Represented an active grandmother who fell off a chair and broke her heel bone – a complex calcaneus fracture. An orthopedic physician assistant at an orthopedic clinic in Minnesota determined our client did not need surgery. The PA felt he could treat it conservatively.  Instead of receiving a referral to an ankle specialist right away, our client underwent nearly 30 physical therapy sessions and walked for months on a broken heel. Six months later the PA finally ordered an MRI, which showed the fractures did not heal correctly. At that point our client required an ankle fusion surgery. Elizabeth Fors and Chris Messerly obtained a $325,000 settlement for this now in-active grandmother.

Represented the family of a 30 year-old mother of two young children who went to a Minnesota Hospital for uncontrolled back pain and dehydration.  Doctors ordered, and nurses administered, multiple opioid medications to control the pain. However, on her third day in the hospital, a hospitalist chose to increase the opioid dose by 97% without any increased monitoring – like continuous pulse oximetry.  The doctor ordered a new fentanyl patch and doubled her oxycodone dose. Hours later nurses found her unresponsive in bed. She never regained consciousness and died a few days later. Liz Fors and Chris Messerly obtained $1 million for the tragic overdose death of this young mom.

Represented the family of a 30-year-old woman who went to an emergency room with a fever and nausea three days after giving birth to her first child. The nurse practitioner defendant ignored lab tests showing that the woman had sepsis (a severe systemic infection) and sent her home. Twelve hours later, the woman was rushed back to the same emergency room, where she died. A jury returned a verdict in the amount of $20.6 million, which is the largest medical malpractice wrongful death verdict in state history.

Represented a woman, Megan, in a personal injury case against multiple parties. Megan was a 24-year-old single mother to Brayden, age four. She was on her way to work one icy morning, when her vehicle was struck by another car on I-94 in the northern Twin Cities suburbs. Her car was sent careening into a construction crane that was parked too close to the freeway. The crane decapitated her. Ms. Fors and her team sued the construction project’s general contractor as well as the company responsible for leaving the crane in a dangerous position. The case was ultimately settled with these two companies, the driver who started the chain of events, and Megan’s own underinsured motorist carrier. Economic loss was less than $400,000. In addition to her little boy, Megan’s parents, brother, sister, and grandfather survive her. The $1,655,000 settlement will help provide for little Braden’s future.

• Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure (2020-present)
• MSBA Civil Litigation Section Governing Council (2017-present)
• Women Trial Lawyers Conference Planning Committee (2016-present)
• MN LRAP Board of Directors (2019-present)
• St. Stephen's & First Covenant Homeless Shelter, Meal Volunteer
• St. Thomas Law School, Mentor (2017-2020)
• Dakota County Library Foundation, Board of Directors (2016-2019)
• Election Protection, Voter Helpline (866-OUR-VOTE), Volunteer
• Jeremiah Program, Volunteer
• Mitchell Hamline School of Law Alumni Board, Member (2016-2019)