$2.1 Million Verdict Against Acuity After Insurer Offered 16% of Policy Limit to TBI Survivor

The crash happened on an ordinary afternoon. A woman had just left her child's school award ceremony when an underinsured driver struck her car broadside, sending the vehicle into a tree. The collision left her with a traumatic brain injury that would reshape the rest of her life.

The plaintiff was a corporate executive and single mother raising two children. She had rebuilt her life after losing her first husband to ALS, and by the time of the crash she had remarried and was eight years past that loss. The TBI took her career from her. Despite sustained effort to recover and return to work, she could not.

She carried underinsured motorist coverage with Acuity Insurance and had paid premiums faithfully for years. When the at-fault driver's coverage fell short, she turned to her own policy. Acuity's response was to offer $250,000, roughly 16 percent of its $1.5 million policy limit, and hold that position.

TSR Injury Law partners Rich Ruohonen and Chuck Slane took the case to trial before a Minnesota jury. Ruohonen's trial theme focused on perseverance: his client had not given up after her husband's death, had not given up after the crash, and had not given up when her insurer refused to honor its coverage. The jury returned a verdict of $2.1 million, exceeding the policy limit by $600,000.

The result earned Ruohonen his sixth Minnesota Lawyer Attorneys of the Year recognition, announced in February 2025 for work performed in 2024. No reduction or remittitur has been reported.