Judge rules methadone clinic’s insurer should pay Carlton County crash victims’ families

Sept. 17--A State District Court judge has ruled that an insurance company for a Brainerd methadone clinic should pay $2 million to the families of two Carlton County workers killed in a traffic crash caused by a patient under the influence of the drug nearly four years ago.

Pinnacle Recovery Services and its CEO, Dr. John Stroemer, agreed in January to an $8.55 million settlement with the families of Mitchell Lingren and Zachary Gamache -- $5.7 million against Pinnacle and $2.85 million against Stroemer.

As part of the settlement, in which the doctor and clinic agreed to be found negligent, the families agreed to seek damages only from West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., and the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association (MJUA), the liability insurers for Pinnacle and Stroemer, respectively. Both insurers had denied coverage, leading to a June hearing in a Ramsey County courtroom from which Judge Robert A. Awsumb made his ruling, which was released Friday.

Awsumb found that MJUA was exempt from having to pay damages because its policy with Stroemer was for medical malpractice professional liability -- and the families' lawsuit was not a claim for damages by a patient.

But he did find that West Bend Mutual was obligated to pay $1 million from a primary policy and $1 million from an umbrella policy -- the caps per occurrence for the policies that provided professional liability coverage for the clinic.

"We had sought more than that from West Bend, and West Bend had tried to avoid paying anything -- so it's a mixed victory for these families who have been fighting tooth-and-nail against these insurance companies from the day their two family members were taken away from them," said Phil Sieff, an attorney for the families.

Sieff said the families had argued that the coverage provided by West Bend Mutual should have afforded payment of damages of $3 million to $5 million.

Sieff said Friday that he would need to consult with his clients before deciding whether or not to appeal all or part of the ruling.

"These folks have been through hell and back -- they need time to reflect and think about what they want to do and talk with us, and make a decision on which way to go," he said.

Michael Quinlivan, an attorney representing West Bend Mutual, said he and his clients also will be reviewing the decision before deciding how to proceed.

"We respect Judge Awsumb's thorough analysis and will be reviewing it closely to determine whether an appeal will take place," Quinlivan said. "We certainly recognize the irreplaceable loss both families have suffered in this accident, and the issue at hand is one of contract interpretation that is separate from their undeniable loss."

Lingren, 29, and Gamache, 25, were killed in a multi-vehicle crash along Minnesota Highway 210 near Wright on Oct. 1, 2012. Investigation revealed that Vanessa Brigan had crossed the center-line, striking their truck, which then careened across the highway and was struck by a large truck hauling construction equipment.

Brigan had received methadone treatment at the Pinnacle clinic in Brainerd earlier in the day. She also admitted to injecting a take-home dose of the drug intravenously before beginning a 100-mile drive back to her home in Cloquet.

Brigan, now 30, is serving a six-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide charges.

Attorneys for the families alleged that Stroemer never conducted a physical examination of Brigan or even looked at her medical records prior to prescribing her a take-home dose of the narcotic.

Gregory Bulinski, an attorney for Pinnacle, said in court filings that Stroemer had relied on the opinions of an experienced team of professionals before prescribing Brigan the take-home dose. He also argued that the clinic could not be expected to know that the patient would get behind the wheel after receiving treatment.

However, defense attorneys acknowledged in the settlement agreement that Pinnacle and Stroemer faced a "significant risk" of being found liable for a substantial judgment if the case went to trial.

Pinnacle is one of a number of for-profit methadone providers in Minnesota that have come under fire in recent years. The Lake Superior Treatment Center in Duluth was shuttered by authorities last year, nearly three years after the state revoked its license due to dozens of violations.

Brainerd clinic

Last month the Brainerd City Council unanimously approved a motion opposing the location of a methadone clinic in that city amid news that Meridian Behavioral Health is looking to acquire the Pinnacle facility, which opened in April 2012.

The Brainerd Dispatch reported that Councilor Mary Koep, who made the motion, said the council can't shut the clinic down or stop the sale, but she said it was important to go on record opposing the clinic.

And earlier in August, the Crow Wing County Board unanimously denied a letter of need request from Meridian.

Charles Hilger, vice president of Meridian Behavioral Health, said in the request that Meridian operates three other programs in the Twin Cities and "has a strong reputation for integrated, patient-centered care, among those we serve and with referents and community partners. The need for this program is evident by its continued growth, the increasing number of persons seeking treatment for opioid addiction and the current opioid epidemic," Hilger wrote. "Opioid overdose is currently the No. 1 cause of accidental death in the United States."

At the August meeting, County Commissioner Paul Thiede asked Hilger how many patients at the Pinnacle clinic live in Crow Wing County. Hilger said of the 440 patients treated by the clinic, 48 claim addresses in the county, while 62 live in St. Louis County and 96 in Carlton County. Patients are transported from these areas and other communities in the state, with costs associated with that transportation picked up by the state.

Hilger said of those patients who remain in the program for one year, 90 percent remain free of illicit opiate use and 70 percent remain free of any illicit drug use. Of patients accepted at the clinic, 60 percent remain in the program for one year, and the average time to sobriety is 2.5 years.

Commissioner Rachel Reabe Nystrom asked why the clinic would be located in Crow Wing County, if many of the patients were from the Duluth area.

"We don't want to be the methadone capital of Minnesota, I don't think," Nystrom said last month. "This is our opportunity to say this was ... a lapse of judgment five years ago."

Hilger said he agreed with Nystrom, and said that ideally there would be several smaller sites opened throughout the state instead of larger programs like the one in Brainerd.

County Attorney Don Ryan said that even if the County Board chose to deny the letter of need and send a letter explaining its opposition, the state could go forward with approving the ownership transfer.

Pinnacle Recovery Services continued to be listed as the license-holder for the facility on Friday, according to Minnesota Department of Human Services records.

The Brainerd Dispatch contributed to this report.

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