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

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 PritzkerOlsen, 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 PritzkerOlsen, 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