$265,000 Verdict Against State Farm in One of Minnesota's First COVID-Era Jury Trials

When an uninsured driver struck Sarah's vehicle, the injuries she sustained went well beyond what her own insurance company was willing to acknowledge. State Farm, as her uninsured motorist carrier, offered $10,000 to settle the claim. TSR Injury Law partner Rich Ruohonen took the case to trial.

The collision left Sarah with upper back and neck injuries, along with a foot injury from where the car made direct contact. Treatment was ongoing, and the financial and physical toll was real. Ruohonen's task was to put that reality in front of a jury that would hear State Farm's counter-narrative.

Trial took place in August 2020 in Hennepin County, at a moment when almost no civil courtrooms in Minnesota were open. The case became one of the first civil jury trials held in the state since COVID-19 shuttered court proceedings earlier that year. Plexiglass barriers separated participants at counsel table. Jurors wore masks and were spread across the courtroom to maintain distance. The procedural constraints were significant, but the trial went forward.

State Farm's defense followed a familiar pattern. Ruohonen later described the insurer's approach: the company called the client a liar, argued she was not seriously hurt or that any injury lasted only six weeks, claimed the conditions were preexisting, and retained a physician to testify accordingly. The jury heard all of it.

After three days, the jury returned a verdict of $265,000. That figure was more than 26 times the insurer's pretrial offer of $10,000. In Ruohonen's words, the jurors told State Farm that the way it treated its own customer was not acceptable. No appeal or post-verdict reduction has been reported in coverage of this case.