The lifelong mark left by a terrible accident.

Forty years ago, Katie had just turned eleven. She was in the backseat of the car, a 1969 Nash Rambler. The car was solidly built, her father was driving and her mother was in the passenger seat. There was no reason to for an eleven-year old to feel anything other than safe and secure.

The family was stopped at a major intersection, Katie’s father waiting for the light to change. Coming from the left, in cross traffic, a semi-truck started to make a right-hand turn. The driver had the green light and plenty of room to turn into the lanes on the Rambler’s left. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem. But there was a problem.

The trailer was fully loaded. The semi-truck was going a little fast. One of the outside tires on the trailer was flat. These factors combined to create a tilt towards the outside of the turn. Centrifugal force did the rest.

Looking back over some of this year’s more interesting cases

It’s been another interesting year here at Neuhardt law. Some of the cases feel familiar – passengers who are injured in single-vehicle crashes – and others are new, like the “pack of dogs” attack. We can’t release the dollar amounts for the settlements, these are confidential. I’ve also removed any identifying information to protect client privacy.

If nothing else, this partial list of the cases we handle should make drivers aware that serious injury accidents are a part of life here in Billings. Unfortunately, tragedies happen every day in Montana, and they don’t always make the news, other than a short paragraph or two. With the holidays fast approaching, be aware, be safe. And be very careful about getting in any motor vehicle when the driver is impaired.

January 26, 2010- Settled for Confidential six figure amount. We represented three teenage boys that where passengers in a vehicle that was drag racing. The teen that was driving ran a stop sign and crashed head-on into another vehicle. My clients suffered numerous, life-long injuries.

This case mirrored a couple of others from the past – one in 2008 and another in 2009 -- where passengers were injured when impaired drivers crashed their own vehicles. Both settled for six figures as well.

Bad faith claims against insurance companies

Scam is such a harsh word. The proper way to say it, in polite company, is “bad faith” or even “unfair trade practices”. What it amounts to is a situation where there has been a loss – and this part isn’t even contested, everyone agrees here – and the insurance company essentially says, “We aren’t going to pay, sue us.”

Shocking? Yes. This is exactly the sort of practice that commonly happens during a disaster; the kind of misbehavior that arose when New Orleans was hit by hurricane Katrina. Insurance carriers flatly denied claims and put the burden of proof on the homeowners – the very people who were in no position to pursue extended legal action against them.

Fast forward to now. Jump several thousand miles to Montana. No hurricane, no flooding, but guess what? The same technique turns out

Solomon Neuhardt of the Neuhard Law Firm in Billings Montana gave away a brand new Blue-Ray player at the MetraPark Fair!  The fair was held from August 14th - August 21st and approximatley 400 raffle entries were received.  The booth was open from 1p.m. to midnight every day of the fair and Sol passed out free copies of his newest book, Five Big Mistakes that Can Wreck Your Accident Claim, Lost Keys Program cards, and other useful gifts.

The lucky winner was Irene Holland from Billings, Montana!  Included with a Philips Blu-Ray Player, Irene received two bestseller movies, Batman: Dark Knight and Avatar, popcorn, candy and a $25 Hasings gift card.

We want to thank everyone who entered our raffle.  We have a great time