Hubbard County, MN Accident Highlights Dangers of Taking Eyes off of the Road While Driving
A Mound, Minnesota man is in critical condition after his vehicle was hit from behind by a driver who “took his eyes off of the road for a second.”
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Mark Heath of Mound was southbound on Highway 71 waiting to make a left turn onto 150th street. At the same time, Isaac Lustila, driving a Pontiac Grand Am, was southbound on Highway 71 and took his eyes off of the road for a second. Lustila told the State Patrol that when he looked up and saw Mr. Heath’s Hyundai Santa Fe he braked and tried to pass on the right. Lustila hit the Santa Fe in the rear passenger side, pushing it into the northbound traffic lane, where it was hit by a Dodge Ram truck driven by Judith Teske of Livingston, Texas.
This tragic accident highlights the need for drivers to be alert at all times. Distracted driving involves more than cell phone use. Looking away from the road “for a second” to change the radio station, adjust the temperature or look at a billboard also causes distracted driving accidents. The primary reason our law firm does not have billboard advertisements is because we don’t want to do anything that would cause an accident.
If you or a family member has been injured in an accident involving a distracted driver (even one distracted for “a second”), contact our Minnesota personal injury lawyers for a free consultation (1-888-377-8900 toll free). Two of our attorneys, Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman, were named 2011 “Attorneys of the Year” by Minnesota Lawyer, a respected legal publication, for a $2,560,000 verdict they won for a family in a bicycle accident wrongful death case involving a semi-trailer truck driver who didn’t see the bicyclist.
Zipper Merge in Construction Zone May Prevent Auto Accidents
by Attorney Eric Hageman 
Instead of merging early in a construction zone, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is urging drivers to wait to merge until the defined merge area and then alternate in “zipper” fashion into the open lane. When you see the “lane closed ahead” sign and traffic backing up, stay in your current lane up to the point of merge (where you can see the orange cones closing off one lane). Then take turns with other drivers to safely and smoothly ease into the open lane.
Early merging (as opposed to zipper merging) can lead to dangerous lane switching, serious crashes and road rage. Research shows that these are decreased when drivers zipper merge into the open lane.
The benefits of zipper merging include the following:
- Reducing differences in speeds between two lanes;
- Reducing the overall length of traffic backup (by as much as 40 percent);
- Reducing congestion on freeway interchanges; and
- Creating a sense of fairness and equity that all lanes are moving at the same rate.
Below is a video explaining how to zipper merge. As an accident attorney and father of 5 children, I recommend you show this to your teenage and young adult children.
Attorney Eric Hageman travels throughout Minnesota and the United States representing accident victims and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against drivers, trucking companies and others. His offices are in Minneapolis, MN. To contact Eric for a free consultation, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form. Watch Eric’s video at “Personal Injury Car Accident MN.”
Head-on Semitrailer Collision Kills Minnesota Teen
A fatal car and semi truck accident killed an 18-year-old Minnesota man the morning of Thursday, July 28. “This accident involved a semi truck hauling grain,” said attorney Fred Pritzker. “This time of year there are more big rigs hauling farm commodities, and truck drivers need to use extra caution because other drivers are not used to the traffic.”
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the accident occurred when the young man’s 2003 Ford Mustang crashed head-on with a grain-hauling semitrailer, which was a 2006 Kenworth. Just after 6:30 a.m., the accident was reported and Ringdahl Ambulance, the Pelican Rapids Fire Department and MnDOT responded to the crash site on Highway 108, four miles east of Pelican Rapids in Otter Tail County at Lake Lida.
The young man was trapped inside the vehicle and died at the scene. Our attorneys have a national reputation in the area of product liability and closely analyze crash wreckage to determine if a defective part caused the accident or contributed to the outcome of the accident.
Fatal Minnesota Car Accident Kills Pedestrian In North St. Paul
A fatal car accident killed a 23-year-old woman in North St. Paul, MN Thursday night. As she was walking northbound, crossing MN Highway 36 at Century Ave., the woman was pushing her toddler in a stroller. She was struck by an eastbound passing motorist and killed; her 2-year-old child suffered minor injuries. Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer Lt. Eric Roeske told local news sources the crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. “A fraction of a second and the child would have been hit as well,” he said in a press conference Friday.
According to local news sources:
“A similar incident occurred around midnight on Oct. 16 last year. A 19-year-old Oakdale man was struck and killed when he was running north across Highway 36 at the same intersection by a driver traveling east who had a green light, according to the Minnesota State Patrol incident report.”
The intersection was closed down during Thursday night’s investigation of the accident.
Car-Pedestrian Accident Lawyer and Lawsuit Information
The car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen have recovered millions of dollars for pedestrians and motorists injured or killed by negligent drivers. If it is found that another driver is at fault, the injured pedestrian or driver may be able to file a car accident injury lawsuit and recover expenses for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and other damages. The family of someone killed in a car accident may file a car accident wrongful death lawsuit if it is found that another driver is at fault. In such a lawsuit, the family of a person killed in a car accident may be entitled to recover money for funeral expenses, loss of income, loss of comfort and consortium, and other damages.
Contact the car accident and wrongful death lawyers at Pritzker Olsen for a free consultation >>>
News source: http://stillwater.patch.com/articles/pedestrian-hit-seriously-injured-at-highways-36-and-120
Duluth MN Rollover Car Accident Under Investigation
Photo from Northland's News Center
A three-car rollover accident occurred just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday July 20, 2011 in Duluth, Minnesota. The accident happened at the intersection of Lake Avenue and Second Street. Three people in three separate cars were involved. One of the cars flipped over. Authorities arrived on the scene with an ambulance to treat victims’ injuries and clear the scene. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Rollover accidents account for nearly 33 percent of all passenger vehicle accident deaths. If a person is injured in a rollover car accident, he or she may have a legal claim against:
- another driver who may have caused the accident
- a manufacturer of a faulty car part that may have contributed to the accident
- a bar or restaurant that over-served a driver who caused the accident, if that driver was intoxicated
People injured in a rollover car accident, or the family members of someone killed in a rollover car accident, may be able to receive compensation for the following:
- medical expenses
- funeral expenses
- wage loss
- loss of future earning capacity
- pain and suffering
- loss of advice, care, comfort and companionship
Contact the car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen for a Free Consultation >>>
News source:
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Car-Rolls-Over-On-Lake-Avenue-In-Duluth-125892783.html
Minnesota Wrongful Death Car Accident is Possible Drunk Driver Case, Police Say
More details are emerging in the investigation of a July 4 Minnesota car accident that left one dead and two others injured on Highway 63, just a few miles south of Zumbro Falls, MN. Around 7 p.m., the car carrying the three young men left the road and rolled over. One was killed and the two others were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn.
Alcohol use was detected by both surviving men, and both deny being the driver in the accident. Authorities say they have yet to determine who was driving but they do believe alcohol played a role in the crash.
Our law firm recently represented the family of a woman killed in a tragic one vehicle accident in the Brainerd area caused by a her intoxicated husband. Both the woman and her husband, who was driving, were killed. We pieced what happened from witnesses who saw the couple that night and from the physical evidence at the scene. In that case, as with many other drunk driving cases, speed combined with intoxication caused the driver to miss a very slight curve in the road, an over-correction and ultimately a roll over into trees.
Drunk Driver Wrongful Death Lawsuit Information
The family of a person killed in a drunk driving accident may be able to file a wrongful death drunk driver lawsuit. They may be able to receive compensation for the following:
- Funeral expenses
- Medical expenses
- Loss of potential earnings
- Loss of advice, comfort, assistance, protection, counsel and society
- Punitive damages
The family of someone killed in a wrongful death drunk driving accident may also file a dram shop claim. This is a claim against the bar or restaurant that over-served the drunk driver. According to the Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen:
Under Minnesota Statutes, section 340A.502, it is illegal for bars, restaurants and other places where liquor is sold (dram shops) to give, sell or furnish alcoholic beverages for consumption by an obviously intoxicated person. If a dram shop does that, the dram shop is liable for any resulting injury or death. For example, if a drunk driver hits another vehicle and kills the other driver or a passenger, the dram shop is liable and will have to compensate the surviving spouse and next of kin.
Information from:
http://www.startribune.com/local/125015184.html
