Michael R. Strom
Free Consultation
Work in Sieben Polk P.A.
Top Rated Family Law Attorney with 38 years of experience
Wrongful Death, Product Liability, Premises Liability, Personal Injury
2600 Eagan Woods Dr., Suite 50, Eagan, MN 55121
About Michael R. Strom
Practice Areas
- Wrongful Death
- Product Liability
- Premises Liability
- Personal Injury
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1985J.D.
- Honors: cum laude
- Honors: Dean's List
- Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1982B.A.
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Honors: Phi Beta Kappa
Representative Cases
- 2018—Part of trial team obtaining a multi-million dollar verdict on behalf of former NSP employee, recently upheld on appeal
- 2014 – Obtained $4,516,250.00 verdict with Patrick DeBlase of DeBlase, Brown, Eyerly on behalf of accountant who contracted mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure at taconite plant. Client worked for just four months at the plant, working as a laborer to earn college money in 1957. Client recalled cutting, mixing, and handling pipe covering and asbestos muds. Partner Chad Alexander also served on trial team
- 2014 – Mr. Strom and partner Chad Alexander recovered over $635,000 on behalf of mesothelioma victim who had worked as a mechanic at service station from 1961-77. Client's chief exposure was to asbestos-containing friction materials
- 2014 – Recovered over $1.4 million for Butler Taconite millwright and pump mechanic suffering from mesothelioma. Defense unsuccessfully argued that client’s secondary diagnosis of pancreatic cancer should limit or preclude recovery
- 2013 - Obtained over $2.5 million in settlement for farmer who had earlier been exposed to asbestos while working as a union pipefitter. The client contracted mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer of the lining of the lung. The case settled shortly before trial following the trial court's denial of Defendants' motions for summary judgment.
- 2012 - Secured over $2 million for airline mechanic, who had contracted mesothelioma as a result of on the job asbestos exposure. Plaintiff identified asbestos used within aircraft engines manufactured by several different defendants, as well as asbestos used within the airframe and standard airline maintenance materials.
- 2011 - Recovered over $1 million dollars for retired railroad worker who contracted mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos early in his career during steam locomotive overhauls. The Plaintiff was also exposed to asbestos during the original construction of a taconite plant on Minnesota's Iron Range.
- 2011 - Negotiated multi-defendant settlement in excess of $1.8 million on behalf of nursery and greenhouse owner/operator suffering from mesothelioma. The Plaintiff was exposed to asbestos from a variety of materials used on the job, including asbestos boiler insulation, gaskets, transite sheets, and agricultural grade vermiculite.
- 2011 - Recovered settlements totaling over $1.16 million for commercial estimator suffering from mesothelioma. Plaintiff's only known asbestos exposure occurred when he would visit construction sites to take measurements for industrial steel railings, stairways, and walkways fabricated by his employer.
- 2010 - Represented Plaintiffs in two companion cases arising out of asbestos exposure at a Minnesota refinery during the 1960s and 70s. First Plaintiff was a pump mechanic exposed to asbestos from internal gasket and packing material that he routinely scraped and sanded during pump maintenance, which ultimately resulted in him contracting mesothelioma. Second Plaintiff was the spouse of another pump mechanic, who was exposed to asbestos brought home on her husband's clothing as a result of his asbestos work. Both cases culminated in settlements in excess of $1 million.
- 2010 - Wrongful death suit on behalf of office worker, whose only known asbestos exposure occurred when she was in high school. Her father operated a rural school bus line and replaced bus brakes. Plaintiff was exposed to asbestos visiting her father after school at the bus maintenance garage located next door to family home, and contracted mesothelioma just before her fiftieth birthday. Claim ultimately settled for just over $1 million.
- 2009 - Obtained over $1.05 million in wrongful death suit brought on behalf of brazier in aeronautics industry. Plaintiff contracted mesothelioma as a result of asbestos released from transite panels that he routinely abraded in performing his duties.
- $4.6 million jury award in March 2008 for NSP worker in case against gasket manufacturer, affirmed by Minnesota appellate courts on appeal.
- Seven figure aggregate settlement in 2007 for outside delivery man exposed to asbestos in various industrial plants.
- $625,000.00 settlement in 2006 for wrongful death of thirteen-year-old boy killed during roll over of unstable modified golf car. Case prosecuted by attorneys Michael S. Polk and Michael R. Strom.
- $1.65 Million jury verdict in 2003 for refrigeration worker exposed to asbestos in case tried by Mr. Strom and his partner Scott Hertogs.
- $8.05 Million jury verdict in 2001 for pipe fitter exposed to asbestos at refinery.
- $1.35 Million settlement on behalf of a burn victim in a service station explosion in Columbus, Ohio.
- Several total settlements in asbestos product liability cases in excess of one million dollars.
- Conda v. Honeywell International, 2018 WL 2293530 (Minn. Ct. App. May 21, 2018)
- Newinski v. John Crane, Inc., WL 1752011 (Minn. Ct. App. June 23, 2009), rev. denied, (Minn. September, 16, 2009).
- Conda v. Honeywell International, 2018 WL 2293530 (Minn. Ct. App. May 21, 2018) (Court of Appeals affirmed that 2003 amendment to Minnesota’s joint and several liability statute applies only to cases arising out of conduct that occurred after the amendment’s effective date. As a result, Minnesota essentially retains joint and several liability in asbestos cases)
- Newinski v. John Crane, Inc., WL 1752011 (Minn. Ct. App. June 23, 2009), rev. denied, (Minn. September, 16, 2009). (Defendant’s joint and several liability for entire award is not dependent on statutory “reallocation,” the purpose of which is to reduce the burdens of point and several liability where the defendant makes the required showing of uncollectibility of judgment(s) against other at fault parties
- Gray v. Badger Mining Corp., 676 N.W. 2d 268 (Minn. 2004); Supreme Court imposed duty to warn on supplier of bulk material regardless of whether employer has general knowledge of material's dangers. Decision overruled Court of Appeals ruling finding no duty.
- Doten v. ACandS, Inc., et al., 1997 WL 118248 (Minn. Ct. App. Mar. 18, 1997); Court of Appeals affirmed $1.5 Million verdict against in asbestos personal injury case, including $ 500,000.00 punitive damage award against Owens Corning Fiberglas.
- Swanson v. Timesavers, et al., 1997 WL 104917 (Minn. Ct. App. March 11, 1997); Court of Appeals affirmed $766,000.00 verdict in favor of employee who lost two fingers in an industrial sander. Court rejected assertions that employee assumed the risk, that no manufacturing defect existed in the sander, and that co-employee was not grossly negligent.
- Dodge v. Jose's American Grill, 1995 WL 25209 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 24, 1995); Court of Appeals rejected
- Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Royal Insurance Co., 517 N.W. 2d 888 (Minn. 1994); Minnesota Supreme Court rules insurer’s “pollution exclusion” did not apply to bar coverage for damage to University of Minnesota Buildings caused by asbestos fiber release, overruling decision of Court or Appeals
- Ind. School Dist. 622 v. Keene Corp., 511 N.W. 2d 728 (Minn. 1994); Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed $820,750.00 compensatory damages verdict against asbestos manufacturer for cost of removing asbestos fireproofing from Tartan high school in Oakdale, Minnesota. Court rejected manufacturer's claim that was entitled to comparative fault finding against other settled entities not at trial.
- Keene Corp. v. Cass, 908 F. 2d 293 (8th Cir. 1990); court rejected civil rights action filed against court and plaintiff's counsel for enforcing orders compelling discovery against corporation despite it's claims of privilege.
Classes and Seminars
- Minnesota’s New Jury Instruction Guides: The Substance and the Process, MTLA Magazine (Spring 2007)
- Scientific and Expert Testimony in Federal and Minnesota State Courts, NBI Seminars (March 2007), updated 2008
- Evidence, Experts, and Hearsay in the Courtroom, NBI Seminars (March 2007 and April 2008)
Qualifications
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 1985
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1986
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1989
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1990
Other Affiliations
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Minnesota Association for Justice
- American Association for Justice
Articles
Published Works
- Minnesota's New Jury Instruction Guides: The Substance and the Process, MTLA Magazine, (Spring 2007)
- Scientific and Expert Testimony in Federal and Minnesota State Courts, NBI Seminars, (March 2007), updated 2008
- Evidence, Experts, and Hearsay in the Courtroom, NBI Seminars, (March 2007 and April 2008)
Office Info
Other Colleagues
Nearby Lawyers
- Wrongful Death
- Product Liability
- Premises Liability
- Personal Injury
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