Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Minnesota Fire Injury Settlement

Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. , a premier Minnesota personal injury law firm, recently obtained a $2,950,000 settlement on behalf of victims of an apartment fire in Minnesota. Firm president, Minnesota personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker, has over 30 years of experience, is a certified trial specialist, is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and is a sought-after speaker on personal injury topics. To contact Fred Pritzker or another Minnesota 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.

Minnesota Apartment Fire Injuries
A twenty-six year-old mother of three died in the Minnesota apartment fire, along with her six year-old son. 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.

Fire Caused by Hazardous Product
The fire started in an upholstered chair that had recently been purchased at a mall in Blaine, Minnesota. 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.

Landlord Responsible for Inoperative Smoke Detector The smoke detector in the Minnesota apartment was not operative when the fire started. If it had been, argued Minnesota attorney Fred 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 Minnesota 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. A re-enactment of the fire by Minnesota lawyer Fred Pritzker proved that it took less than 10 seconds for the chair to ignite when exposed to a small flame.

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Firm News

AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman have been given the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell for an attorney, AV Preeminent. An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Fred Pritzker Listed in The Best Lawyers in America

Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

Adjunct Teaching Position At U of M Law School

Attorney Brendan Flaherty has accepted an adjunct teaching position at the University of Minnesota Law School. For the 2011 spring semester, Flaherty will teach a course entitled "Practice and Professionalism," which will introduce students to foundational lawyering skills and professional responsibility issues.

Named Super Lawyer

In recognition of their achievements, attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman were named "Super Lawyers" by Law & Politics magazine. According to Super Lawyers, "The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and consumers in the search for legal counsel."

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