Category: Personal Injuries
Summer Drive Time ~ Keeping Safe on the Roads
May 23, 2013 | Jon P. EricksonI recently read this article in Star Tribune’s newspaper titled “Deaths on state roads top 100 for the year.” It references the state’s seat-belt crackdown which began on May 20th. Once again there were some sobering statistics about the number of traffic deaths where no seat belt was used. In the past three years, “852 motorists have died in crashes and 42 percent (361) of those were not wearing seat belts.” We can, and must do better in getting the message out to all drivers but most certainly our young drivers! The good news is that seat-belt use continues to climb in Minnesota at some 93{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} as compared to the national average of 84{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3}. Let’s all try to improve this percentage. On Monday I was at the courthouse in Buffalo, Minnesota. When I came out of the courthouse there was a “crashed car” on a flatbed trailer with some signs on it. It was the car involved in an accident in Wright County in 2012. Its roof was crashed in, and one side of it was almost demolished. One of the signs on the trailer stated that the driver and occupant wore seat belts, and survived this obviously terrible crash. Making an effort to slow down and assure that you and all of…
Read MoreLong-Term Disability Benefits Law – Looking at Options
May 15, 2013 | John T. BuchmanPersonal Injury and Long-Term Disability It’s no secret that employees are working longer and people are living longer than ever before. The economic conditions have caused many employees to push back their retirement date. One consequence of these facts is that there has been a marked increase in long-term disability claims by disabled employees. Many employers provide long-term disability benefits as part of their employment package. I recently assisted two clients in obtaining “LTD” benefits. These turned out to be quite involved and time intensive. One required an internal appeal in which we were successful. In order to be entitled to long term disability benefits, a person has to be “disabled” continuously for the initial “elimination” or waiting period and beyond. This disability need not be, and in fact is often not, due to a work-related injury. Disability can be established by a combination of unrelated injuries, conditions or illnesses that combine to prevent a person from working for the required period of time. Different policies can define “disability” differently. Many policies adopt the definition of disability found in the Social Security Disability Act. However, the policies need not use that definition and many do not. Generally, these definitions require that the person be unable to perform the material and substantial duties of…
Read MoreWhat is Minnesota's “Dog Injury” Law?
May 1, 2013 | John T. BuchmanIt is spring in Minnesota (finally) and people are finding many ways to be back outdoors enjoying the sun and nicer weather. Unfortunately, this can also bring an increase in incidents involving animal attacks, specifically dog attacks and bites as man’s “best friends” head back outdoors along with him. Minnesota has long had a law that creates liability for dog owners whose “best friends” are decidedly unfriendly and bite or injure others. This is commonly referred to as the “dog bite” statute (Minn. Stat. § 347.22). This law was enacted in 1951. Under the statute, “If a dog, without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in any place where that person may lawfully be, the owner of the dog is liable . . .” Thus, an injured person must establish that they did not provoke the dog, they were acting peaceably in a place where they might lawfully be and that their injuries were the “direct and immediate” result of the dog’s actions. This law only applies to dogs and not cats. There is a bill currently in the legislature to include cats but it is uncertain whether it will become law. The law also applies to anyone who is “harboring” the dog (which means actively caring for the…
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