Semi trucks are involved in collisions or accidents much like any other vehicle on the road.  The difference is that due to the mass and size of semi trucks, the consequences of a truck wreck can be far more serious than a regular auto accident.  A relatively minor truck accident can result in significant injuries or even death.

As trucking companies push drivers to travel more miles in less time, the risk for accidents increases.  Truckers suffer fatigue from driving so many hours without breaks, making the risk of a collision or accident much greater.  Their trucks are often equipped with computers and other technology than can be distracting and increase the danger for driving while distracted.   There are numerous potential causes for truck wrecks and thousands of people are injured every year.

Trucking Regulations

The federal government has many regulations about trucking equipment, qualifications, and records.  Drivers have to carefully log the amount of time they spend on the road.  They also have to make regular inspections of their equipment.  Trucking companies have to be very careful in selecting and hiring their drivers.  Truck drivers are entrusted with dangerous vehicles and must have the experience, caution, and qualifications to drive safely.

Truck Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, contact the experienced lawyers at Twin Cities Law Firm.  We can assist you with evaluating your claim, identifying trucking regulation violations, and filing a lawsuit.  You deserve a measure of justice for your injuries.  Contact a lawyer who can help you recover what you deserve.

Dental malpractice claims are much like medical malpractice claims.  They arise when your dentist has done something that fell below the appropriate standard of care.  A common claim involves your dentist’s failure to diagnose a serious disease like periodontal disease.  As a result of your dentist’s error, your treatment options are seriously limited or even non-existent.  You suffer severe consequences that could have been avoided if you had received correct diagnosis and treatment.

If you think you have a dental malpractice claim, one of the most important things you can do is contact a lawyer right away.  There are strict deadlines for bringing malpractice claims against professionals like dentists.  Your lawyer will also have to have an expert – usually another dentist – examine you and your records to confirm that your dentist committed malpractice.  Sometimes the cost of hiring an expert to review your case can make pursuing a case difficult.  Your damages must be significant enough to offset the cost of hiring an expert, which can sometimes cost thousands of dollars.  An attorney can assist you with evaluating your particular case to determine whether it is worth it for you to pursue it.

Examples of Dental Malpractice

There are many situations that could create a claim for dental malpractice.  Here are a few examples:

• Nerve injuries that affected a patient’s ability to taste
• Nerve injuries that caused permanent numbness in the tongue
• Complications arising from negligently completed crowns and bridges
• Dentists’ failures to take a patient’s relevant medical history into account before acting – for example, failing to provide antibiotics for people with heart or other conditions increasing the risk of infection
• Failure to detect oral cancer, periodontal disease, or other diseases
• Certain complications from anesthesia, even when releases are signed
• Unnecessary extraction of multiple teeth
• Extraction of wrong teeth

Contact an Attorney

If you have suffered some injury because of your dentist’s negligent action or failure to act, contact the experienced lawyers at Twin Cities Law Firm.  They can assist you with evaluating your claim and pursuing it.

What constitutes legal malpractice?

An attorney cannot be sued for legal malpractice for making a bad strategic decision or for being a less than persuasive advocate.  The lawyer must have done something that fell below the accepted standard of care.  A lawyer is not liable for judgments made in good faith, well founded in the law, and made for the best interests of the client.  In order to prove the standard of care, you will generally need an expert.  Often the expert is another lawyer who is very accomplished and respected in that type of legal work.

What are the elements of a legal malpractice claim?

In order to succeed with a legal malpractice claim, you must prove:

• An attorney-client relationship existed.
• The attorney was negligent in its representation of the client.
• The attorney’s negligence caused some injury to the client.
• The nature and extent of the injury or damages.

The third element can be difficult to prove.  In order to show the attorney’s actions injured the client, you must show the client had a reasonable likelihood of success in the underlying claim and but for the lawyer’s negligence, the client would have won.  This is termed the “case within a case” requirement.  If the underlying claim was difficult, it can be very difficult to win a legal malpractice claim even if your attorney committed a serious mistake.

Contact an Attorney

If you believe that your attorney committed malpractice, you should consider contacting a lawyer.  An experienced malpractice lawyer can examine your underlying claim, evaluate your attorney’s actions, and advise whether you should pursue a legal malpractice claim.  Contact the lawyers at Twin Cities Law Firm today if you believe you may have a legal malpractice claim.

Dogs are beloved companions and common household pets. Unfortunately they can also be dangerous animals.  Dogs of any breed can become aggressive.  Pet owners must keep in mind that they are responsible for the actions of their animals.

Minnesota law states:

If a dog, without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in any place where the person may lawfully be, the owner of the dog is liable in damages to the person so attacked or injured to the full amount of the injury sustained.  The term “owner” includes any person harboring or keeping a dog but the owner shall be primarily liable.  The term “dog” includes both male and female of the canine species.

This law makes dog owners strictly liable for the actions of their animals.  The statute does not require the owner to have any reason to know or suspect the dog might be dangerous.  You may be liable for your dog’s behavior even if you never had any reason to think he would bite someone.

Defenses

The most common defense used by dog owners in dog bite cases is that of provocation.  Basically that means you cannot mistreat a dog and then sue if the dog attacks you in response.  This is consistent with other laws that prohibit mistreating animals.  The problem comes in when you try to define provocation.  A small child might provoke a dog to bite by pulling on its ears or tail even though the child does not intend to upset the dog.  Is this a defense to a dog bite case?  The specific facts of a case are important to discuss with your lawyer.

Another defense may be what is called “assumption of the risk.”  This is rare and applies mostly to professionals.  This means that a dog trainer assumes the risk that the dog may misbehave.  It is a known risk of the profession.  It is unlikely that the defense would apply in most situations.

Victims of Dog Bites

Being attacked by a dog can cause lasting physical and emotional injuries.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a dog bite or attack, contact the lawyers at Twin Cities Law Firm to discuss your claim.

In 2008, Minnesota adopted a statute that allows people who are insured to sue their insurance company if the insurer denies coverage for a claim in bad faith.   The law brought Minnesota law into accord with the law of the majority of other states.

What does the bad faith law do?

Imagine that you, your spouse, and your two children are in a car accident.  Tragically one of your children is killed in the accident.  The other driver only has $30,000 of insurance coverage.  While it is difficult to place a monetary value on the life of your child, you can certainly agree it is worth more than $30,000.  You file a claim with your own underinsured motorist coverage.  For some incomprehensible reason, your insurance company denies the claim.  Now you not only have the tragedy of being in a serious accident and losing a child, but you are also battling your own insurance company.

The new law in Minnesota makes your insurance company accountable if it denies a claim without a good faith basis to do so.  It also allows the insured to recover attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing the case.  Insurance companies have a legitimate interest in investigating claims and preventing insurance fraud, but they also have a duty to treat the people who purchase their insurance fairly.  The statute requires insurance companies to promptly investigate claims and make reasoned coverage decisions.  One would think that this would be standard conduct for insurance companies, but unfortunately that has not always been the case.

Why do we need an insurance conduct statute?

In recent years, insurance companies have substantially changed their operating procedures.  They have increased premiums while cutting coverage.  Every day the company can hold onto its funds is another day to invest and earn interest on those funds.  Insurance companies have a powerful incentive to delay paying claims and to minimize the amount they will pay for claims.  The result has been policyholders with legitimate claims who have been left holding the bag.

Contact a Minnesota Insurance Lawyer

If your insurance company has not handled your claim appropriately, you may wish to contact an attorney.  The experienced advocates at Twin Cities Law Firm can help you negotiate with your insurance company and can pursue a bad faith claim if your company has violated the statute.  Contact us today.

The Scene of the Accident

First, take a deep breath!  Assess your situation.  Is it safe for you to get out of the car?  Are you blocking traffic?  Can you safely move your vehicle?  Sometimes accident victims are so stunned that they have been involved in a collision that they forget these basic considerations.  Make sure you are not at risk for additional danger before you do anything else.

If you have been rear-ended or hit by another driver, you will probably be angry, surprised, and upset.  Try to resist the temptation to blow up at the other driver.  Stay calm so you can gather all the information you need.  If there is any damage to your vehicle or if you think you are injured, you should call the police.  Sometimes it can take over twenty minutes for Minneapolis or St. Paul police to respond to an accident if it is a lower priority situation.  Be patient.  It is important for you to file a report.  Your insurance company will want the incident number once you file a claim.  If you ultimately end up filing a law suit, a police report can be very important evidence.

You should also exchange insurance information.  You will need the other driver’s name, address, phone number, insurance company, and policy number.  If it appears there is any damage to the other car, you may wish to take note of that.  If there are any witnesses to the accident, it might be a good idea to get their names and phone numbers as well.  Being involved in a car accident can be an overwhelming experience.  It is important to record as much information as you can about what happened while it is still fresh in your mind.

After the Accident

If your car is not safe to drive, the police officer will usually advise what to do.  They may have a tow truck take the car to an impound lot until your insurance company has a chance to evaluate the damage.  If you have a repair shop in mind, you can have your car towed directly to the shop.  Your insurance company cannot force you to have repairs done at any particular place.

Make sure to contact your auto insurance company to file a claim as soon as you can.  The insurer will start investigating the claim right away; if you wait to report it, it can cause problems with the investigation.  Make sure to have the other driver’s information, the police report number, and any other details ready to give your insurer.

If you have suffered any injuries in the accident, you should seek treatment right away.  Minnesota car insurance includes personal injury protection coverage.  By law your policy must provide up to $20,000.00 of coverage for medical expenses incurred in a car accident.  Do not let the cost of care prevent you from seeking medical attention.  Ironically, if you don’t go to a doctor soon after the accident, your insurance company might claim later that your injuries are not legitimately related to the accident.

Minnesota No Fault Law

Under Minnesota’s insurance laws, your insurance company has to provide basic personal injury and property damage coverage for an accident regardless of whether you are at fault for the accident.  That includes coverage for wages you lose as a result of a car accident, up to $250 per week.  Your insurance company will send you forms to file claims for wage loss or if you need to hire someone to help you with household tasks (replacement services).  Make sure you fill out the forms completely and promptly to start your coverage.

Your insurer may ask you to undergo an independent medical examination.  The purpose of the exam is to determine whether to continue providing no-fault benefits or to cut off benefits.  If you believe your insurer has cut off your benefits too soon or you have outstanding medical expenses, you may wish to contact a lawyer.  They will help you through the No Fault Arbitration process.

Filing a Lawsuit

If you have been the victim of a car accident or collision, you might want to file a lawsuit.  You need to have incurred a certain amount of medical expenses or meet other thresholds before you can sue anyone, however.  If your expenses are under $4,000, your remedy is limited to your no fault insurance.    If you have reached this threshold and have additional damages you want to recover, consider contacting a lawyer.  An attorney can help you prepare your claim even if you are still undergoing medical treatment for your injuries.

Contact the attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm, LLC for a free consultation if you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a car accident, auto collision, or truck wreck.