An injured bricklayer who sued his insurance company for underinsured motorist benefits won his case in Dakota County District Court and walked away with a much larger verdict than he asked for. A Dakota County jury awarded the Park Rapids man a $793,000 verdict against American Family Insurance Company after he smashed his knee, femur and hipbone in a car accident.

The verdict included $793,000 for pain and suffering, double the amount his attorney, Jeff Sieben, had requested.

Our client was seriously injured in a February 2003 car accident near his home when he swerved his car to avoid another driver pulling out of a driveway and crashed into a large pine tree.

"When he hit, it jammed his knee so hard it smashed his femur thorough his hip," Sieben said.

Because the other driver was underinsured, our client sued his own insurance company for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. The trial took four days, and the jury deliberated for about four hours before deciding that the sum he had asked for was too low.

Sieben said the jury favored our client because, despite his injuries, he returned to work after his accident, although he had to give up his title as brick-laying foreman.

"I think that's why people wanted to help him, because he said, 'I'm not going to hang it up.' He puts up with a lot of pain," Sieben said.