General News

The circus turned into a nightmare when the circus bleachers collapsed about 10 p.m. on Sunday evening at the Circus Juventas event, in Highland Park area, according to St. Paul Police.

There were about 400 people on the bleacher when it collapsed. Sgt. Paul Schnell reported that there were multiple injuries, many people suffered broken bones. At this time, none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

Circus Juventas is a performing arts circus school for youth between the ages of 3 and 21. It is based in St. Paul, at 1270 Montreal Avenue.

How Can a Lawyer Help In An Incident Like This?

There is a legal obligation to ensure a reasonable level of safety for anyone invited onto a property. This obligation is referred to in litigation as “premises liability”. Our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys are skilled, aggressive litigators with years of experience. Our partners are experts at establishing fault and proving liability. They have recovered millions for victims. Call (612) TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form.

On May 23, 2012, a semi-truck driver was convicted by a Minnesota judge on one count of misdemeanor careless driving and three counts of criminal vehicular homicide that all stemmed from a fatal accident that had occurred two years earlier almost to the day. Two women were killed in the accident and one of those women was pregnant.

This is a case that shows how a truck accident can result in both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit.

The 38-year-old driver worked for Reinhart Foodservice and began his shift at 10 p.m. on May 23, 2010. This was the evening before the LaCrosse Wisconsin accident that killed the women. He drove all night long, making stops in Owatanna and Austin, Minnesota. At 11:30 a.m., he was northbound on Interstate 35 when he reached down to grab an energy drink from the passenger side floor of the truck. In his testimony, he stated that he took his eyes off the road for no more than 10 seconds when he looked up and saw that traffic was stopped due to road construction delays.

He was traveling at 68mph when his semi-truck slammed into the back of one of the victims’ vehicles, sending her vehicle into the rear of the other victims’ vehicle. The second victim’s car then slammed into the back of another semi-truck that was hauling 12 million bees. The bees were released at the scene of the accident because of the impact and this delayed the rescue efforts.

The judge came to the conclusion that the driver’s testimony regarding how long he took his eyes off of the road was not credible and that he operated his truck in a grossly negligent manner.

In addition to the criminal charges resulting from the accident, the families of the victims brought civil claims against the driver and his employer. The families settled early in 2012.

Minneapolis has done it again! The city has been named the Best City for Bicycling by Bicycle Magazine. Local government has been key.

Minneapolis has a framework in place to promote bicycling for transportation and leisure. The city has designated bicycle lanes, bike lockers, and trails. Then on June 10th, a new program was initiated called, Nice Ride, Minnesota. This is the largest bicycle sharing program in the nation with 1,000 bicycles in 75 kiosks strategically placed around the city.

Minneapolis has been receiving many accolades recently:

• #1 bicycling city in the United States (Bicycle Magazine)
• #6 most eco-friendly city in the world (Mercer)
• #2 most fun city in the country (Sperling)
• one of the United State’s smartest cities (The Daily Beast)
• one of the 15 coolest cities in the United States (MSN Travel)
• one of the most sustainable cities in the U.S. (SustainLane)
• one of America’s safest cities (Forbes)

With all of that going for the city of Minneapolis, let’s make our city not just the safest city — but the safest bicycling city. It can be done. If everyone becomes more educated about bicyclist’s rights and responsibilities, fewer bicycle accidents will occur.

We are pleased to be a part of such a progressive city and we strive to provide information and assistance to anyone in need. If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, please contact an auto accident attorney in Minneapolis at TSR Injury Law at (612) TSR-TIME. We care about people and we want to help.

An explosion at a coal-burning power plant back in October injured a worker.

The explosion occurred at Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center. The report from Minnesota power states that a call to emergency responders and firefighters was made at 9:20 a.m. to come to the facility that is located along Lake Superior’s North Shore. When they arrived, Joe Fredrickson, 41, was treated for injuries.

Fredrickson is an 11-year employee of the facility and he was in the coal bunker room where coal is transported on conveyor belts to boilers when the explosion occurred and he did sustain severe burns.

Firefighters from both the Schroeder and Tofte Volunteer Fire Departments fought the blaze. They got it under control and put out. They also stayed on site to ensure that all hotspots were extinguished, but a hotspot had started burning later in the day after they left. The hotspot was found in the insulation in the ceiling and in the coal. The fire chief said that the explosion appeared to be related to coal dust being ignited by an unknown source and that caused a number of spot fires within the building.

It was later determined by emergency crews that there were two explosions, but the cause of either one is still a mystery.

Fredrickson was taken to a Cook County hospital and was later transferred to St. Mary’s in Duluth. Minnesota Power says that he was communicative at the time he was transported. His injuries were determined to be critical, so he was listed in critical condition when he arrived at St. Mary’s.

A spokeswoman for the plant said that the coal bunker facility was in the process of being filled when the explosion occurred. Fredrickson was the only employee in the area and it is not certain how the blast happened. The cause is being investigated to ensure that the accident does not happen again.

If you are the vicitm of a serious burn injury due to a workplace incident, contact a Minneapolis personal injury lawyer from TSR Injury Law today for a free consultation.

Free initial consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

A Stillwater man has been charged with homicide for the death of Adam McCloud.

Eric Kaprice Richard, 22, is facing second-degree unintentional murder while he was committing another felony. He is also charged with manslaughter because of a fight he had with McCloud, 29, on September 28. The fight occurred at Smalley’s Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar in Stillwater.

The complaint says that Richard got into an argument with McCloud over a spilled drink and that Richard repeatedly punched McCloud in the face and head, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. This resulted in him dying of complications from skull fractures.

Richard claimed he was defending himself after McCloud pushed him several times.

The judge set his bail at $200,000.

In the complaint, it says that a surveillance video shows the two men on the dance floor when McCloud accidentally knocked a drink out of Richard’s hand. There was a conversation between the two men before they left the dance floor. When they returned, Richard had a new drink in his hand. From then on, it appeared the men were friendly with each other, even dancing with one another and with others.

Shortly after the bar closed, McCloud was seen on the video doing what appeared to be a pushing motion. Another man then grabbed McCloud to take him away from the situation. That is when Richard was seen on the camera suddenly punching McCloud, knocking him to the ground.

The man who tried to take McCloud away from the fight told police that the argument occurred after McCloud had replaced Richard’s drink, but that the altercation was due to McCloud’s refusal to pay for it.

The witness said that the two men exchanged words, which resulted in McCloud pushing Richard. He said that McCloud did respond in self-defense by punching McCloud. Richard said that McCloud pushed him approximately four times. He said he took this as an assault, so he acted in self-defense. McCloud then fell to the ground.

The witness told police the two men had words; McCloud pushed Richard, and Richard responded in self-defense by punching McCloud. Richard was then removed from the bar.

Due to the fight, McCloud had intracranial bleeding that was caused by the skull fracture. This bleeding caused respiratory failure, which is what led to his October 4 death.

Traumatic brain injuries can be life changing for all parties involved. If you or someone that you care for has suffered a brain injury that was caused by another person, contact a licensed personal injury lawyer in Minneapolis at TSR Injury Law today.

Free consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

This semester, students at Henry High were told by the Minneapolis Public School District that they would no longer be taking traditional yellow school buses to and from school. Now teens are expected to take metro transit buses if they do not drive or have someone to drive them to school

This was not a change that some parents were very happy about and they figured that such changes would cause problems. Now they are telling the school district that they told them so.

A teen was assaulted at a bus stop while waiting for a metro bus. The high school junior says that he was attacked by two men and those men have yet to be caught. Because of this, the young man’s identity has not been revealed in fear of repercussions.

The boy said the men hit him, causing him to fall backward and hit his head on the bus shelter. He remembers nothing after that because he was unconscious.

This attack occurred at the corner of Penn and Oak Park. The student said he had just walked his girlfriend home and returned to the bus stop to go home himself. He said that the yellow school buses used to drop him and his girlfriend off together because she lived close to his home. The Metro Transit route did not allow for that close drop off for her.

The teen says that the assailants started following him and tried to fight. After one hit him in the jaw, they ran away. A witness called police. Because of the concussion the boy sustained in the incident, he is struggling with his balance and with memory.

The student’s mother says that she panicked as she traveled to the hospital because she was imagining the doctor telling her that her son had passed. She said she definitely wants the school busses back.

Students at Henry, North, Edison, Roosevelt, and Washburn were told to start using public transit to school not long after the school year began. Students at South and Southwest will begin using public transportation in the fall of 2013.

The school district says that students preferred public transportation over school busses. The district believes that students are just as safe riding public transportation as they are the traditional yellow bus. However, it is believed that three other incidents happened in the same week as the one that involved the Henry junior.

The mother of the junior said that she wants the school district to be responsible for the medical bills if the suspects cannot be found. She said that her son would not have had to ride a city bus, therefore he would have never been injured. If he had never been injured, there would be no hospital bill.

If you or someone that you care for suffers an injury at the hands of another person, that victim may be eligible to file a damages lawsuit. For help reviewing the details of the incident and to determine if you have a claim, contact a Bloomington, MN personal injury lawyer at TSR Injury Law today.

Free consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Authorities believe that an accidental explosion that occurred in a maintenance shop at the Hudson Golf Course caused severe injuries that sent an employee to the hospital.

Investigators believe that the employee, 35-year-old Chad Wang of Spring Valley, Minnesota, was holding an acetylene torch to open a 55-gallon drum which triggered the explosion.

Inside the drum was a small amount of oil, according to Police Chief Marty Jenson. He said when Wang used the torch as a way to open the drum, the oil ignited and the top of the drum went airborne, hitting Wang in the head. This caused severe head trauma and it is not known how long Wang was on the floor in a pool of his own blood before a UPS driver found him. It appeared he may have been there for a few hours and the UPS worker said Wang was semi-conscious when he found him.

When the explosion occurred, Wang was alone in a maintenance building at the golf course. After he was found, he was transported to Regions Hospital and listed in critical condition.

Initially it was not known whether the incident was an assault or an accident. Possible witnesses were interviewed at the scene and it was treated as a possible crime scene. Jensen stated that it was an isolated incident and that there was no danger to the public. However, such incidents can result in life changing injuries for parties involved. If you are the victim of a preventable workplace accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in Bloomington at TSR Injury Law for a free consultation.

No Upfront Fees. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Attorneys Chuck Slane and Rich Ruohonen recently spoke at a seminar involving the use of Radiofrequency Neurotomies (RFNs) in Chronic Pain cases. The seminar was entitled The Changing Nature of Soft Tissue and Chronic Pain Claims: Injection Therapy and Radiofrequency Neurotomies. Chuck and Rich discussed how to work up and go to trial on such cases. For more information on the Radiofrequency Neurotomy procedure or spinal injuries. This seminar was held at the Minnesota Association for Justice in front of approximately 50 lawyers.

Chuck and Rich are frequent speakers at continuing legal education seminars for the Minnesota Justice Association. All three of our partners are consistently named Super Lawyers by Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine and Law & Politics. Chuck Slane has received further recognition by being named to the Minnesota Top 40 Personal Injury Attorneys.