Minneapolis Personal Injury Law Blog

Minneapolis-St. Paul drivers who have been stuck in traffic have probably noticed that most semi-trailer trucks have steel guards at the back end of the trailers. These underride guards are supposed to prevent automobiles from getting wedged underneath the trailer during a crash. However, a recent investigation found that there may be some serious problems with these guards, preventing them from stopping serious injury in tractor trailer accidents.

The first problem is that the underride guards currently installed may not be strong enough to prevent serious injury. A national crash analyst has revealed that the guards found on trucks in the United States do not provide protection to car drivers from impact at speeds as slow as 25 miles per hour. This is the case even when the underride guards in question meet the requirements of federal and state law.

For people in the Twin Cities area who have loved ones living in group homes, the hope is that the group home residents' caregivers will use the utmost care in looking after the residents. A fatal accident in Apple Valley on April 22 shows that this may not always happen, unfortunately.

According to police, a group home resident was fatally injured in a collision involving the group home's van in which he was riding. Police said that the driver of the van ran a red light and was struck by a sport utility vehicle. The force of the collision propelled the group home's van into another vehicle waiting at the intersection.

Anyone who has ventured onto the freeways of Minnesota and elsewhere knows that semi-trailer trucks are everywhere on the roads. The drivers of these vehicles are usually trained professionals who are aware of the responsibility that goes along with operating a big, heavy truck. Some drivers still engage in foolish behavior, though, with disastrous consequences.

This is apparent in the case of a truck accident that happened on Interstate 94 near the Twin Cities. According to authorities, two trucks collided on I-94 near Menomonie, Wisconsin, in late July of last year. The driver of one of the trucks, a Minnesota resident, was killed as a result of a fire that erupted in his rig after the tractor-trailer crash.

Minnesota residents are familiar with the term, texting and driving. Now, sadly we have to use the term texting and flying. A fatal accident involving a pilot of a medical helicopter who was texting has caught the attention of the nation.

The pilot of a medical helicopter was texting, which led to a crash that killed four people. The pilot was distracted and did not check his fuel. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed a mile short of the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that this is the first commercial accident that ended in fatalities in which texting was involved.