DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

Motorcyclist Receives $500,000.00 Policy Limit

The life of the Vanden Boom family changed forever on May 18, 2001. That afternoon, Robert Vanden Boom was riding his motorcycle on U.S. Highway 10 in Calumet County, Wisconsin. At approximately three o’clock, an automobile pulled out of a private driveway directly into Mr. Vanden Boom’s path. With no time to take evasive action, Mr. Vanden Boom smashed into the car. Given the catastrophic nature of his injuries, Mr. Vanden Boom was flown by helicopter to Theda-Clark Hospital. There he was treated for a traumatic brain injury and broken bones, injuries that left Mr. Vanden Boom permanently disabled.

The driver who caused the accident was covered by an American Family insurance policy that carried a $500,000.00 limit. American Family should have stepped up and paid Mr. Vanden Boom’s claim, but it did not. Instead, it paid nothing and made excuse after excuse. That is when Attorney Jason F. Abraham from our law firm intervened and began pressuring American Family to meet its obligation to pay Mr. Vanden Boom. Initially, Attorney Abraham got the insurance company to advance Mr. Vanden Boom $100,000.00. By the time the case was settled, Attorney Abraham had secured a total of $500,000.00 for him, the entire amount available in the American Family insurance policy. Also, Attorney Abraham saw to it that the Vanden Booms could pursue the driver who caused the accident personally for an additional $200,000.00. We are happy to report that Robert Vanden Boom is making great strides in his recovery.

After Attorney Abraham’s victory for Mr. Vanden Boom, the Wisconsin Supreme Court handed down a decision detrimental to the interests of motorcycle riders. That decision held that motorcycle operators who were not wearing helmets at the time of an accident could be limited in recovery for their injuries, even if the accident had been caused by someone else’s negligence. The Law Offices of Michael F. Hupy & Associates, S.C., believes this decision is unjust and unwarranted, especially since there is no law in Wisconsin requiring operators of motorcycles to wear helmets. We are working with local legislators to have a law passed that would rescind the Court’s decision. In Mr. Vanden Boom’s case, his recovery would have been reduced under the Supreme Court’s decision because he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. This reduction could have occurred even though Mr. Vanden Boom was gravely and permanently injured by a negligent driver, who had been solely responsible for the accident.

ADDENDUM: On August 26, 2003, Attorney Hupy testified at a public hearing on a bill that he helped to draft. It would change a Supreme Court ruling, which allowed non-use of a helmet to be used to limit or reduce damage amounts to injured bikers. The bill was sent to the Senate floor on November 4, 2003, by the committee. After discussion, the bill passed by a vote of 23 to 9. The bill then went to the Assembly and a public hearing was held again. Attorney Hupy testified once more, pointing out the infairness of the court ruling. Thanks in part to Attorney Hupy's testimony, the bill passed out of committee and passed the entire Assembly by a vote of 84 to 12. On March 15, 2004, Governor James Doyle signed SB 223 into law. He explained that non-use of a helmet could not be used as evidence of negligence in an injury trial. He invited Hupy to the signing ceremony where he publicly thanked him, and handed him a pen used to sign the bill.

Mr. Vanden Boom’s case and many others clearly illustrate that the process of resolving a personal injury claim is one in which the insurance companies look out solely for their own financial interests. The Law Offices of Michael F. Hupy & Associates, S.C., is here to protect your interests if you are injured in an accident.

Awarded: $500,000.00