$2,950,000 Settlement

Fred Pritzker

Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. , a premier personal injury law firm, recently obtained a $2,950,000 settlement on behalf of victims of an apartment fire in Minnesota. Firm president, personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker, has over 30 years of experience and has established a national reputation for excellence in the areas of fire accidents, foodborne illness and product liability. In recognition of his achievements other lawyers selected him for inclusion in the 2005-2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. To contact Fred Pritzker or another lawyer at the firm for a free case evaluation, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, e-mail info@pritzkerlaw.com or fill out the online, attorney-consultation form.

The Injury
A twenty-six year-old mother of three died along with her six year-old son in the apartment fire. Her daughter suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a result of smoke inhalation. Another son also suffered injury but recovered. Most of the settlement proceeds were earmarked for the young girl, who will require extensive care for the remainder of her life.

Hazardous Product Involved in Fire
The fire started in an upholstered chair that had recently been purchased at a local mall. The chair was not constructed with materials resistant to small, open-flame ignition sources such as lighters, candles and matches. At the time of the fire, the only state that required flame resistant upholstered furniture was California. Minnesota was one of many states that required flame resistance for upholstered furniture used in commercial settings but had no similar requirement for residential furniture.

Inoperative Smoke Detector
The smoke detector in the apartment was not operative when the fire started. If it had been operative, argued Mr. Pritzker, the occupants would have had ample time to escape.

The investigation disclosed that many of the apartments in the building had disconnected smoke alarms. Tenants disabled the detectors because of frequent and annoying false alarms caused by the age and location of the detectors. The landlord was aware of the problem, but did little about it. Testimony from former tenants of the fire-damaged apartment demonstrated that the smoke detector had been inoperative for several years. There was also no evidence that the smoke alarm had been inspected or tested by the landlord as required by state law.

Source of Fire
The source of ignition was never determined. It may have been one of the children playing with a butane utility match, according to the state and local fire marshals who investigated the case. According to Pritzker, a re-enactment of the fire proved that it took less than 10 seconds for the chair to ignite when exposed to a small flame.

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