Hummingbird
Copyright© 2026 by Krista*
Chapter 8
Author Note: I am NOT a lawyer. My career path is that of a Property & Casualty Agent. Translation: I write Auto and Homeowner insurance policies (and a few other types) through a brokerage. Any legal information from this point forward was found through The Montana Code Annotated (MCA) and is the official compilation of Montana’s statutes and constitution, organized into titles covering all areas of state law. The Montana Code Annotated (MCA) is a comprehensive collection of all state laws and the Montana State Constitution. It is updated after each legislative session to incorporate new laws or amendments passed by the Montana Legislature and signed by the governor, or passed over a veto. It serves as the primary reference for legal research in Montana. The information presented in this story is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. It’s not meant to provide any legal advice for any previous, current or pending court matters.
“It’s bad. Really bad,” Francine Grant sobbed.
What happened?”
“There is this group. A business of some sort. They hold traveling rodeos and stuff related to that sort of thing,” she shuddered. “They’re called ‘Midwest Stampede Corporation’, or something like that. The big draw is that local folks can sign up for some of the races and activities. Last year Ryan signed up to ride Bingo in a barrel race. Out of thirty entries, they came in seventh place. Surprised us all.”
“So what happened?”
“They got to the area Thursday. This year, god knows why, my son decided to sign up to ride a giant bull! I’m not talking a mechanical one, like at the bars, I mean a real live flesh and muscle Brahman bull! The damned thing weighed over 2000 pounds and it was named GODZILLA of all things!”
Yzzy was starting to get a really bad feeling about what Francine was going to say.
“We all told him it was crazy! But he just laughed and went to the corral and they helped him get into position. The gate opened, and the bull came flying out, spinning in circles and bucking. I don’t know how long he stayed on but he was quickly thrown off. It wouldn’t have been that bad, but the damned thing landed on him and kept pounding on him jumping and landing.” Again sobs filled the call. “He had to be airlifted to Bozeman. Most of his left side is crushed. Legs, ribs, shoulder. On my way to drive up there I was stopped by some smarmy bastard that told me that the company would pay $5000 for medical costs if I wanted.”
“DON’T SIGN ANYTHING!” Yzzy screamed. “If you do, that releases them from any liability. You need a good lawyer to make those idiots pay for his medical and lost income to the ranch. They do this sort of thing all the time. A person is in a panic and they sneak a release and payment in front of the victim and get away with it. It’s a common practice to screw people over.”
“I just shoved him out of the way. We have two law firms in Choteau. And both of them said that they had no knowledge or experience on how to handle this sort of thing,” short gasps of air were heard as Francine did her best to not totally lose control. “What do I do?”
“You call Reverend Smith and ask that he and the congregation pray for Ryan, then get over to Bozeman as fast as possible. Again, do NOT sign anything. Nothing. The hospitals are obligated to treat a patient even if insurance or payment information is delayed or unavailable. They will push, but you need to push back. Tell them that negotiations are taking place and they need to wait.”
“But ... But...”
“I’m booking a flight to Bozeman as soon as we hang up. Mom,” Yzzy was doing her best to remain calm, “I won’t lie and tell you this will be easily resolved. But I will be there to work with you and make sure that Ryan receives the treatment he needs and not at the cost of you having to remortgage the ranch. I’m pretty good at dealing with business’ that think they can get away with stuff and not pay. The simple fact that they allowed him to get on that bull with zero experience shows gross negligence on their part. If I have my way, when all is said and done, the only thing those assholes will be racing there are going to be chickens.”
“Thank you.”
“Once I have flight details, I will text Leona so someone can get me at the airport.”
Yzzy sat at a small conference table in a room at the hospital. With her sat Francine, Leona and a gentleman named Arnold Cunningham. He was a man in his late 50’s, thinning gray hair and a worried expression on his face. He was also the sole attorney for one of the two law firms in Choteau.
“Ms. d’Santos,” he sighed, “I have to tell you that something like this is way out of my experiences. The vast majority of my practice involves estates, property sales, and trying to plea bargain for some drunk ranch hand who tore up a bar over a girl, down to ‘time served’ in the drunk tank for the weekend. Never in my life would I ever have expected a case like this.”
“I understand, Mr. Cunningham. But I can reassure you that this isn’t the first time I have handled situations in the courtroom that are unusual. That being said,” she leaned forward, “I am not licensed to practice in Montana. You are. So, you will be listed as counsel on the case, and I will be an assistant. We can get away with that. Also,” a faint smile crossed her lips, “I can do all the presentations if needed. It’s allowed.”
“I’ve known the Grant family for years,” he sighed. “It nearly broke me to see Robbie pass so quickly and leave Francine and the boys to fend for themselves.”
“You were a wonderful help,” Francine placed a hand over his at the table. “You made sure that he was properly insured to cover his passing. You were the one who made sure the ranch was properly listed as an LLC to reduce tax burdens and liability, along with setting up that family trust. God only knows how things could have possibly gone worse without your help.”
“So,” Yzzy took a moment to redirect the conversation back to the task at hand, “we are meeting with the counsel for that rodeo this afternoon. I fully expect them to try and bulldoze us with a one time offer of some cash to let them say they are no longer liable. Maybe come up with some statement that said Ryan signed a release to ride the bull. That won’t be hard to get around. Any sane person on a jury will see that you don’t let some guy who has never ridden a monstrosity like that, just hop on and NOT get hurt.” She looked up at Francine. “I hate to say this, but your son is an idiot. What on earth possessed him to think he could ride that thing?” Turning to Leona, she continued. “And you? I think you will be fully qualified as a home help aide by the time his after care is done once he is released from the hospital and rehab facility so he can come home.”
The doctors had told them that the left side of Ryan’s body had taken a pounding. The femur had snapped and a shard was sticking up out of the leg, and his knee was going to need a full replacement, along with the hip. Several ribs were either cracked or broken. The only ‘good’ thing was that the dislocated shoulder had been quickly put back into place, even with a cracked collar bone. The surgeries to start repairs on the shattered body lasted over fourteen hours and there would be several follow up procedures required. For now, Ryan was being placed in a medically induced coma to keep the pain levels within reason, and allow swelling to reduce.
“I just want him to come home and be okay,” Leona whimpered.
“Mrs. Grant, we can understand how stressful things are for you right now, and that you want to see that your son is taken care of here at this hospital,” the lead for the team of lawyers that the rodeo kept on call said. “The Midwest Stampede Corporation is willing to increase their offer to $25000 to cover medical costs for Ryan’s treatment.” He slid a folder with several forms across the table. “If you sign these now, we can have a check in your hands quickly.”
Francine glared at the man. “Sir, I find your offer disturbing and disgusting. If you think that amount is even close to what will be required to make my son whole, you are sadly mistaken. I’m not going to sign that.”
“Then tell me what you want and perhaps we can reach a negotiated settlement.”
“Mr. Cunningham and Ms. D’Santos will be representing my son and I in this matter. What I want you to do is work directly with them, because I trust them. They have the best interests of Ryan at heart.”
“I can assure you that we also have his interests at heart,” he started.
“And I can assure YOU that you’re full of shit!” Francine shouted. “So you work with them, and I promise you that when this is over, you will wish that you folks had cooked that damned bull for a giant barbeque party when you first got it!”
Sitting down with a sigh, the lawyer for Midwest Stampede took the folder he had placed on the table and tucked it in a briefcase. Looking over at the legal team for the Grant family, he nodded. “Counsel?”
Cunningham pulled three copies of terms out of his own briefcase and slid them over to the three lawyers for Midwest. “Our terms.”
“Ridiculous!” stated one of the Midwest lawyers.
“What’s ridiculous,” Yzzy answered, “is how you think you can come in here and believe that tossing a paltry sum of money at Mrs. Grant so you can walk away and not care about the lifetime of pain and suffering that Ryan will be facing. It’s insulting.”
“Now see here, little girl! I’m not sure what you think is happening here today, but the reality is that neither of you have the knowledge on how to deal with a case like this. We deal with sort of thing on a frequent basis. Some country bumpkin gets hurt and cries about it, expecting a big settlement. Not going to happen! Go make us some coffee.”
Yzzy paused, then smiled at Leona. “You got all that?”
“Right here,” she answered, holding up her phone. “I’m uploading to the cloud as we speak.”
“You can’t do that! We didn’t agree to be recorded!”
“By tacit agreement, you actually did,” Cunningham commented. “At the door to every entrance of this facility and in numerous places within, there are signs that state video recording is in progress for the safety of the patients and employees. You remained in the building and also didn’t request the recording devices be stopped.”
“You know what else is ridiculous?” she gave a cold smile. “You didn’t even bother to research who you were meeting today. ‘Little girl’? In a recent case, I took down someone worth almost fourteen billion, that is billion with a B, dollars because he had the same arrogant mindset. And I bet social media will have a great time with this. How well do you think this will be viewed? Do you think Midwest can handle it? How many people are going to show up at the gate, knowing your organization doesn’t care if someone is hurt, or possibly killed, due to your attitude?”
“We’re already on social media. Almost a thousand views in five minutes!” Leona turned her phone around so everyone could see.
*Heartless Rodeo Company calls man catastrophically trampled by 2000 pound bull at their event a ‘BUMPKIN’ as he fights for his life in the hospital!*
“Oh wow! Two thousand views now, and nine hundred shares! The comments are not nice!” She paused a moment and started typing a comment of her own, muttering to herself as she typed her comment. “My name is Leona. Ryan and I have a wedding planned in 2 months. As it stands now, he won’t even be out of the hospital at that time. Please pray for his recovery!” She attached a picture of the two of them holding hands and looking at each other with love.
The other lawyers for Midwest had their own phones out now and they did not look happy.