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Firm News for Dewsnup, King and Olsen in Salt Lake City, Utah

Alan Mortensen invited into the Mountain States Super Lawyers

Alan Mortensen was recently selected to the 2012 moutain States Super Lawyers list. This honor is awarded to only 5 percent of attorneys in Utah each year. Selection for the list is transparent and inlcues a multiphase process. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.

The selection process includes:

1. A statewide survey of lawyers

2. Independent research to identify outstanding lawyers

3. An evaluation of candidates based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement

4. A blue ribbon panel review by practice area and state

5. A discipline check of each candidate

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-accredited law school libraries

Charles Conrad selected into The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40

Charles Conrad was selected for national membership in The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40. Only 40 trial lawyers from Utah are chosen for membership in the organization. Top 40 under 40 is a new professional organization of America's top young trial attorneys. Qualifications for membership include superior qualifications, successful trial results, and leadership determined by The National Trial Lawyers. Selection is based on a thorough multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third-party research. The result is a credible, comprehensive and impressive list of young attorneys chosen to represent their state.

The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40 is an essential source of information and networking for top young trial lawyers throughout America. It provides accreditation to those distinguished young attorneys in the areas of civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense law and applauds them for their hard work and honored achievement.

Colin King obtains important verdict in "pain pump" litigation

Dewsnup, King & Olsen's Colin King, joining forces with senior litigators of Parsons Behle & Latimer, obtained an important verdict against Breg, Inc., an orthopedic product manufacturer, in the nationwide "pain pump" products liability litigation. Hundreds of orthopedic surgery patients across the country, including many young patients, such as the plaintiff, Eric Hackett, suffered chondrolysis, a disabling and irreversible destruction of the shoulder joint, caused by the continuous infusions of toxic anesthetic medications via "pain pumps" following surgery.

Breg, Inc. and other pain pump manufacturers promoted pain pumps for use in the joint space following orthopedic surgery without ever having tested pain pumps for safety when used in the joint, and in direct contravention of FDA directives not to promote pain pumps for use in the joint. In Hackett v. Breg, Inc., the jury determined the Breg, Inc. was negligent for promoting its pain pump for use in the joint, and that Breg's negligence caused Eric Hackett to suffer chondrolysis. The jury's findings sent an important message to medical device manufactureres who sell their products without regard for patient safety.

Edward Havas named as the “Salt Lake City Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the Year” for 2012

Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Edward Havas as the “Salt Lake City Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the Year” for 2012.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Edward Havas on being selected as the ‘Salt Lake City Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.”

Successful Settlement Reached in Guatemalan Aircraft Crash Case

A confidential settlement in a Guatemalan aircraft crash case that killed several Utahans and catastrophically injured others against Dallas Airmotive, Inc., and Pratt & Whitney was reached shortly before trial. Previous agreements were reached with the airplane's owner and operator, Aereo Ruta Maya, SA. Alan W. Mortensen and Edward B. Havas represented one of the survivors of the crash and the families of 2 of the deceased victims. Mr. Mortensen and Dustin Lance represented the families of the pilot and co-pilot of the airplane who perished in the crash. Dallas Airmotive, a Texas Company (part of the BBA Aviation family), was one of the maintenance providers, and Pratt & Whitney, a Canadian Company, was the manufacturer of the PT6A-114A turbo-prop engine on the Cessna 208B Caravan plane that crashed in 2008 due, in part, to in-flight engine turbine blade failure. The crash killed 11 and injured 3. Twelve of the victims were on a humanitarian trip with Utah based company, Choice Humanitarian.

Colin King Wins Settlement

Colin King recently won a confidential settlement for the severe brain injuries a 19-year-old man sustained in a motor vehicle accident.

Dustin Lance and Alan W. Mortensen Settle Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Dustin Lance and Alan Mortensen recently resolved a wrongful death/catastrophic injury case resulting from a tire failure against Victor's Tires. The details of the resolution are confidential.

Colin King Successfully Settles Logan Landslide Case

Colin King was recently awarded a confidential settlement on behalf of a client who was one of heirs of Jacqueline Leavy. Leavy, along with her 2 children, was buried in a landslide which destroyed their Logan home in July 2009.

Colin King Inducted to The Inner Circle of Advocates

Last year, Colin King was inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates in recognition of his exemplary achievements as a plaintiff’s trial attorney. The Inner Circle of Advocates is limited to 100 plaintiff tort lawyers in the United States. Mr. King is the 2nd attorney in the state of Utah to achieve this honor.

Colin King Renamed to The Best Lawyers in America

Mr. King was recently voted to be in The Best Lawyers in America in plaintiff’s product liability and medical malpractice for the 17th year straight year.

Colin King Named in 2010 Super Lawyers Magazine

Colin King was recently named as one of the top 75 lawyers in the 2010 Mountain States Super Lawyers Magazine. This includes the states of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

Successful Settlement Reached in Aircraft Lawsuit

Colin King recently settled Villanueva v. Cessna, an aircraft product liability case in multi-district litigation. The case was part of MDL #721, in Cessna Caravan 208 Aircraft litigation.

Alan W. Mortensen, Edward B. Havas Named to The Best Lawyers in America Directory

Two Dewsnup, King & Olsen attorneys, Alan W. Mortensen and Edward B. Havas have been selected to be part of The Best Lawyers in America. Best Lawyers, a distinguished peer-review publication, compiles lists of esteemed attorney’s through an extensive survey process done confidentially by peers in the legal profession. According to the organization, “For more than 25 years, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.”

Alan W. Mortensen Defeats Summary Judgment Motion in Assault Case

Alan W. Mortensen recently defeated a summary judgment motion in a sexual assault case on behalf of a client who was sexually assaulted by a city police officer. The plaintiff and client alleges that the city police department knew the officer had a negative pattern toward the opposite sex and failed to prevent, control, or discipline the individual as well as claims for negligence and violation of the Utah Constitution. The police department moved for a summary of judgment on the basis of qualified immunity.

In denying the police department’s motion for summary judgment, the court concluded that “a reasonable jury may find that [the city] acted with deliberate indifference.” In addition, the court granted summary judgment on both the plaintiff’s state constitutional claim, and on the negligence claim.

Ralph L. Dewnsup Returns from Puerto Rico

Dewsnup, King & Olsen is happy to announce the return of shareholder and founding member Ralph L. Dewsnup, after serving as a Latter-Day-Saint mission president in Puerto Rico for the past three years. Mr. Dewsnup will continue his specialty of medical malpractice and all other areas of personal injury and wrongful death law.

Edward B. Havas and Alan W. Mortensen Attend the United Mine Workers of America Constitutional Convention as Honored Guests

Edward B. Havas and Alan W. Mortensen attended the Constitutional Convention of the United Mine Workers of America held at the Mirage in Las Vegas in late July. Both were invited as honored guests due to their involvement with Union families after the August 2007 Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster, where Mortensen and Havas represented eight of the fallen miner’s families and three of the injured miners. Settlement in the case was reached last year.

Workers’ Compensation Granted to Client in Plane Crash Case

Alan W. Mortensen recently won workers’ compensation for a client involved in a plane accident in Guatemala. An administrative law judge at the Utah Labor Commission ordered the employer and insurance company to pay “all medical expenses reasonably related” to the accident, “and the medical and surgical fee schedule of the Utah Labor Commission, and any travel allowances,” plus “eight percent (8%) per annum” according to Utah Codes, finding that the injury happened during and in the course and scope of employment.

Alan W. Mortensen and Edward B. Havas Win Jurisdictional Dispute in Guatemalan Plane Crash Case

Representing the family of a victim of a Guatemalan plane crash, Alan W. Mortensen and Edward B. Havas recently won a jurisdictional dispute with the defendant Aereo Ruta Maya. ARM, a Guatemalan based company that offers charter plane services in Guatemala and surrounding areas, including Texas, was the operator of a Cessna plane that crashed in 2008 due to in-flight engine failure, killing 11 and injuring 3. Twelve of the victims were on humanitarian trip with Utah based company, Choice Humanitarian.

ARM fought to keep the jurisdiction of the case solely in Guatemala and out of the United States. Mortensen and Havas presented findings of fact, arguing multiple connections between ARM and Texas to maintain one lawsuit tried in Dallas, Texas. The court found ARM subject to jurisdiction in Texas and of the Texas Court agreeing that “judicial economy and efficiency are most effectively served by trying one lawsuit in Dallas, Texas.”

Edward B. Havas and Alan W. Mortensen Inducted to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Edward B. Havas and Alan W. Mortensen recently became members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Havas was inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum simultaneously. Prior to this membership, Mortensen maintained a membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The forum is one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States, limited to attorneys who have won million or multi-million dollar cases

Talk To A Lawyer

Contact the personal injury lawyers at our Salt Lake City, Utah firm. Dewsnup, King & Olsen can help you with cases involving medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful death, and more.

Location

36 South State St, Ste. 2400
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-0024

800.404.8520 Toll Free