Wrong Way Driver Accident – Lawyer for Injury and Wrongful Death
Frequently, accidents involving wrong way drivers are caused by distracted driving. Our Minnesota car accident lawyers have handled numerous cases involving distracted drivers.
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There are many types of distractions that cause drivers to put lives at risk including, eating, drinking, reading, watching TV, as well as portable electronic device usage. (Cell phone usage, both talking and texting, has emerged as a serious threat to safety on our roads.) There are also less obvious forms of distractions such as daydreaming or dealing with strong emotions that can present potentially dangerous situations for drivers.
If you were injured or a loved one was injured or killed in a Minnesota auto accident that was not your fault, you deserve fair compensation for your injuries or loss. Call toll free 1-888-377-8900 to discuss a MN car accident personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Wrong Way Driver Negligence
If there is sufficient evidence to prove that a wrong way driver involved in an accident was distracted, that will generally result in a finding of driver negligence. The four elements of driver negligence are:
- Duty
- Breach of Duty
- Direct or Proximate Cause
- Injury
Each of the above elements must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Pritzker Olsen auto accident attorneys have years of experience with Minnesota auto accident cases and a record of success. We know how to gather evidence and use it to build a winning case.
Minnesota Car Accident Lawyer
The lawyers at Pritzker Olsen law firm have been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications. Attorney Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. For information about your rights and remedies following a MN car accident, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
Our attorneys represent families in car accident wrongful death cases throughout Minnesota, including in the following cities: Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Moorhead, Mankato, Blaine, Anoka, South St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Brainerd, Bloomington, Eagan, Eden Prarie, Apple Valley, Maple Grove, Jackson, Edina, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Stillwater, Thief River Falls, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Austin, Worthington, Woodbury, Maplewood, Golden Valley, Shoreview, St. Cloud, Arden Hills, Brooklyn Park, Forest Lake.
Head On Collision Wrongful Death
Rural highways, mostly two-lane highways, are dangerous. According to the Federal Highway Administration, rural roads have more that 50% of Minnesota’s fatalities with only 25% of the population.
If you have been injured in a head on collision or a loved one has been killed in an accident on one of Minnesota’s dangerous highways (Highway 8, U.S. 14), you need legal representation to obtain a measure of justice and maximize your compensation. Pritzker Olsen car accident personal injury and wrongful death lawyers have won tens of millions for accident victims and their families. Call today: 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).
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Head On Collision Wrongful Death Compensation
When someone dies in a Minnesota head on collision due to the negligence of another, the family can recover monetary damages for the head-on collision wrongful death under Minnesota no-fault law and Minnesota’s wrongful death statute, Minnesota Statutes, Section 573.02. Under the MN wrongful death statute, damages are limited to financial loss resulting from the death. Damages may include:
- Reasonable funeral expenses
- Medical expenses
- Loss of potential earnings
- Loss of advice, assistance, comfort, counsel, protection and society
In Minnesota, damages for pain and suffering and emotional stress are not available in a car accident wrongful death case. However, with an experienced attorney, this will not prevent just compensation for the spouse and next of kin.
Head-On Collisions on Rural Two-Lane Highways
Many variables may contribute to rural highway dangers and head on collisions. As rural population and traffic increases, there are usually very few safety improvements made to rural highways to accommodate the additional flow of traffic (e.g., traffic lights, left turn lanes, right turn lanes). Other factors that may contribute to rural highway dangers and head on collisions include:
- speeding
- alcohol use
- more teens and seniors on two-lane roads
- complacent drivers (Drivers may feel safer closer to home and drive inattentively or without a seat belt.)
- road rage (Impatient drivers may attempt to pass slow-moving traffic in an unsafe manner and cause a head on collision and death.)
- blind intersections
- growing congestion
Highway 14, between New Ulm and Rochester, may be the deadliest rural highway in Minnesota. Over the last 20 years, more than 125 people have died on Highway 14.¹ In 2008 the University of Minnesota launched a new interactive website where people can find and view the deadliest roads in Minnesota and the United States.
Highway 8, from Forest Lake to Taylors Falls is another death trap, especially in the Lindstrom area which has over-capacity traffic levels.² Although the number of accidents have dropped in recent years on Highway 8, due to the addition of traffic signals and dedicated right and left turn lanes, every year there several serious and/or fatal accidents.
Minnesota Attorney for Head On Collision Wrongful Death
Minnesota car accident attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman were named Minnesota Super Lawyers by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. Our attorneys are actively involved in the legal community, frequently speaking on car accident issues, including traumatic brain injury, use of expert witnesses, pain and suffering compensation, presentation of evidence in court and other matters. Attorney Fred Pritzker has also been named a Top 100 Minnesota Super Lawyer and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Put our expertise to work for you. Call our toll free number, 1-888-377-8900, or submit our online contact form.
¹ ushighway14.com/
² www.dot.state.mn.us/
Drunk Driving May be Cause of Fatal Head-On Accident in Minneapolis
Minneapolis police are awaiting test results to determine if Connie Stroud was drunk when she drove the wrong way on an I-94 ramp and hit the Vang family’s car head on. An unborn child was killed, and the mother, Tao Thao, is still in critical condition. Yia Vang, Tao Thao’s husband, and five children between the ages of 3 and 10 were also injured in the crash.
Tao Thao has been the sole breadwinner in the family since Yia Vang was laid off of his welding job.
A benefit fund has been set up in Yia Vang’s name. Donations can be taken at all Wells Fargo locations.
Lao Thao, Tao Thao’s brother has asked the community for help because the Vang family is not able to buy food or clothes or to pay for housing.
Minnesota Dram Shop Laws: Holding Sellers of Liquor Accountable
State Patrol spokesman Capt. Matt Langer told the Star Tribune that Connie Stroud, 42, of Minneapolis, “had way too much to drink to be driving.” She was driving a Toyota pickup truck. Given the size of Ms. Stroud’s vehicle, it is amazing more people from the Vang family were not killed.
It has not been reported where Ms. Stroud drank before she drove, but if it was a “dram shop,” that establishment could be liable for the wrongful death of Jaylee Chang Vang, the unborn child who was killed in the head-on crash, and the injuries suffered by Tao Thao, Yia Vang and the other children.
Minnesota law holds dram shops responsible for the dangerous actions of an intoxicated person when they illegally sell liquor to that person. Dram shops can include bars, liquor stores, restaurants, social clubs, and even private events where liquor is sold.
Under Minnesota Statutes, Section 340.801, Subdivision 1:
A spouse, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs other pecuniary loss by an intoxicated person or by the intoxication of another person, has a right of action in the person’s own name for all damages sustained against a person who caused the intoxication of that person by illegally selling alcoholic beverages.
If your family has been hit by a drunk driver, contact Pritzker Olsen law firm for a free consultation: 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), email Fred Pritzker or submit our online consultation form.
Pritzker Olsen attorneys have been interviewed and quoted by The Star Tribune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Lawyers USA and other publications. Attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman were named Minnesota Super Lawyers by Law & Politics magazine (Aug. 2009), and Fred Pritzker is listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
