Wrongful death cases present some unique factors in Minnesota. There’s a procedural approach in Minnesota that needs to be followed in wrongful death cases. All of the next of kin have a right to make a claim. But the courts don’t want separate individuals making separate claims so the family will appoint one person to be the trustee for the next of kin. That person will be the point of contact with the lawyer and the courts. And that person needs to be appointed by a judge.

So we take care of all the paperwork to appoint the trustee. We take care of all of the aspects of the recovery of funds through the guidance of the trustee. And then once money is recovered, it has to go through a distribution process that, again, has to be approved by a district court judge so that all of the next of kin either consent to the distribution or are taken into account. One memorable wrongful death case involved an over-the-centerline situation, where a car slid on ice and crossed the centerline, resulting in the death of the mother and father of three young boys. Tragic circumstances that no one could ever replace the parents of these children, but we were able to access the insurance recovery in a way that’ll take care of the financial needs of these children for the rest of their lives. Their educational needs, their getting started in life, all of those financial aspects will be taken care of through the recovery and the court-ordered distribution of funds.