Claggett’s Calculated Gamble
Enter Sean Claggett—a trial attorney known as much for his courtroom charisma as his embrace of cutting-edge litigation analytics. Representing Salguero-Quijada, Claggett rejected a series of settlement offers, starting with a $750,000 pre-trial bid and later a last-ditch $3 million pitch after closing arguments.
“We were running real-time data on the trial,” Claggett said, referencing focus group models and predictive analytics that suggested a likely jury award north of $114 million.
His instincts proved prescient.
Claggett and co-counsel Alicia Campbell (co-author of JuryBall) orchestrated their trial strategy like a playbook—backed by empirical data, mock jury results, and real-time response modeling.
The case hinged on whether Norguard’s refusal to authorize inpatient rehab constituted “bad faith.” The insurer argued that they followed the advice of a workers’ comp physician assigned to Salguero-Quijada, not the hospital’s specialists.
Norguard claimed it had already paid $2.1 million for care, and would continue to support the plaintiff with wages and future benefits. But jurors sided with Claggett’s contention: that amount meant little if the core denial of care led to irreversible harm.
Key to the plaintiff’s case was neurologist Dr. Allison Gray, who testified that the failure to provide rehabilitation directly caused the permanent nature of Salguero-Quijada’s injuries.
“Dr. Gray was fantastic,” Claggett said. “The medical literature supported her, and her testimony made the causation clear for the jury.”
While Claggett’s legal prowess was front and center, the heart of the case was Salguero-Quijada himself.
Once an able-bodied worker supporting his family, he now faces life with debilitating impairments. For Claggett, the trial was about more than winning—it was about restoring dignity.
“They would give anything to go back in time and get Fermin the care he needed,” Claggett said of the Salguero-Quijada family. “But this verdict gives them hope—and a financial future.”
The verdict also exposed systemic flaws. Colorado is one of the few states that permits injured workers to sue insurance companies for bad-faith handling of workers’ compensation claims. Most other states do not.
Claggett didn’t mince words about what that means:
“Injured workers and employers are taken advantage of every day by greedy insurance companies like Berkshire,”he said. “Not getting workers back on the job hurts people and hurts business. Everyone loses—except the insurer.”
For trial watchers and legal junkies, every moment of the courtroom drama was broadcast live by Courtroom View Network—giving unprecedented access to a high-stakes showdown.
Judge Sarah Wallace presided over the case in Colorado’s 2nd Judicial District. The case was docketed as Fermin Salguero-Quijad v. Norguard Insurance Company, case number 2023CV32798.
