Opinion ID: 2074116
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: hershel salters case.

Text: Salters was employed by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company in Oklahoma. He was injured in 1942. A fellow named Hanson, who was a friend of Salters, was employed by the same railroad. Hanson telephoned respondent, informed him of Salters' injury, and said that he had been requested to ask respondent to handle Salters' claim. Respondent confirmed this telephone conversation by letter (respondent's exhibit 18), which was received in evidence. It then appears that respondent telephoned L.L. Cofield, who lived at Tulsa, Oklahoma, a short distance from Muskogee, where Salters was hospitalized, and requested him to investigate the case as to liability and injuries and contact respondent. This was done. The evidence shows that Salters was not receiving satisfactory medical care and wanted to be moved from the hospital in Oklahoma, so he was moved to St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis. Later, suit was commenced, but the case was settled for $9,000. The referee found no solicitation in this case. Inasmuch as petitioner laid no particular stress in its brief as to overt acts of solicitation here, we find no reason for overruling the referee's findings. There are several names that appear frequently in connection with these proceedings, to wit: Pete Grandmougin, John Kalar, Eleanor Greene, J.J. Brennan, L.L. Cofield, Harry Benon, and John Samson, former claim agent for the Burlington and a special assistant attorney general of Nebraska. We shall refer to each of these parties to some extent in order to give a better understanding of their respective backgrounds and why they are involved in the proceedings.