Am I Taking Unfair Advantage of a Property Owner if I Pursue a Slip-and-Fall Case?
June 13, 2013 | Adriel B. VillarrealMany of our clients are often concerned about whether or not they are being fair when they file a slip-and-fall claim. Most of our clients are good people who would be the last ones to ever take advantage of anyone! It’s true that some slip-and-fall accidents are just that: accidents. Property owners are not responsible for all of them, and if that’s true in your case a good personal injury attorney will certainly advise you of that fact. However, some slip-and-fall injuries are caused by negligence on the part of property owners. Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain safe conditions on their premises, and they do not always follow through. Here are some examples of this kind of negligence: A restaurant spills grease on the floor and fails to clean it up. Freshly mopped floors in a grocery store are not clearly marked with a warning sign. Ice or snow on a walkway that should have been properly shoveled and salted before business hours began. A broken hand rail that ought to have been properly maintained causes someone to trip and fall down a flight of stairs. A loose floor tile, floor board, or bit of carpeting that was neglected for months causes someone to slip and fall. If you have…
Read MoreClick It or Ticket Campaign
June 12, 2013 | Jon P. EricksonMinnesota was a part of a national “Click It or Ticket” campaign over Memorial Day weekend. You may have noticed electronic freeway billboards advertising this “Click It or Ticket” effort. The campaign has been sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA} for more than 20 years. They have seen seat belt use go up to where they now estimate that 86{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of drivers nation wide now buckle up. The state of Washington leads with an average 97.5{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} seat belt usage,with Minnesota at about 95{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3}. Since 2005, the state of California has erected more than 600 traffic signs supporting seat belt usage. The California Office of Traffic Safety claims that this public service message approach has worked, and Californian seat belt usage is now up to 96.6{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3}. My hope is that Minnesotans will continue to get the message, and by next year will be at the top of seat belt usage nationwide. BUCKLE UP!
Read MoreDo I Lose Money by Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney?
June 10, 2013 | Adriel B. VillarrealMany people believe they’ll ultimately end up with a smaller check in their pocket after hiring a personal injury attorney, so they avoid calling a lawyer when they could actually really use the help. In reality, the opposite is often true. Hiring a personal injury lawyer can help you save time and energy fighting with insurance companies, and worse, collection companies looking for payment on medical or other your injury may have prevented you from covering. Hiring a personal injury attorney may also mean a larger settlement than you could have negotiated for on your own in the end. As personal injury attorneys our job is to help you get the maximum legal compensation for your claim. This is often the opposite of what other parties in the case want to do. They usually want to get you to settle for the minimum legal amount they can offer you. We can help you by advising you on what you’ll need to do in order to get the full value for: Your medical bills, especially for injuries that doctors might not have diagnosed on the day of your accident. If the accident has rendered you unable to work for any period of time, your lost wages. The loss of your vehicle, vehicle value, or…
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