Defendant homeowners hosted a 16th birthday party for their daughter at a farm located in rural Wisconsin. The party was attended by many teenagers--including our client. During the party, an ATV was brought to the farm by a neighbor. Many of the teens at the party were operating the ATV. At one point during the evening, the homeowner instructed the teens that the ATV was to be parked. Yet, the keys were not taken out of the ATV nor was it banished from the premises. Later that evening, one of the girls started the ATV and gave a ride to our client. They drove away from the party until they reached the end of the road, then turned around to head back to the party. Another teen had taken a motorcycle from the farm which did not have a working headlight. He was going to look for the girls on the ATV. In the dark, there was a collision between the ATV and the motorcycle and our client, a passenger on the ATV, was seriously injured.

Our client received orthopedic and facial injuries; she had two open fractures on her left leg and underwent two surgeries and extensive physical therapy. She sustained lacerations to her eyelids and the right side of her upper lip and has permanent scarring on her face. The facial fractures to her nose, jaw and right eye socket required surgical reconstruction of her lip and eye, wiring of her jaw and a feeding tube.

Cory Whalen settled the claim against the homeowner's insurer and the insurer for the motorcycle driver. The total settlement for this claim was $385,000.