Verdicts & Settlements January 23, 2012: Motorcycle wreck case resolves with settlement [Missouri Lawyers Media]

A woman severely injured when her uninsured boyfriend wrecked his motorcycle has received a $400,000 insurance settlement.

Kirsten Chaney, 23, was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by Brad Duffie on June 26, 2010, when he lost control on state Highway U in Pulaski County. Chaney, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from the motorcycle. Duffie died in the one-vehicle wreck. Witnesses said he was traveling between 75 mph and 80 mph on the rural road, Chaney's attorney reported.

Chaney was taken by ambulance to University Hospital in Columbia and treated for a traumatic elbow injury and a broken pubic bone. She needed five surgeries on the elbow, suffered a staph infection and continues to have scarring, shooting pain in her wrist and hand, muscle spasms and other complications, her attorney, Richard Zalasky, said.

Zalasky settled with Nationwide Insurance Co. in August, one month after sending a demand letter in which Chaney sought $400,000, the limit of her uninsured motorists' policy. Her medical bills totaled $190,000, Zalasky said.

Chaney had four vehicles on the policy, which each had a $100,000 limit but offered stacked coverage.

"I wish there was more coverage available," Zalasky said. "She was really severely hurt. She's going to have a lifetime of problems."

No defense attorney was involved in the settlement. Nationwide Insurance adjuster Brent Benit declined to comment on the settlement.

  $400,000 settlement

Motor vehicle collision

Venue: Pulaski County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: Not filed/Aug. 11, 2011

Special Damages: $190,000 in medical bills

Insurer: Nationwide Insurance Co.

Caption: Kirsten Chaney v. Nationwide Insurance Co. of America

Plaintiff's Attorney: Richard Zalasky, Brown & Crouppen, St. Louis

Defendant's Attorney: None