A husband and wife are in critical condition after they were hit head-on by a Freightliner semi truck near Windom, Minnesota, on Tuesday. According to the Minnesota State Patrol incident report, Carol Kirstein, 67, of Wilder, Minnesota, was driving a Buick LeSabre northbound on Highway 71 when she crossed over the centerline and collided with the Freightliner, which was pulling a 53-foot trailer. At the time of the accident, Robert Kirstein, was a passenger in Carol Kirstein’s vehicle. Mrs. Kirstein broke her leg and sustained other injuries. Mr. Kirstein sustained internal injuries. Both were airlifted to Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

As the family deals with the physical and emotional difficulties of this situation, insurance companies will be contacting the family regarding a number of issues. Whenever someone is seriously injured in a car accident, it is critical to contact a Minnesota car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Once the family retains a lawyer, the insurance companies generally are not allowed to contact family members, and the family’s lawyer will take care of all issues involving the insurance companies, including medical expenses and compensation for pain, suffering, disability and wage loss.

In a case where a spouse is a passenger in the vehicle, obtaining adequate compensation for pain, suffering, disability and wage loss can require the spouse-passenger to make a claim or even file a lawsuit against the spouse-driver. This may seem outrageous, but given the language of insurance contracts, it is usually necessary. The spouses and other family members need to understand that sometimes legal actions are necessary for the good of everyone in the family. For more information, please contact a car accident lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, a Minnesota law firm with a national reputation. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form.

Labels: car, collision, Minnesota accident, pain, semi, spouse passenger, suffering

(Update to the post below: When this post was written, the name of the driver of the Plymouth Voyager was released as public information. The driver has since died, and the name is now listed as "Undisclosed." We have therefore edited this blog post to take out the name of the deceased. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.)

This morning at about 8 a.m. a head-on collision on Highway 169 near Chisholm, Minnesota, resulted in fatal injuries to a Chisholm man, who was airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a Jeep driven by Susan Waller of Virginia, Minnesota, was heading westbound on Highway 169 when it ran off the left side of the road, went through the median and collided head-on with a Plymouth Voyager driven by the deceased.

Sadly, as the family is trying to cope with the physical and emotional difficulties of this situation, insurance companies are going to be contacting the family regarding the accident. As we state in our online Minnesota car accident FAQ:

Whether it's five minutes or five weeks after an accident, don't discuss it with the other person's insurance company representative. These people are called adjusters. They're not bad people, but their job is to get as much information about your accident or your injuries and then try to use it against you. You can talk about the accident with your insurance company. In fact, your policy says you must cooperate with your insurance company. But even so, your insurance company is going to look out for its own interests before it looks out for yours. That's why it's a good idea to talk to a lawyer before you talk to any insurance company.

Our Minnesota Car Accident FAQ page answers many questions families have after a car accident. We also welcome people to contact our office for a free consultation with a Minnesota car accident lawyer regarding a Minnesota wrongful death lawsuit. To contact a Minnesota car accident lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, you may call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form. If you call after business hours, our on-call attorney will get back to you as soon as possible, usually within a few hours.

Labels: accident, collision, injury, Minnesota