Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Winter 2010 Newsletter

Firm Wins $2.5 Million for Accident Victims

Tractor Trailer Accident MN For a couple whose lives changed in an instant, attorneys Eric Hageman and Fred Pritzker won a hard-fought settlement of $2,560,000 this year. In the summer of 2007, while traveling home from a family reunion, our clients' Pontiac was hit by a tractor-trailer that had drifted into their lane. The impact caused the couple's car to spin around the front of the truck, across the median and into oncoming traffic where it hit an SUV traveling the opposite direction.

The collision left both husband and wife with devastating injuries. She suffered multiple broken bones and a closed head injury, while his injuries were so serious that doctors were unsure whether he'd live. He spent six months in a wheelchair and, although he eventually learned to walk again, everyday tasks still proved difficult. His weekly golf games went by the wayside; his garden grew over with weeds. His head injury left him with permanent brain damage.

The cause of the crash was hotly contested. The trucking company claimed the driver of the car allowed her vehicle to drift into the truck's lane while the plaintiffs contended the truck drifted into their lane. Eyewitness testimony supported each claim. Read more about the truck accident lawsuit settlement >>

Driving While Distracted

Texting Driver Accident Last fall, 20-year-old J.R. Trembly was driving home from college to Sioux City, Iowa when an oncoming vehicle suddenly swerved out of its lane and collided head-on with Trembly's Volkswagen Passat. He found himself trapped amid shattered glass and acrid airbag fumes. His dog lay dying nearby. Paramedics arrived and immediately transported him to a nearby hospital. The high-speed collision shattered Trembly's pelvis so severely that local doctors ordered him airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center for a complex emergency surgery on his pelvis, surgical repair of a cracked knee cap and treatment of his other injuries.

Given the extreme wreckage and inexplicable loss of control, police at the scene immediately suspected that the other driver had been intoxicated. Upon investigating, police found only that the other driver had been texting. Read more about the texting driver head-on collision >>

Bowling for a Cause

Pritzker Bowling for Highland Friendship Club Pritzker Olsen once again sponsored the annual Lanes for Friendship bowling fundraiser in December, with special guest Joe Mauer hosting the event. The bowling event benefits the Highland Friendship Club, a St. Paul, Minn., organization which provides social activities for young adults with disabilities. This year the organization raised $32,000, nearly a quarter of the Friendship Club's operating budget, according to Executive Director Mary McKeown. For many of our staff and attorneys, this event is their favorite annual firm outing. Read more our law firm's sponsorship of the Highland Friendship Club bowling event with Joe Mauer >>

Attorney Brendan Flaherty Named "Rising Star"

Pritzker Olsen is excited to announce Brendan Flaherty has been named a 2010 Rising Star by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. Only 2.5 percent of the state's lawyers are included on the list, which highlights Minnesota's best up-and-coming legal talent and has been published annually since 1998. Flaherty is one of only 12 general personal injury plaintiff lawyers on the list.
Read more about "Rising Star" Brendan Flaherty >>

Meet Attorney Ryan Osterholm

The newest addition to the Pritzker Olsen team, Ryan Osterholm, practices in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, and products liability and focuses heavily on foodborne illness cases. Osterholm received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and received his law degree from the University of Minnesota, focusing on health law. Read more about Ryan Osterholm >>

Chicken Safety

Chicken Safety As part of a food safety article in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, Pritzker Olsen client Michele Lundell shared her story. After eating a salad at an Apple Valley, Minn., Chipotle restaurant in February 2009, she became sick and doctors determined Campylobacter to be the cause. The harmful bacteria most likely came from lettuce contaminated by raw or undercooked chicken, according to a Minnesota Department of Health report. "The problem here was not cooking but rather cross contamination between raw chicken and lettuce," said attorney Brendan Flaherty, who is representing Lundell. Read more about our Consumer Reports interview of our client, a Campylobacter victim >>

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Firm News

AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman have been given the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell for an attorney, AV Preeminent. An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Fred Pritzker Listed in The Best Lawyers in America

Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

Adjunct Teaching Position At U of M Law School

Attorney Brendan Flaherty has accepted an adjunct teaching position at the University of Minnesota Law School. For the 2011 spring semester, Flaherty will teach a course entitled "Practice and Professionalism," which will introduce students to foundational lawyering skills and professional responsibility issues.

Named Super Lawyer

In recognition of their achievements, attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman were named "Super Lawyers" by Law & Politics magazine. According to Super Lawyers, "The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and consumers in the search for legal counsel."

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