Ramsey Country jury awards 9 million to women and daughter disabled in crash.
Women receives 6.75 Million in truck-car crash settlement.
Silicone Breast Implants: Lord & Faris has recovered approximately $10.3 Million in settlements for their clients.
An automobile accident attorney gets used to news of design flaws and understands that those flaws can prove to be very dangerous. For example, Ford Motor Company became the latest auto manufacturer to issue a recall notice. For Ford the recall affects more than 400,000 Windstar minivans in cold-weather states to fix brackets and mounts which could separate from the vehicle’s subframe causing the driver to lose control. Unlike some earlier recalls, this one is connected with seven crashes and at least five minor injuries.
The minivans received attention after a 28-year-old Massachusetts was killed in October after the rear axle of his Windstar cracked in half, causing him to lose control and crash the vehicle into a building.
The Department of Transportation has also been investigating corrosion problems in the minivans from the 1999-2003 model years, meaning that the recall could be expanded substantially. NHTSA issued a consumer advisory in November asking owners to bring their vehicles to a dealership immediately to be examined for corrosion. Ford said it would notify affected owners in mid-February and dealers would inspect the vehicles and install reinforcement brackets as parts become available. According to the reports, if the vehicle does not pass inspection before replacement parts are available Ford would provide a rental vehicle.
So far the recall is limited to where road salt is used during the winter months. That means Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and neighboring states are impacted by the recall. If you have been impacted by the recall or believe your vehicle may be included please contact the automobile accident attorneys at Lord & Faris.
Tragic news of a motorcycle accident that resulted in the death of a Minnesota woman underscores just how dangerous the vehicles can be, particularly for those riding as passengers. In this case the motorcycle collided with a deer on a country road rather than another vehicle, but the results are just as sad.
April has been a particularly deadly month for road accidents. Perhaps it has something to do with the coming spring, the lure of open roads, or sadly in some cases, a devastating mix of youth and alcohol. These are the kinds of stories and situations that our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys see all too often. Whether you have been involved in an accident directly, or whether your family has experienced the tragic loss of a loved one in a motorcycle or automobile accident, the Minneapolis personal injury attorneys at Lord & Faris can work with you in putting the pieces of your life back together.
A story like this illustrates that life can change in a matter of seconds. What starts out as a pleasure ride on an open country road can turn to tragedy through no fault of your own. Vigilance and experience are always your greatest tools, but don’t always prevent accidents. As you enjoy this fantastic Minnesota spring, be safe, be aware, and be careful.
The recent and tragic accidents that ended the lives of several Minnesota teenagers have many in the state wondering just what, if anything, could have been done to avoid the accident. Minnesota already has a law restricting the times and conditions that teenagers can be on the roads, and in the case of the Cambridge accident, the law wasn’t followed. That begs the question of what good is a law if it can be ignored or isn’t enforced?
It’s a fair question, and one our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys do not have an easy answer to. Some would like to see even more restrictions on teenage drivers put in place. Others complain the current law is impractical and can have the inadvertent consequence of punishing families with teenagers in the workplace. Clearly there’s no easy answer, particularly when so many lives are cut short.
While it may seem like little relief to the family and friends grieving the loss of their loved ones, since enacting the 2008 restrictions on teen drivers Minnesota has seen the number of fatal accidents involving teenagers drop. Surely that is little comfort to the grieving community of Cambridge, it should give us pause to know that, generally speaking, our efforts are working. But for now our hearts are with the parents, teachers, family and friends of those lost this month in auto accidents as we all search for answers and wonder just what, if anything, can be done to avoid future tragedies like these.
Spring fever hits hard in Minnesota. After a winter cooped up battling sub-zero temperatures, it’s no wonder we hit the outdoors with abandon at the first hint of fifty degrees. Add graduations and Twins baseball to the mix and you have a recipe for gorgeous spring fun in the land of lakes. You also have the potential for tragedy as warmer weather also coincides with a rise in the number of drunk driving accidents and fatalities. If tragedy should strike your family, you will want to turn to experienced, compassionate lawyers to help you deal with the unthinkable.
At Lord & Faris our Minnesota personal injury lawyers have counseled clients through the unthinkable. We have experience dealing with insurance companies and can represent you through the claims process, whether it involves property damage to your car or significant personal injury due to another driver’s negligence. We know the claims process inside and out which means you can focus on more important matters, such as getting your life back in order after a drunk driving accident.
In Minnesota we earn our spring. At Lord & Faris our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys work hard to make sure that someone else’s negligence doesn’t take that away from you. If you or someone you love has been involved in a drunk driving accident, contact our offices for a free evaluation. Let us help you get back to the important things, like taking advantage of the beauty of springtime in Minnesota.
Whether it’s to save a few extra dollars, or to try and live a more environmentally aware life, there’s no doubt that more and more people rely on buses for their transportation needs. Thankfully most of those trips will go without incident, but it is just common sense that with the number of bus riders rising significantly, so too are the number of bus-related injuries and accidents.
Bus accidents tend to fall into two broad categories, and our experienced Minneapolis personal injury lawyers can help you through both. Sometimes a bus accident involves a commercial bus or a pedestrian. Those accidents involve a different set of considerations and laws than an accident that involves a school bus, for example. Our Minnesota personal injury attorneys have secured recoveries for victims of bus accidents under a variety of circumstances and can spot causes of accidents like driver negligence, bus malfunction, and operator hour violations.
Bus accidents can involve both federal and state law and often involve multiple parties. Bus accident litigation is therefore complicated and nuanced. If you or a loved one has been involved in a bus accident the first thing you should do is make sure you are receiving all necessary medical care to treat your injuries. Get as much information as you can about the accident and then contact our experienced personal injury attorneys. We can walk you through any investigations conducted by your insurance company or other parties and can help secure your rights. When faced with a horrible event like a bus accident, you want the peace of mind to know that someone is looking out for you and your family. Let our Minnesota personal injury lawyers give you that peace of mind.
There is no greater tragedy than the premature death of a family member, unborn child, or loved one. That tragedy is only compounded when that death is caused by the negligence or carelessness of someone else.
In Minnesota you may be able to recover compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one through a wrongful death suit. If a loved one has died, and you have reason to believe someone else is at fault or responsible for causing the death, our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys can guide you through the complex process of filing a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death cases are in some ways more complicated than a traditional personal injury case. A wrongful death claim is usually brought by a trustee. Usually, but not always, the trustee is a family member appointed by the court. Their job is to bring the lawsuit on behalf of next-of-kin.
Regardless of when the trustee is appointed, all wrongful death lawsuits must be brought to the court within three years. That may sound like plenty of time, but some wrongful death investigations take a long time to complete and don’t always get started right away. That’s why making sure you’re represented by the best Minnesota personal injury attorneys is so critical. Lord and Faris Minneapolis wrongful death attorneys have the experience and expertise necessary to handle your personal injury claim. And we get results for their clients, securing significant verdicts from tragic losses.
In Minnesota a plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit is only entitled to a few categories of damages. Those categories include loss of monetary support or income the deceased contributed to the family, the value the deceased would have contributed to the society, and the loss of companionship of the deceased. Family members are not entitled to compensation for emotional distress–grief, pain, or suffering associated with the loss.
If your family has been touched by tragedy you can seek some comfort in knowing that with Lord & Faris you have the best Minneapolis personal injury attorneys fighting for you and your family. We can give you the peace of mind you need at a very difficult time.
An internal report from the Food and Drug Administration recommends that Avandia, a controversial diabetes medication be pulled from the market because those taking the drug faced significant risk of heart failure. Avandia is prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes. According to the New York Times, the drug was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009 but the FDA’s report suggests that both regulators and the manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline knew about the risk of heart attacks and failed to warn the public.
Drug manufacturers have a legal duty to disclose any information they have that their drug is dangerous. They also have a duty to warn consumers of those risks. If GlaxoSmithKline knew their drug was dangerous because of the increase risk in heart attacks and it failed to disclose that information and to warn consumers then it broke the law.
Not surprisingly, GlaxoSmithKline is defending its product, arguing that the scientific evidence just does not support that taking Avandia increases the risk of heart attacks. The scientific evidence and the FDA report was enough to trigger a Congressional investigation into the drug and to question the effectiveness of agency oversight. But for the time being, despite this newly disclosed FDA report, Avandia remains on the marketplace and doctors may continue to prescribe it.
In the Avandia case it’s easy to see what went wrong–neither the manufacturer nor the government charged with regulating the manufacturer did their jobs properly. Tragically hundreds have died because of it and so far it only seems to be the consumer that’s paying the price. Our Minneapolis Defective Drug attorneys see these kinds of cases all the time.
It’s these kind of stories that move us to do what we do. Because 304 deaths in one year, all from the same drug, is a tragedy. What the FDA report shows, is that it was an avoidable tragedy which makes those deaths inexcusable. The manufacturer can do better and the government can do better. More importantly, the families of those who died deserve better. Unfortunately, unless they have someone committed to fighting for their rights, they probably won’t get better.
Our Minneapolis Pharmaceutical Lawyers all share that commitment. If you or a loved one have taken Avandia, you should consider talking to your doctor about this report. If you have any questions about your rights please contact our attorneys. Rely on our experience and commitment to getting results for those injured by drug companies..
With a lot of bad news circulating these days, it is nice to hear of a moment where government and industry worked together and got something done. So here’s some. More than 2000 hospitals have signed on to a public-private effort to reduce medical errors, meeting one of the Obama administrations goals under the Affordable Care Act.
The Partnership for Patients initiative was launched last April by the Department of Health and Human Services who touted the program as a way to save 60,000 lives and $35 billion over three years by reducing medical errors by 40 percent. An ambitious, but achievable goal.
The purpose of the partnership is to encourage collaboration between hospitals, medical professionals, insurers, employers as patients as a way to exchange best practices, learn new approaches, and share information and ideas.
The program is funded through two different income streams, both made possible by the healthcare reform law. One is the Community-Based Care Transitions Program that provides $500 million for community-based organizations to help patients transition out of the hospital, and other is the Medicare agency’s Innovation Center.
The scope of the reforms enacted under the Affordable Care Act extend well beyond simply making sure citizens are insured to improving the entire way the health care system functions. And by putting an early focus on improving procedures designed to prevent errors, the law can meet a two-fold goal: increase patient safety and reduce long-term health care costs by avoiding unnecessary illness and injury. It’s a focus the attorneys at Lord & Faris welcome.
It’s been a while since we heard any news reports of cars experiencing episodes of sudden acceleration. But just because the reports have quieted down doesn’t mean litigation surrounding the issue has. In fact, it’s moving right along in multiple jurisdictions and the early reports show the judicial system believes auto manufacturers have some explaining to do.
Take Florida, for example. A Florida judge presiding over a sudden acceleration case reversed a jury verdict for the defendant Ford Motor Co. and found for the plaintiffs because he believed the jury was misled and ordered a new trial on the issue of damages only.
Judge William Swigert of the 5th District in Ocala said he concluded that Ford had concealed or destroyed crucial reports pointing to a possible cause of cruise control problems. The judge conducted a 17 month review of evidence and legal motions and outlined the charges against Ford in what was described as a “blistering” 46 page opinion.
According to reports, Ford service reports that were written by engineers and technicians had identified electromagnetic interference as a possible source of cruise control problems. According to the judge, had those reports been forwarded to federal authorities “the government would have discovered years ago that electronic failures in the cruise control system is a cause of sudden acceleration.”
Instead, Ford presented a defense based on misstatements of important evidence and personal attacks on the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Ford even went after the victims, blaming them for the accident.
If you or a loved one was involved in an accident and think an acceleration problem may be to blame, contact the Minneapolis automobile accident attorneys at Lord & Faris for a free consultation. Your rights may be at risk.
At some point you’ve likely heard a horror story or two about how dealing with Medicare claims can be a bureaucratic nightmare, especially when it involves settlement proceeds from a personal injury lawsuit. A new report backs up a lot of those stories of nightmarish inefficiencies leading to a new call for Medicare reform.
One example includes a story of a Medicare demand letter in a 2009 personal injury case. In the letter Medicare demanded reimbursement for $1.59 out of a $4500 settlement. In another example Medicare inadvertently closed its file on a man who brought a wrongful death suit after his wife died in a case of alleged medical malpractice. Lawyers for the families were forced to restart the process of reimbursing Medicare for the woman’s care, which caused a delay in the settlement of the wrongful death suit by about three months until she received Medicare’s final demand for payment.
The heart of the challenge comes from the fact that currently Medicare is slow to respond to verification requests from attorneys handling personal injury cases while also refusing to tell attorneys just what Medicare is owed in a particular case. The result is an institutional gridlock that costs taxpayers and individuals money and time.
New reform legislation proposes a series of changes to Medicare to alleviate these challenges, though that legislation is a long ways from passage. In the meantime, rest assured that if you or a loved one has been injured that the attorneys at Lord & Faris have the experience necessary to not only settle your case fairly, but to deal with the current hang-ups caused by Medicare delays.
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The Law Firm of Lord & Faris is a Minneapolis and St. Paul based personal injury law office that works for individuals and families throughout Minnesota including the following cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Plymouth, Burnsville, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Richfield, Maplewood, Roseville, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Blaine, Lakeville, Woodbury, Duluth, Coon Rapids, Lino Lakes, North Oaks, Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Minnetonka, Apple Valley, St. Cloud, Plymouth, Rochester, Wayzata, Excelsior, Chanhassen, Chaska, Mankato, Marshall, Hibbing, Brainerd.
