Minnesota Car Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Minneapolis Car Accident Law Firm : Brown Law Offices : St. Paul, Twin Cities MN

Every year, more than 40,000 people are killed in auto accidents in Minnesota and around the country. Those statistics have been on the decline for a few years now, as law enforcement authorities and transportation agencies have collaborated to lower those numbers. But, we still lose thousands of people in preventable accidents caused by negligent or reckless driving.

It is estimated that 1 out of every 100 people in the US will be involved in an auto accident in any given year. Very often, these accidents are caused by the negligence of motorists. Neglectful or reckless driving by another motorist, speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, and other behaviors may place a motorist’s life at risk. Accidents may also be caused when no motorist is at fault, because of a defective road design, poor highway maintenance, or motor vehicle defects that contribute to an accident. In most of these accidents, a Minnesota car accident attorney with our firm will conduct a full investigation to identify the parties responsible for injuries in the crash.

Very often, auto accident injuries reflect the severity of the collision. Accidents that result from speeding or head-on collisions, may result in extremely severe injuries or instant death. Most of the millions of car accidents that are recorded in the US every year, involve minor to moderate injuries, but in the few that involve catastrophic injures, victims may suffer fractures, broken bones, internal damage, blunt force trauma injuries caused from severe impact, crushing injuries where a part of the body is squeezed or crushed during impact, head injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputation, back injuries, neck injuries, whiplash, and herniated disc injuries.

Minnesota laws allow motorists injured in an auto accident to recover compensation for losses from the other entities involved in the accident. Compensation may include, but is not restricted to medical expenses, income loss because of the accident and pain and suffering. In fact, under Minnesota laws, you may be eligible for compensation even if the accident was partially your fault. In order for recovery however, a Minnesota auto accident lawyer must prove that another motorist, agency or entity was negligent.

In an auto accident claim, our attorneys will determine liability by considering several entities that may have contributed to the accident. These include:

• Other motorists;
• Commercial truck and bus drivers;
• Motorcyclists;
• Automobile manufacturers;
• Automobile part manufacturers, like tire manufacturers;
• Bars, pubs, restaurants that sell alcoholic beverages to a visibly drunk driver, who then goes out and causes a crash; and
• State and local agencies responsible for designing and construction of highway roads and bridges.

Have you or a loved one been injured because of an auto accident? Contact a Minnesota auto accident attorney with the Brown Law Office, P.A. We offer free consultations at your home, work, hospital or at one of our six Twin Cities metro offices. Contact us by calling (612) 789-2100, or submit an inquiry through our online consultation form. We don’t charge a fee unless we obtain a settlement on your behalf.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

One of the many options for recovery that a Minnesota auto accident attorney may use in a drunk driving accident is to seek recovery under Minnesota's dram shop laws. Under Minnesota’s dram shop laws restaurants, pubs, clubs, and liquor stores that illegally serve or furnish a person with alcohol, may be held liable for any injuries from a resulting accident.

A drunk motorist, who causes an accident, very likely, purchased a drink at a liquor establishment. The establishment may therefore be held accountable for its negligence in any accident caused by a drunk driver who bought his alcohol at the venue or facility.

For a victim of a DUI accident, it may be important to examine all options for compensation, because injuries resulting from drunken driving accidents tend to be extremely serious. These include fractures, blunt force trauma injuries, brain injuries, spinal injuries, and other serious injuries that may require extensive medical care, hospitalization, physical therapy and other aids.

Minnesota’s law allows for two types of liability for people who illegally provide alcohol to a motorist. While dram shop laws offer injured victims one option to hold the establishment accountable, there are also social host liability laws laid out in Minnesota statutes that allow persons who provide alcoholic beverages to persons below the age of 21 in a social, non-commercial setting to be held liable.

It’s important to understand that these laws won’t cover the intoxicated person, but will only apply to victims of an accident. Minnesota dram shop laws may apply in case of:

• Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages to persons below the age of 21;
• Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages to visibly drunk patrons;
• Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages after hours or on a day on which sale is prohibited by law; and
• Establishments that sell alcohol to guests or non-members at a club.

Do you have questions about dram shop or social host liability? Contact an MN dram shop attorney at the Brown Law Office, P.A. We offer free consultations at your home, work, hospital or you may arrange to meet with us at one of our six Twin Cities metro offices. Contact us by calling (612) 789-2100 or submit an inquiry through our online consultation form. We don’t charge a fee unless we obtain a settlement on your behalf.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

No reputable lawyer will promise you anything up front. It is simply impossible to offer a specific dollar figure just days after an accident. At best, an attorney may be able to gage the severity of your case and offer a range of recovery based upon their experience. There are literally dozens of factors that play a role in your recovery. A few of them are discussed below.

At the onset, no demand should ever made until the full extent of your injuries is known and you have had adequate time to recover from them. You only get one chance at resolving your claim. Unfortunately, many clients do not ever fully recover, and their injuries are permanent in nature. A permanent injury is valued much higher than a temporary condition, usually.

Another important aspect of your claim involves the amount of insurance carried by you and the at-fault driver. Sometimes, there is adequate coverage to compensate you. Other times, unfortunately, there is not. The value of your recovery can be limited by the amount of insurance available.

Yet another aspect of how much you may be compensated involves who the insurance companies are. Some companies will negotiate in good faith and make meaningful offers to settle claims. Others, however, will attempt to pay out as little as possible and make injury survivors fight for every dollar. The latter is much more typical, and can result in a lower net recovery.

Finally, one of the golden rules in injury cases is that a case is worth what a jury says it’s worth. Juries today are very unpredictable. Every client has a story to tell. The best way to receive fair compensation for your loss is to retain a skilled advocate to explain your situation to a group of jurors.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks