Menomonie, Wisconsin Duplex Fire Results in Three Deaths and Personal Injury

On April 5, 2008, three UW-Stout students died of smoke inhalation due to a fire in a rental house. The fire was reported around 3:30 in the morning in a duplex on 8th Street East in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The Menomonie Fire Department arrived at about 3:37. The three deceased students were quickly discovered, but efforts to resuscitate the students failed.

Initial findings suggest that the three students died from smoke inhalation. At this point in the investigation, the fire appears to be accidental. A state investigator will be releasing findings on the cause of the fire soon. We are monitoring this situation and will provide updates when available.

Cause and Liability

Legally, the cause of the fire is important for purposes of liability. For example, if a fire is caused (or exacerbated) by a defective product, the manufacturer of that product, the landlord and others may be held liable for any resulting injuries and deaths. If there were violations of local, state or federal regulations, this would be relevant for liability issues related to compensatory damages and could lead to punitive damages.

It is valuable to have legal representation during the investigation for purposes of gathering and preserving evidence. Contact our senior partner, attorney Fred Pritzker, for a free consultation. You will not be obligated to retain our law firm to represent you.

Some of us at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. have children in college, including Fred Pritzker. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Amanda Jean Rief from Chaska, Minnesota, April Englund from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Scott Hams from Hayward, Wisconsin.

PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is a national personal injury law firm with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have recently settled a Wisconsin wrongful death lawsuit. In that case, a product liability and foodborne illness case, an elderly woman died after eating contaminated spinach. We also have a recent apartment fire lawsuit settlement.

Attorneys at our law firm are nationally-recognized and have been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications. Attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman have all been named “Super Lawyers” by Law & Politics magazine. Fred has also been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. To contact an attorney at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit our free case consultation form.

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