Attorney Elliott T. Dennis

Since 1976, Elliott T. Dennis has successfully handled hundreds of catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases for his clients. He has utilized his broad-based experience to resolve many different types of cases in Anchorage and throughout Alaska, involving car and other motor vehicle accidents, premises liability accidents, defective product injuries, aviation accidents and boating accidents, maritime injuries, and bad faith insurance claims. Anchorage accident attorney, Elliott T. Dennis, has represented clients at every stage of the claims process, from pre-litigation settlement and trials through appeals to the Alaska Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Some of the cases Elliott T. Dennis has handled are summarized below.

Aircraft/Truck Runway Collision, Federal Tort Claim

Elliott T. Dennis recovered a $4.9 million judgment against the United States in favor of a severely injured state of Alaska employee. This case arose when an air traffic controller negligently cleared a Boeing 747 to land on a runway at the Anchorage International Airport where the plaintiff was legally operating his state maintenance truck. The consequences of this aircraft/vehicle collision physically, financially, and emotionally devastated the plaintiff and his family. Most of the trial testimony came from the numerous expert witnesses hired by each party. This was a Federal Tort Claim action.

Drunk Driving, Head On Collision, Wrongful Death

Alaska car accident attorney Elliott T. Dennis recovered a large settlement for the estate of a young mother who was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Two young sons and a daughter survived the deceased. In this case, a police officer was called to the service station where an intoxicated man was trying to pick up his automobile. Despite the fact that the man was drunk, the officer failed to make an arrest. Elliott T. Dennis sued the police department for negligent failure to arrest the drunken man. The service station was also sued because it rendered the drunk driver’s automobile operational and sent him out of the station knowing that he was intoxicated

Drunk Driving, Pedestrian Killed

Alaska car accident lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis, represented the estate of a 22-year-old woman killed by a motorist. She was intoxicated and walking alone either in the roadway or on the road shoulder when an intoxicated motorist hit her and threw her body into the high grass along the side of the road. The insurer for the motorist paid the full policy limits.

Negligent Driving, Bus and Truck Head-On Collision

An Alaska oilfield worker, who was a crew bus passenger, was injured in a truck/bus accident, which resulted in the deaths of his co-workers. He suffered a severely broken leg, a fractured pelvis, and a damaged hip joint. Alaska truck accident attorney Elliott T. Dennis successfully negotiated a structured settlement for the injured worker with an actual value of $1.6 million after a lawsuit was filed and the case was underway.

Motorcycle Accident, Wrongful Death

A young couple was out for a ride on their motorcycle when the driver of a pickup truck pulled out in front of them from a side road. The husband swerved the bike and was able to avoid the collision, but his wife was hit by the spare tire mounted on the front of the truck and was knocked from the motorcycle onto the street and killed. After Alaska motorcycle accident lawyer Elliott T. Dennis became involved in the case, it was resolved by payment of the insurance policy limits.

Motorcycle Accident, Traumatic Amputation

A 20-year old drunk driver who crossed the centerline into the motorcyclist’s lane of travel hit a 24-year old motorcycle rider. The motorcyclist suffered a traumatic amputation of his left leg from the collision. The driver of the automobile was not charged with drunk driving and he denied he was on the wrong side of the road. Anchorage motorcycle accident attorney Elliott T. Dennis recovered the limits of the insurance policy applicable to the accident for his client.

Maritime Injury

Alaska boating accident lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis, successfully represented an Alaska tugboat crewman who was burned in an engine room fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by equipment that malfunctioned due to negligent repair and maintenance of the vessel’s engine. Jones Act negligence and an unseaworthiness claims were asserted, and the vessel’s insurer promptly settled the claim.

Maritime Injury

A young seine boat crewman in Alaska was rendered paralyzed from the waist down after being caught in a wench during a fishing accident. Alaska attorney Elliott T. Dennis was one of two attorneys who successfully recovered the limits of the vessel’s insurance policy based upon Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness.

Common Carrier Negligence, Train Passenger Injury

Elliott T. Dennis recovered $98,000 on behalf of an elderly tourist who suffered a broken ankle while getting off an Alaska railroad train. The train conductor failed to carefully position the step stand so it would not shift under the passenger’s weight before directing her to step on the stand. As a common carrier, railroads, like other forms of public transportation, have a heightened duty of care to protect their passengers from injury.

Construction Site Accident, Wrongful Death

Alaska construction accident lawyer Elliott T. Dennis represented the family of a job superintendent who was killed at a construction site when a load was dropped on him because of crane operator error or brake failure on the crane. This case was difficult because the exact cause of the construction site accident was never determined. The crane operator was highly experienced and denied any error. However, the crane brake was fully tested and no defect was found. Moreover, the deceased was comparatively negligent because he violated a basic construction site safety rule – never walk under the load when it is not set on blocking. Elliott T. Dennis recovered a $450,000 settlement for the family.

Premise Liability, Negligent Maintenance

A 52-year old airport gift shop employee suffered a ruptured disk when the chair she sat in broke. The chair was not properly maintained and the airport was on notice that similar chair failures had occurred. Alaska premise liability lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis, obtained a $450,000 settlement on behalf of the injured worker.

Premise Liability, Elderly Lady Fell Entering a Retail Store

Anchorage premise liability attorney, Elliott T. Dennis recovered $285,000 for an elderly lady who suffered a broken arm and pelvis from a fall at the entry of a retail furniture store. The entry ramp violated the applicable building code and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Premise Liability, Trip and Fall

Alaska premise liability attorney, Elliott T. Dennis, recovered $298,000 for a 34-year old athletic father and husband who suffered knee injuries from a fall when he was leaving a store carrying merchandise he had just purchased. The fall was caused by a store employee’s removal of a grating from the entrance door landing, and this left a gaping hole into which the accident victim stepped.

Premise Liability, Slip and Fall

Alaska slip and fall lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis, represented a 49-year old woman who fell in a poorly maintained parking lot of a condominium association and suffered a compound fracture of her right leg. She was unable to work for 6 months and suffered permanent impairment. The defense denied the lot was poorly maintained and blamed the plaintiff for the fall. This slip and fall case settled for $200,000.

Negligent Failure to Warn, Wrongful Death, Federal Tort Claim

Elliott T. Dennis represented the estate of a young soldier that drowned in the Kenai River after launching a johnboat and being swept down the river and into rapids. No signs warning of the rapids, which were immediately down stream and not visible from the launch site, was posted at the government maintained and managed boat launching site. The court ruled in the liability trial that the government was 50% responsible for the death and the deceased was 50% responsible. The government paid $200,000 to resolve the case.

Bad Faith Insurance

On behalf of the widow of a motorcycle driver who was killed trying to outrun police officers, Elliott T. Dennis successfully sued the life insurance company in U.S. District Court. The company acted in bad faith by wrongfully denying the widow’s accidental death insurance benefits. Anchorage bad faith insurance lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis, was able to recover substantially more money to resolve the lawsuit than was allotted by the accidental death benefits that were denied.

Product Liability, Defective Rigging Equipment

An oilfield worker suffered hand injuries when a shackle imported from Korea broke due to defective manufacturing. As a product liability attorney, Alaskan Elliott T. Dennis recovered more than $100,000 in damages for his client from the importer of the defective product.

Elliott T. Dennis has represented a broad range of personal injury and wrongful death cases during his career – including truck accidents, aviation accidents, boating accidents, and bad faith insurance claims – and has successfully recovered millions of dollars for his clients. Throughout the litigation of numerous and varied cases, attorney Elliott T. Dennis has remained committed to recovering the maximum amount of compensation justified by the facts and the law for each client. By selecting Elliott T. Dennis as your legal counsel, you can rest assured he will aggressively and diligently enforce your legal rights until a satisfactory resolution has been achieved. If you have recently suffered a significant injury or loss of a loved one, contact Elliott T. Dennis in Anchorage, Alaska for a free evaluation of your case.

Motorcycle/auto collision settles for more than $225,000

The total damages recovered for an injured motorcycle rider exceeded $225,000.  This accident occurred when asuv driver failed to see the motorcycle and turned left in front of the bike right at the “point of no return”.   The rider went airborne and the motorcycle was completely totaled by the collision.  Though the rider wore a helmet and other protective gear, he suffered life threatening internal injuries which kept him hospitalized for a week.  We collected the evidence and used it to make a persuasive presentation which lead to a prompt resolution of the caseby payment of two policy limits.

Serious injury case from out of state referral saved from expiration and promptly settled

A two year old serious injury case was brought to us by an out of state law firm, just days before the statute of limitation expired.  We not only saved the case from lapsing, we were able to settle it within eight months for several hundred thousand dollars; substantially more than the client’s ever expected.  Moreover, the clients where delighted just to have the case concluded; a giant weight was lifted from their shoulders when their delinquent medical bills were finally paid and the bill collectors stopped calling.   Over the years we have litigated numerous injury and wrongful death cases involving accidents in Alaska where the clients live out of state.   Some cases have come from referring law firms, while others have come directly from the clients or their family members.

Federal Workers Compensation lien settlement negotiated

We recently concluded a serious injury case involving a federal government employee hurt while returning from work. Because the client had been called into work on his day off because of an emergency, he was covered by federal workers compensation, when he suffered injuries while traveling home.  The workers compensation lienwas reduced by successful negotiation as part of helping the client maximize his net recovery from settlements with the third parties insurance carrier.

Tour bus passenger injury claims settled for $395,000

We recently represented two tour bus passengers and recovered $395,000 tocompensation them for serious injuries which they suffered in a crash.  Tour bus drivers and operators must comply with commercial vehicle driving requirements, including hours of operation and maintaining the equipment.  The safety requirements are similar to those governing commercial trucks.  We assemble, organized and presented evidence of the damages suffered and violations of safety regulations by both the operator and driver.  After studying what they would face at trial, the insurer offered a very favorable settlement without the clients even having to undergo a deposition.