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.
Toyota Recall Certain 2011 Tundra Trucks
On April 26, 2011, Toyota announced a voluntary safety recall on approximately 51,000, 2011 model year Tundra trucks to inspect the rear drive shaft. The rear drive shaft in some of the Tundra trucks may include a slip yoke that could break due to improper casting during the foundry process. If the rear drive shaft were to break while driving, there would be an increased risk of crash.
To date, Toyota is aware of one drive shaft slip yoke failure in a customer-owned vehicle. There are no reports of accidents or injuries associated with this recall. No other Lexus or Toyota vehicles are involved in this recall.
If you own a 2011 Toyota Tundra, you may need to have it inspected by a Toyota service technician. Based upon the inspection results, in a limited number of cases, the rear drive shaft may need to be replaced. The inspection and / or replacement will be performed at no cost to the vehicle owner.
Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a letter advising them of this recall starting in May 2011. Toyota will also post this information on its website, www.toyota.com/recall. To speak to a Toyota representative you may call Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
If you were injured in a crash due to a manufacturing defect, you may have a product liability claim. Product liability lawsuit are complex cases, requiring experienced product liability lawyers with sufficient resources to properly evaluate and prove product defects caused the accident.
For a free consultation about a product liability claim, call a Minnesota car accident lawyer at 612-338-0202 or 1-888-377-8900 (toll free). If you prefer, you may submit our online consultation form.
Cars Rear-Ended by 18 Wheeler Causes Fatal Wreck
According to the State Patrol’s MN fatal accident report, westbound traffic was slowing down for a backup caused by a car fire. “The semi was coming in too fast for the slowdown and the following crash occurred,” the State Patrol said in its report.
In this detailed area of law, the truck accident attorneys at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., have proven expertise in performing independent accident investigation and sorting out liability issues to assure victims just compensation for injuries, pain and suffering that stem from another driver not being in control of a commercial vehicle.
Driver Using Cell Phone Rear Ended a Car and Killed a Baby in a Columbia Heights Accident
On March 18, a woman was speeding down Central Avenue in Columbia Heights and looking for the cell phone she had just dropped. She rear-ended a car stopped at an intersection and killed a baby, a 14-month-old. The baby was properly strapped into his car seat, but the force of the impact (remember she was speeding) caused fatal head injuries.
The woman, Jessica Howe, was charged today with criminal vehicular homicide in Anoka County.
A reconstruction of the accident determined that Howe was driving 55 miles per hour when the speed limit was 40. According to the accident report, Howe’s car left no skid marks, meaning she did not even try to stop, which makes sense since she said she was looking for her cell phone.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety:
Each year in Minnesota, distracted or inattentive driving is a factor in one in four crashes, resulting in at least 70 deaths and 9,000 serious injuries. The Office of Traffic Safety estimates these numbers are vastly underreported due to law enforcement’s challenge in determining distraction as a crash factor.
Talking on a cell phone while driving is an especially dangerous form of driver distraction. A few states have made it illegal to use a cell phone while driving. In Minnesota, texting while driving is prohibited but talking on a cell phone while driving is still not illegal with a few exceptions. It is time to ban cell phone use while driving.
For more information, please see “Accident Caused by a Cell Phone.”
Drunk Driver Liability in MN: DWI NightCAP Arrests Up in July
If the driver’s alcohol concentration is .08 or more, the driver is in violation of Minnesota Statute, Section 169A. If someone violates this law, it is prima facie evidence of negligence in a civil case (Minnesota Statutes, Section 169.96 (2006)). When a drunk driver is involved in an accident, people injured in the accident and the families of persons killed in the accident can file suit against the driver seeking compensation from the driver, his insurance company and a dram shop (bar, restaurant or other place that serves alcohol) if one is involved.
The injured party can ask for punitive damages, which, depending on the circumstances, can be significant. For example, our Minnesota car accident lawyers won $6,000,000 on behalf of a 26 year-old female passenger whose right leg was amputated when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger was struck by a drunk driver. Contact Attorney Fred Pritzker about this and other settlements and verdicts for victims of drunk driving accidents.
Even though there are severe criminal and civil consequences, drunk driving continues to be a problem in Minnesota.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, July Operation NightCAP (nighttime concentrated alcohol patrol) DWI enforcement campaigns resulted in 196 DWI arrests — the highest monthly total for DWI arrests in 2009. NightCAP is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
NightCAP targets the 13 deadliest counties for impaired driving: Anoka, Blue Earth, Crow Wing, Dakota, Hennepin, Itasca, Ramsey, Rice, St. Louis, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright. During 2005–2007, these counties accounted for more than half of the state’s alcohol-related deaths (272) and serious injuries (663).
NightCAP efforts have generated 1,284 DWI arrests since enhanced DWI patrols began in fall 2008: Anoka (372), Blue Earth (89), Crow Wing (26), Dakota (61), Hennepin (270), Itasca (36), Ramsey (165), Rice (43), St. Louis (61), Sherburne (66), Stearns (36), Washington (36) and Wright (23).
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