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While we love our pets and they bring us wonderful companionship, it is important to remember that many animals are capable of inflicting severe injuries in certain situations. Pet owners have a responsibility to ensure that their animals are managed in a way so that they do not harm others. Dogs particularly have a penchant for harming people through biting which can lead to extensive injury, complications, and damages. These damages can consist of medical bills to treat the injury, lost wages caused by an injury leaving you unable to work, as well as pain and suffering to name a few. Those injured by people’s dogs deserve compensation in situations where a pet owner’s negligence caused a dog bite injury to be possible. When dog owners are negligent then they can be held liable for the injuries their pets inflict when dog bite victims file a dog bite lawsuit or claim.
A St. Paul police dog bit a man law enforcement was attempting to subdue. The man fit the description of a suspect that was reported to have been involved in a fight. It turned out that the dog bite victim had nothing to do with the event.
He just had the misfortune to share a similar hairstyle with the suspect’s description. The K9 officer’s attack upon this innocent citizen’s legs and feet left them permanently disfigured. This terrible injury cost the City of St. Paul $2 million dollars in damages as they settled out of court in March 2017 for the incident of last summer.
When a child is bitten, because of their diminutive height, the most common injury is facial. The face of a walking toddler is about the same height as the muzzle of a large dog. The height of a crawling toddler is about the same height as a medium-sized dog’s toothy grin. And virtually every child immediately presents their face to a dog’s face for a kiss when they first approach them. Aggressive dogs may perceive small children as prey.
A protective dog will see a child as an easy opportunity to prove their mettle to an owner, attacking even if a child represents no apparent threat. Dominant dogs may respond to an instinctual drive to discipline a child like they would a pup in a pack. This invariably involves a bite. Even a loyal family dog may view a child as a challenge to their position in the pack hierarchy. A dog will aggressively challenge the child in an attempt to secure a higher ranking status.
These particulars of the risks inherent with dogs and children resulted in a 4-year-old Minnesota girl receiving severe facial injuries in 2014. She was awarded $150,000 in a personal injury lawsuit settlement. The funds will become payable to her when she turns 18-years-old.
If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, there are key steps to take that will help assure the best outcome of an injury case should you choose to pursue one:
As important as the “do’s” after a dog bite injury, are the “don’t’s”:
If you or a loved has been injured by a dog in Minnesota, it is important to secure legal representation soon after. If the deadline for filing passes, your case will be dismissed. The good news is that the statutes of Minnesota weigh heavily in favor of the victim. State laws create strict liability for dog owners in the event that their dog bites an individual unprovoked. Please contact us to begin the process of recovery and compensation for your injuries.
Contact us online or by phone at 651-291-7263 today.
Tires cause accidents in a variety of ways. Sometimes, tires come loose and crash into other vehicles or even pedestrians. Sometimes, tires shred when there is a blowout. The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) studied this problem before it published “Tire-Related Factors in the Pre-Crash Phase.” Although this report focuses blowouts on light vehicles, they are a serious concern on large commercial vehicles as well.
When a blowout occurs, parts of a tire may fly up and strike the windshield of the following vehicle. This is particularly dangerous when large truck tires disintegrate. However, tire fragments pose a danger even when they do not directly strike another vehicle. Tire debris in the road often requires evasive action on the part of multiple drivers. Sometimes, sudden swerving leads to a catastrophic single vehicle or multi-vehicle crashes.
Blowouts occur for a variety of reasons, many of which point to negligent conduct by the vehicle’s owner, maintenance provider, parts supplier or OEM manufacturer. Here are some common reasons for blowouts:
Improper inflation – Under-inflated tires tend to run hot. Older, worn tires running hot are often prone to catastrophic failure. Over-inflation stresses tire components, sometimes to the point of failure.
Treadwear – Excessive tread wear may lead to a blowout, particularly if the remaining amount of tread falls below legal limits. With more rubber in contact with the road, added friction may lead to overheating. Sometimes, irregular tread wear is sometimes the culprit. For example, chronic under or over-inflation may cause the inner or outer part of the tread to wear away prematurely. Once again, overheating may lead to a blowout.
Tread separation – Internal failures involving the steel belts and/or rubber tire components may cause tread separation. When this happens, the tire breaks apart, often scattering debris in its wake.
Spare tires – Sometimes, trucks or passenger vehicles are fitted with a spare tire when the primary tire requires repair or replacement. Too often, rubber in older spares has rotted or otherwise deteriorated to a point that a catastrophic failure happens when the spare is suddenly pressed into service.
Improper loading – Commercial vehicles that are carrying more than they should sometimes stress tires to the point of failure. Improper loading may also cause blowouts. For example, a load that suddenly shifts on a highway curve may strain a tire to the point of failure.
Faulty retreads – Since large commercial tires are such an investment, many fleets and owner/operators use capped or retreaded tires to save money. A retread may cost only one-third as much as a new tire. Technicians grind the old tire down to the casing before they secure a new tread to it. Although most of these tires are safe, some faulty retreads come apart on the highway.
When a person suffers a tire blowout, they can very easily lose control of their vehicle and end up colliding with another car. Tire blowouts happen all the time and they are not a sure way to cause an accident but there is potential for them to increase the risk of a car accident occurring. In the initial moment that a car’s tire is blown, the weight of the vehicle will lurch in the direction of the blown tire since the tire’s support of the car’s weight is reduced instantly. This lurch can be controlled by an attentive driver but in many situations, it can catch someone by surprise in the worst way. Poor reactions to blowouts like jerking the steering wheel or hard braking can lead to a collision with another motor vehicle. You can cause a rear-end collision if you slam your brakes or you can veer into another lane and crash into another vehicle that way.
The most important thing to do when experiencing a blowout is not panic and make a maneuver that can endanger your vehicle and other drivers. The sound of a tire blowout is fairly obvious consisting of a loud bang and the flap of the deflated tire rolling as your car lists in a certain direction. When you experience a flat you can follow these steps to safely maneuver your car.
When injuries result from tire debris on the highway, it is necessary for a seasoned investigator to link the tire tread to a specific truck. Then, it is often possible to file suit against the trucking company that owns or leases it. Improper tire maintenance, faulty tires, and overloading are all potentially negligent acts.
Because truck tire blowouts and other failures happen for different reasons, there are a variety of parties that may incur liability when a tire blows out and/or shreds. Liability may extend to the party who:
In certain cases, The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) may be held liable for tire debris on a Minnesota state highway (including interstates and trunk highways). MnDOT is negligent only if the state agency did not attend to the problem in a timely manner. Such a claim must be filed within 180 days of the accident.
If you or a family member suffers an injury in a traffic accident, it is possible to review the details with a personal injury lawyer focused on relevant areas of the law. We provide this consultation at no cost to you. Our firm serves all of Minnesota. You can contact us online or a 651-291-7263.
Dog bite injuries are common in Minnesota and they occur in many different situations. Often dogs bite people in the home of a friend, relative, or acquaintance. Dog bite injuries may also occur in public areas where dogs are legally allowed to be off-leash, such as a dog park. However, leashed dogs being walked on the sidewalk by their owners are also a common source of dog bite injuries. Most people who are bitten by dogs are at least somewhat familiar with the dog. Unfortunately, it is impossible to perfectly predict or prevent many dog bites. If you are injured by a dog bite, contact a Minnesota personal injury lawyer to discuss your case.
Dog bite injuries are sufficiently common that they are generally covered by homeowners and renters’ insurance policies, with a few exceptions. Some insurers may not cover injuries caused by certain breeds of dogs, or may deny coverage to anyone who owns certain breeds of dogs. Similarly, some landlords prohibit dogs of certain breeds or sizes from apartment buildings because of the increased liability. If you have been injured by a dog bite, it is very likely that an insurance policy is in place that can help compensate you for your medical treatment and recovery costs. However, finding the responsible insurer and holding them accountable can be difficult. This is where an experienced personal injury attorney can help.
Injuries caused by dog bites can present more variables and obstacles to recovering compensation than other common injuries like slip and falls or car accidents. Even in Minnesota where the law clearly establishes a presumption of liability for the owner of a dog that bites someone, other factors may be taken into consideration, such as the dog being provoked by the bite victim, the owner losing control of the animal for a reason out of her control, or even questions about the ownership of the dog. People also do not automatically associate dog bite injuries with insurance coverage. Unlike after an auto accident, the parties are unlikely to immediately exchange auto insurance information. However, if you are involved in a dog bite injury, it is important to gather relevant information and preserve it. Be sure to record the name and contact information of the dog’s owner and any witnesses, especially if the bite occurred in public or not on a person’s property. It will be essential to be able to contact the involved parties to move forward in obtaining compensation for your injuries.
Dog bites can inflict severe injuries that can accumulate massive sums when it comes to medical bills. Getting bit by a dog means that you may have to make an emergency trip to the hospital. This means ambulance fees, emergency room fees, the cost of seeing the doctor, the cost of the materials used to treat your wound, as well as the cost of drugs like painkillers and antibiotics. This is just in the case of a dog bite that only results in some puncture wounds and bruising. Dog bite injuries can potentially be much worse with broken bones, infections, rabies, and even organ damage which means even more expensive medical bills.
To put it simply, dog bites hurt. Dogs don’t just clamp down on you but they shake their heads to rip and tear as well resulting in more damages and terrible pain. There is even more pain and suffering when a dog bite injury suffers from complications or results in disfigurement and scarring. Suffering a dog bite injury can come with not just physical trauma but mental trauma as well. The experience of being physically attacked by an animal can easily leave someone in significant emotional and psychological distress. Not only is this painful but it can also lead to the development of PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
It is very easy for a dog bite injury to put someone out of work for a period of time. People can suffer bites to limbs that are essential to the performing of tasks in their career leaving them unable to earn much-needed wages while they recover. Dog bite injury lawsuits can recover these lost wages calculated by taking the number of hours someone could have worked while knocked out of commission by their injury and multiplying them by the hourly wage a dog bite injury victim normally earns.
With extensive experience in dealing with the insurance claim process, from talking to adjusters all the way through a court trial, our lawyers focus on obtaining the most favorable results for our clients. Sometimes that may be a relatively quick settlement, and sometimes it may require a jury verdict. In any case, we are committed to doing what is best for the client.
Recently, we handled a case involving a dog bite injury complicated by the fact that the dog’s owners were living in a home that had been foreclosed on. As a result, it was initially unclear whether the dog’s owner, the homeowner’s insurance company, the foreclosing bank’s insurer or the title company would ultimately be responsible. Cases like this can present new legal issues that do not have a definite determined outcome in the court system. Our attorneys harnessed legal research and diligent investigative work to trace the records and identify the party that held an applicable insurance policy on the property at the time of the dog bite. By presenting a well-crafted legal complaint to the responsible party, we are able to demonstrate liability clearly and cut through a complicated scenario to obtain a favorable result for the client.
If you have been injured by a dog bite in Minnesota, contact Sand Law today by calling our office at 651-291-7263 or online. Our experienced dog bite personal injury attorneys are ready to help.
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