Author: Steve Terry

(WCCO) The mother of a toddler that was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by a 9-year-old child is speaking out.

It’s been nearly a year since the alleged incident happened at Grand Casino Mille Lacs.

It apparently took place here in the Kids Quest child care center owned by New Horizons.

A pending lawsuit is stalled because of a dispute over a key piece of evidence.

“When they brought him I was mortified. He was beaten head to toe,” said the victim’s mother, who wants to remain anonymous to protect her son’s identity.

She recalls the shock she felt after seeing her 3-year-old son that she left for about an hour and a half at Kids Quest while she had a birthday dinner to go to.

“He had bruising on his cheeks, on his neck. He had a ruptured blood vessel in his eye, a scratch along his eye,” she said. All of that happened allegedly at the hands of an older boy.

“Sick to my stomach that a 9-year-old could beat my son to that degree,” said the victim’s mom.

The day after the apparent abuse the doctor had more distressing news.

“He had assaulted him sexually. And so they immediately did tests, called Mille Lacs Police,” said the victim’s mom.

The physical abuse was captured on surveillance tape.

“It shows what looks to be an older child maybe rough housing a little bit too hard with a younger child,” said Rjay Brunkow, the Mille Lacs Band Solicitor General.

Security reports written after reviewing the tape said the 9-year-old boy kicked the toddler in the face, threw him to floor, held him there then carried him to the top of the gym into the tunnel.

“It’s not a see through tunnel,” said Brunkow.

That’s where the alleged sexual assault took place.

“In every jurisdiction in the state on Minnesota — if you aren’t on tribal land — you have the right as a victim of a crime to get a copy of a video tape that the police have obtained,” said Rich Ruohonen, the victim’s attorney.

However the Mille Lacs Band will only turn over the tape to the boy’s attorney if they “write the band a letter saying if the band were named as a defendant in the lawsuit, that the video tape would not be used against the band,” said Brunkow.

“It would be irresponsible of me as a lawyer, in representing my clients, to agree to that without at least seeing it,” said Ruohonen.

Meantime a distraught mother copes with a traumatized child

“Since this, he’s a completely different boy. He lashes out at myself, my mother, but my daughter is the main focus of his aggression,” said the victim’s mom. “I just wish they’d give us the tape to understand what my son went through.”

The boy’s attorney could plead his case before a tribal judge. That judge would then decide if he could have the tape.

The attorney said he’ll do that as a last resort. The casino day care where this happened is now closed.

A train accident was reported early Friday morning. A man was struck and killed by a northbound train east of downtown Cambridge, Minnesota, about 6:00 a.m. It happened near Hwy 95.

The name of the 29 year-old is being withheld pending relatives being notified. An eyewitness said there was at least one of the train cars off the tracks and the road was blocked for part of the morning.

It was a 64-car Union Pacific train that had departed Des Moines, Iowa at about 3:20 a.m. Cambridge was its final destination, said railway spokesman Tom Lang. It was reported that 47 of the cars were empty and none of the train cars were carrying any potentially hazardous cargo.

If you have been the victim of a train accident, contact a Minneapolis personal injury attorney from TSR Injury Law at (612) TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form . Our attorneys are skilled, aggressive litigators with years of experience in accident case and are consistently named Super Lawyers and Top Lawyers by their peers.

Feeling all alone and overwhelmed? We care and we want to help. If you hire TSR Injury Law, we will gather the evidence, contact needed expert witnesses, handle all of the paperwork, and file your claim. Call us today at 612-TSR-TIME and one of our experienced wrongful death attorneys will fight for justice in your case.

Aspects of Wrongful Death Case

Three criteria have to be met to establish a wrongful death:

• a human death occurred;
• that death was caused by the wrongful act, negligence, or omission of a person or corporation; and
• financial or emotional loss was suffered by the beneficiaries due to the Minnesota wrongful death.

In order to prove fault in a wrongful death case, witness supported evidence is necessary. The evidence presented by the plaintiff must be sufficient and compelling to convince the judge or jury to rule favorably. Witnesses must be willing to testify. Then they need to relay exactly what they saw or heard pertaining to the death. Physical evidence will be gathered, including:

• medical reports;
• corroborative witness testimonies; and
• police reports.

Expert witness evidence can be invaluable to further explain issues that may not be obvious or discernible to the judge or jury. Expert witnesses are often used in product liability, vehicle safety, and workplace safety cases.

Potential damages evidence has to be presented to prove to the judge or jury that a recovery is just and fitting. Beneficial documentation includes:

• bank records;
• business sales journals;
• business profit and loss reports; and
• employer records.

Family of a Wrongful Death Victim?

Do not delay. Call a Minneapolis wrongful death lawyer at TSR Injury Law today at 612-TSR-TIME or submit our contact form. We are ready to help you today and there are no upfront fees if we take on your case.

TSR Injury Law. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Flying can be nerve-racking, even for the most confident travelers out there. There are so many things that can go wrong and, while the traffic in the air is not as intense as on the roads, there are other hazards to traveling 30,000 feet above ground. If you are faced with an airline accident, you could be looking at serious, life changing injuries.

Airplane Accident Fatalities

Many airplane accidents result in fatality. This is a hard fact to swallow and one of the reasons why most people are a little weary of flying. If you have lost a family member in an airline accident, then you will need some time to comprehend what his means for your future. How will you pay the bills without the regular income? How will you take care of the children without this inheritance? How will you be able to emotionally move on from this accident?

At TSR Injury Law Firm our Minnesota personal injury lawyers can help you see your options clearly and help you determine which steps to take to overcome this devastating loss. We can help you with insurance claims and uncover the facts behind the accident. You may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the airline or against the person responsible for the accident.

Causes of Aviation Injuries

Flying is considered one of the safest modes of transportation and if there is an airline accident, it is usually due to the neglect of someone, such as a pilot or mechanic. At TSR Injury Law Firm, we can help you with all types of airline injuries and accidents which may have resulted due to:

• DUI and DWI airplane accidents
• Mechanic defects with the plane
• Servicing errors
• Airline accident crashes

Getting over a serious airline injury is going to take time. You could be looking at years of care and hospitalization, especially if faced with a serious brain or spine injury which are quite common in sudden impact accidents such as airline crashes. Furthermore, you may want to take some time off work to grieve the loss of a loved one or to be with the injured person and make life a little better for them.

Moving Past an Airplane Accident

All of this can cost money and it is important that you understand what you are entitled to in terms of insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits. At TSR Injury Law Firm, we can assist you with gaining compensation to pay for things like:

• medical equipment, medications, and a personal nurse;
• a loss of income and protected income for your family;
• emotional suffering and therapy;
• rehabilitation and recovery expenses; and more.

Minneapolis Aircraft Injury Lawyers

After a serious airline accident, you may not know where to turn. You can find all the answers you need and the strength to move forward by learning about your legal rights. TSR Injury Law Firm can help you during this stressful and emotionally draining part of your life. Call us at (612) TSR-TIME for a free initial consultation about your case or submit our free consultation form.

Your lungs play an important role in your life. Without properly functioning lungs you will have trouble breathing. You may suffer from serious brain damage if your lungs are unable to bring air to your brain or you may suffer from a serious heart injury if your lungs are unable to bring air to your heart. Either way, you could be looking at a whole new way of life and the potential for fatality as well.

What Can Cause a Lung Injury?

There are some lung injuries that can occur due to poor living habits, family genes or other problems. Smoking, for example, can often result in serious lung diseases such as cancer. However, in some instances, a lung injury can be the result of the neglect of someone else, such as an unsafe medication or a reckless driver. Lung punctures, for example, can result due to a sudden heavy impact often caused by a car accident. Serious complications with the lungs, such as pulmonary embolism, can happen for a number of different reasons including due to some medications such as Avandia and Yasmin birth control.

You can injure your lungs in many other ways as well. Breathing toxic chemicals, unsafe ventilators and asbestos poisoning can all impact your lungs. You may not find out about the damage until several years after the exposure. Car accidents, boating accidents and near drowning can also cause complications to the lung that may impact the rest of your life.

Lung Injury Assistance

At TSR Injury Law Firm we represent clients across Minnesota suffering the aftermaths of a lung injury. This includes:

Living with a lung injury can be stressful. You may have to watch what activities you do or be on medication for the rest of your life. You may have to quit your job and remain at home or in constant care. This is not something that you can now control but you can learn to live with it with the financial assistance of an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

Trusted Lawyers in Minnesota

At TSR Injury Law Firm, we strive to help each and every individual gain the compensation they deserve. Whether you are enquiring for yourself or for a loved one, we can answer any questions and concerns that you may have. Our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys offer a free consultation to go over your insurance claims and your situation.

If you have suffered from a lung injury or complication, then now is the time to call us at TSR. Call (612) TSR-TIME for a free initial consultation about your case or submit our free consultation form.

A boy who nearly drowned on a Disney Fantasy cruise ship in March has now been moved back home to Minnesota and is being cared for in a Minnesota hospital.

Chase Lykken, 4, has suffered brain damage and was released from the Arnold Palmer hospital for children and transferred to Children’s in St. Paul.

The youngest of three, the young boy had just boarded the cruise ship with his family on March 30 in Port Canaveral for a cruise to the Western Caribbean when he was suddenly pulled from one of the three pools on the ship, according to witnesses.

One person stated that he was unconscious and not breathing for a number of minutes. This has resulted in a long and difficult recovery process for the young boy.

After he was recovered from the pool, rescuers performed CPR for Chase to then be transported to Cape Canaveral hospital. He was taken from Cape Canaveral Hospital to Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital.

Port Canaveral Police, who have investigated the incident, would not release specific details, such as how long the boy was under the water. The case is also being investigated by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Chris and Lisa Lykken, Chase’s parents, have not commented on the incident.

According to information posted online about Chase’s case, he has sustained damage to the parts of the brain that control motor skills and basic function, including body temperature, respiration and heart rates, hunger and thirst, eyesight, and the sleep-wake cycle.

Friends have been organizing to help the family offset medical costs.

One photo of Chase online shows him wearing a Captain America costume. The comic-book hero’s red, white, and blue shield was posted on the Internet on Chase’s caringbridge.org and Facebook pages. So far, the Facebook page has netted over 4,000 likes. The caringbridge.org page has over 2,200 comments of encouragement and good wishes.

If your child or loved one has suffered a serious personal injury as a result of another persons’ negligence, you may be eligible to hold that person accountable for this actions. To learn more about the options that may be available, contact a personal injury lawyer in Minneapolis at TSR Injury Law today. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.