Karen K. Koehler
Case Archive
Governmental Liability
Kime v. City of Seattle
Twenty year old Kristopher Kime was killed by Jerell Thomas as the police were ordered to stand back during the Mardi Gras Riots of 2001 in Seattle. The Kime family sought justice and ultimately received not only a large monetary payment from the City, but a private meeting with the Chief of Police, erection of a memorial plaque in Pioneer Square at the scene of the murder, and monies to fund a scholarship in the name of Kris to be given to a young adult who demonstrated compassion for humankind, heroic self sacrifice and peace loving spirit, in a remarkable way.
Insurance Bad Faith
Ethel Adams v. Farmers
Michael Testa rammed his girlfriend's truck as he chased her down Aurora Avenue. The truck crossed the centerline where it flipped upside down ontop of and head on into Ethel Adams almost killing her. Ethel's insurance company, Farmers, decided not to pay the claim because road rage was not an "accident". The public became outraged as media covered the lawsuit. The Insurance Commissioner threatened to shut Farmers down in Washington at which point it changed its mind and paid on the policy. Ethel then sued Farmers for bad faith. One year after Ethel was hurt, the Governor signed the Ethel Adams bill into law – when innocent person is injured in a car accident, the insurance company can no longer play the same word games.
Construction Site Injury
Petersen v. Finazzo
A worker delivering roofing supplies suffered a severely crushed foot and back injuries when the structure he was placing materials on collapsed. After settling with the company that built the structure, trial was held against the homeowner who had tried to cut corners. The homeowners defense was to attack the character of the injured worker. The plaintiff jury verdict was 43 times more than the pre-trial offer to settle.
Automobile Collision
Jane Doe v. Unnamed Insurance Co.
A thirteen year old girl suffered catastrophic brain injury in a single car crash. The woman driving the vehicle claimed the vehicle malfunctioned. She had minimal insurance policy limits. When suit was brought, the woman continued to claim the vehicle was defective, however she had not preserved it. Due to the failure to preserve evidence the insurance company "raised its limits" and paid 100 percent of the value of the very large settlement. The young girl is now a young woman and attending college.
Insurance Bad Faith
Slape v. State Farm
State Farm did not play fair when handling an insured's Automobile Accidents case. State Farm insured both the plaintiff and the person who rear ended her. First, it forced her to sue the negligent driver by refusing to admit his fault. After a judge entered an order finding the driver responsible, State Farm paid modest policy limits. Its second bad act came a few weeks later when it cut off plaintiff's medical benefits to discourage her from pursuing an underinsured motorist claim. After an arbitrator ruled that her medical benefits needed to be fully paid, a bad faith lawsuit was filed. State Farm settled for the largest amount paid in this state on a personal injury protection bad faith case.
Automobile Collision
Welnick v. Carpenter
Distracted by the hubbub of downtown Seattle, a driver rammed a classic 1966 Mustang in which plaintiff was a passenger. A member of a colorful rock 'n' roll family, plaintiff gave up on her doctors and learned to live with pain. During trial plaintiff's husband played the keyboard and sang for the jury to demonstrate the loss of consortium that occurred because of his wife's depression. The jury entered a verdict for three times the defense's final offer.
Highway Design
Brenner v. Bestway Excavating & State of Washington
A construction truck driver turned left at a dangerous intersection. He crashed head-on into a small car driven by a 17-year-old high school junior headed toward her last day of school for the year. Her mother arrived at the scene in time to see her dying daughter being airlifted to Harborview. The state settled for a very large sum, which was combined with the construction company insurance monies. Understandably, the mother suffered profound post-tramatic stress disorder.
