Burlington Northern Train-Car Collision Lawsuit Update: Burlington Northern was penalized $4.2 million dollars for abuse of evidence and misrepresentations to opposing counsel and the court.

In June 2008, an Anoka County jury issued a $21.6 million verdict against Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company for a car-train collision that killed four people. The plaintiff’s argued that the car was hit by the Burlington Northern freight train when the gates and warning lights at a railroad crossing malfunctioned.

In October of 2009, a Washington County District Judge ruled that the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad abused evidence and penalized an additional $4.2 million for its conduct.
District Court Judge Ellen Maas wrote in her ruling:

"The breadth of (the railroad's) misconduct in this case is staggering; beginning within minutes of the accident, up to and through the trial. The plaintiffs have established that (the railroad's) misconduct did indeed strain the limits of the civil justice system."

The judge ruled that Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company destroyed, mishandled and tampered with evidence and made so many misrepresentations that the judge “lost count.”

Free Consultation Regarding
a Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Lawsuit

To contact a railroad accident lawyer regarding a Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad car-train collision lawsuit, please call Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), email Attorney Fred Pritzker or submit our online free consultation form.

Keywords: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company lawsuit, car-train collision lawsuit, lawyers, attorneys, Burlington Northern accident suit, car hit by a Burlington Northern train, auto hit by a Santa Fe Railroad train.

Labels: accident death, car accident lawsuit, wrongful death

A man who was allegedly rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck has filed suit against the tractor-trailer driver and 5 trucking companies, Motor City Express Inc., Challenger Motor Freight, James Group International, James Group International II Inc. and James Group Midwest.

While the man was stopped in bad traffic, the semi tractor trailer failed to stop for traffic and slammed into the rear of the automobile. The impact caused the car to collide with vehicles in front.

According to the complaint, the driver of the car suffered the following as a result of being rear-ended by the tractor-trailer truck:

• Injuries that needed medical attention, resulting in medical costs
• Pain
• Suffering
• Disability
• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement
• Lost wages
• Loss of quality of life and an impaired ability to participate in normal activities
  

The complaint filed in the tractor-trailer accident suit alleges that the driver of the tractor-trailer was at fault for the following reasons:

• Negligent failure to maintain proper control of his vehicle
• Failure to keep a proper lookout
• Speeding—driving too fast for the conditions
• Failure to decrease his speed to avoid a collision
• Failure to properly yield to the vehicle in front of him
• Driving too close to the vehicle in front of him, the plaintiff’s car
  

If you have been in a rear-end collision with a tractor-trailer truck, contact our national law firm for a free consultation by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submitting our online form.

Our truck accident lawyers have been interviewed by The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications.

Madison County Circuit Court (Illinois) case number: 09-L-1059.

Labels: accident, car, car accident lawsuit, collision, head injury, pain, rear end collision, semi, tractor trailer accident

Collision attorney Fred Pritzker settled a semi truck accident collision case this month for 2.56 million dollars. The clients, a husband and wife in their sixties, were returning from a family reunion when their automobile was hit from behind by a semi-truck. The initial impact caused their vehicle to lose control, cross the center median and collide head-on with an SUV traveling in the opposite direction. The husband suffered a traumatic brain injury and both the husband and wife had extensive orthopedic injuries.

Below are more of Fred Pritzker's million-plus recoveries for his clients:

1. Motorcycle Crash - $6,000,000 on behalf of a 26 year-old female passenger whose right leg was traumatically amputated when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger was struck by a drunk driver.
   
2. Collision and Product Liability - $3,750,000 on behalf of a 39 year-old man whose left leg was amputated below the knee following injuries sustained in a recreational vehicle crash caused by a defective control mechanism.
3. Car Accident - $3,500,000 on behalf of a child who suffered significant brain damage in a multi-vehicle crash. The vehicle in which she was a passenger lost control after attempting to avoid a collision with another vehicle. Her vehicle then crossed the median and collided with two other vehicles.
4. Truck Accident - $2,850,000 on behalf of the family of a man who was killed when his vehicle was struck by debris from a truck. The man was survived by his wife, two minor children and two adult children from a previous marriage.
5. Truck Accident Wrongful Death- $2,000,000 on behalf of the heirs of a 37 year-old male who was killed when his delivery truck was struck from the rear at high speed by a garbage truck.
6. Truck-Pedestrian Crash - $1,700,000 on behalf of a 42 year-old man who was run over by s semi-tractor as the man stood beside the road while assisting another motorist who crashed in an earlier accident. The victim sustained a number of fractures and internal injuries from which he never fully recovered.
7. Medical Product Liability - $1,800,000 in a case involving a medical product that caused permanent injury.
8. Truck-Pedestrian Crash - $1,536,921 on behalf of a 36 year-old man whose wheel chair was struck by a garbage truck as the man tried to cross a busy road. He used a motorized chair due to pre-existing rheumatoid arthritis. The crash resulted in a hip fracture that required surgery and caused the man to lose additional function.
9. Collision with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) -( Farm-Implement/Automobile Crash) - $1,225,666 on behalf of a 50 year-old female who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury when the vehicle she was operating was struck by a farm sprayer that failed to stop at a rural intersection.
10. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) - $1,100,000 on behalf of a 26 year-old male whose motorcycle was struck by a left turning automobile operated by a 16 year-old driver.

Labels: accident, car, car accident lawsuit, car accident lawyers, collision, head injury, pain

An auto accident lawsuit is filed when a settlement agreement cannot be reached. The filing consists of a summons and complaint, legal documents that summon the defendant (one being sued) to court to answer specific claims outlined in the complaint.

The complaint filed in the auto accident lawsuit outlines the damages sought to compensate you for your injuries, past and future. The specific amount money sought does not need to be stated in the complaint.

Once a lawsuit is filed, both sides can ask for additional documentation, conduct depositions ("interviews" of witnesses and others), hire expert witnesses and take other measures to gather evidence and build a case.

Throughout the auto accident lawsuit process, our lawyers continue to negotiate with the defendant's lawyers to try to reach a settlement. If a settlement is not reached by the trial date, our lawyers will proceed to trial. They have tried and won numerous trials and frequently lecture on trial tactics.

If you would like a free consultation regarding an auto accident lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), email Attorney Fred Pritzker or submit our online contact form.

Labels: car accident lawsuit

A beet truck accident in Wahpeton, North Dakota took the life of Antionette Gjesdahl, an 18-year-old, on September 29, just hours after the start of the beet harvest started.

According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Antoinette Gjesdahl was driving a 2005 Pontiac about 1:30 p.m. and entered an intersection on the Interstate 29 bypass on the west side of Wahpeton when her vehicle was hit by a 2005 International semi-truck and trailer driven by Cathleen Dean. The semi-trailer was hauling sugar beets for Minn-Dak Farmers, a sugar beet cooperative. The Pontiac was pushed into a third vehicle at the intersection, driven by Mary Motzko, 38, of Wahpeton. Mary Motzko was taken to an area hospital. Antoinette Gjesdahl was dead at the scene, the patrol said.

Who is at Fault for This Tragic Death?

Our goal as accident lawyers is to hold drivers, their employers and others accountable for their negligence by winning as much money as possible from them for our clients.

In this case, negligence abounds.

• The driver was not qualified, had a criminal record, including driving with a suspended license and several drug-related charges, and flew through a red light, crashing into the car driven by Antionette Gjesdahl.
• The party that hired Cathleen Dean to drive the beet truck, a roadway giant, should never have hired her.
• Minn-Dak Farmers and the beet grower whose beets were being transported should not have had a dangerous driver hauling their beets.
  

Both North Dakota and Minnesota relax transportation regulations for the beet harvest, but this does not excuse anyone’s negligence.

Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is a Minneapolis, Minnesota law firm with a national practice. To contact a lawyer about a beet truck accident, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation. You will not have any up-front costs, and we are not paid unless you win.

Labels: accident death, wrongful death

Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“Talking on cell phones and texting while driving have become national pastimes, and they are high-risk activities,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. “We represent people in injury and wrongful death cases involving distracted driver accidents. Lives are ended or changed forever because drivers think it is more important to talk on the phone or text a friend than to focus on driving.”

One merely has to stand on a busy street corner to know that a large number of people drive while using cell phones. With advanced technology, these phones can also be used to text, surf the Web, play video games and watch movies.

“We now know that the worst offenders are the youngest, least experienced drivers,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Unfortunately though, the problem doesn't end there. Distracted driving occurs across all age groups and all modes of transportation, from cars to buses and trucks to trains. We must work together to find solutions that will prevent crashes caused by driver distraction.”

Pritzker Olsen attorneys agree with Secretary LaHood and propose a three-pronged approach:

1. Legislation: Several states have bans or partial bans on cell phone use and texting while driving. Every state needs to address this life-threatening problem and enact effective laws. These laws need to have teeth—violators should be adequately punished.
2. Enforcement: The laws need to allow police and other traffic enforcement officers to pull over a vehicle if the driver is observed talking on a cell phone or texting. Traffic enforcement officers need to make the effort to enforce these laws.
3. Education: The public needs to be educated about the laws and the consequences of violating those laws.
   

To contact a car accident lawyer at Pritzker Olsen law an accident involving a driver who was talking on a cell phone or texting, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation.

Labels: car accident lawyers