Dubuque County Jury Awards Damages in Underinsured Motorist Case Against Allstate

The collision that brought this case to a Dubuque County courtroom was not in dispute. By the time the trial began in November 2021, Allstate Property and Casualty had admitted that the at-fault driver's negligence caused the plaintiff's injuries. The only question left for the jury was how much those injuries were worth.

Underinsured motorist claims arise when the driver responsible for a crash carries liability limits too low to fully compensate the victim. In Iowa, injured people may turn to their own auto insurance policy for the difference, up to the policy's underinsured motorist limit. That is the claim the plaintiff brought against Allstate.

With liability off the table, the November 2021 trial in Dubuque County District Court focused entirely on damages. Connor Mulholland of Mueller Schmidt Mulholland and Cooling, PLLC, presented the plaintiff's case to the jury. At a damages-only trial, the plaintiff's attorney must lay out the full picture of how the collision affected the client: medical treatment received, expenses incurred, any lasting limitations, and the pain endured along the way.

Allstate, defending against the claim, had every incentive to minimize the damages picture and challenge the extent or cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Jurors in underinsured motorist cases hear from both sides before deciding what a fair award looks like.

The jury returned its verdict for the plaintiff on damages following the November 4, 2021 trial. The Iowa State Bar Association's Civil Jury Verdict Reporter, which compiles verdict data supplied monthly by the Iowa Judicial Branch, recorded the outcome in Dubuque County case LACV110019, with Connor N. Mulholland listed as the plaintiff's counsel. No appeal or remittitur appears in the publicly available record.