were on and the Baker pulled out in front of him at the last minute. Eyewitness testimony differed as to whether the siren and lights were on. The plaintiff was ejected from the vehicle and suffered injuries to her head, arm and leg. She recovered well and was able to return to her job as a nurse, but still had some impairment of leg and arm function.

$2.1M

Insurance Bad Faith, Wrongful Death

This case involved a man that died in a tree trimming accident as a result of equipment failure in Missouri. The deceased’s family made a claim against the tree trimming company and the insurer for the tree trimming company that denied the claim and refused to settle for the available policy limits of $100,000. The plaintiffs obtained a verdict against the tree trimming company and then pursed a bad faith claim against the insurer (insurance company) for improper claim denial and bad faith failure to settle.

$275,000

Insurance Bad Faith, Auto Accident, Wrongful Death

Plaintiff Winkler made an underinsured motorist claim against Columbia Mutual Insurance Company after her husband died in an accident with a driver who had only $25,000.00 in coverage. Columbia Mutual had issued a policy to a corporation for which her husband was a shareholder, officer and employee. The terms of the policy provided auto liability coverage for non-owned vehicles, but the UM and UIM coverage was issued on owned vehicles. The corporation did not own any vehicles, and Winkler’s husband was killed driving his own vehicle engaged in the corporation’s business.