No-Contact No-Fault

Under the No-Fault statute, a person suffering injuries arising out of the maintenance or “use of a motor vehicle” has a right to benefits. This would naturally include drivers, passengers and pedestrians injured by motor vehicles. But what if the victim doesn’t fit these categories? What if the person doesn’t even make contact with a motor vehicle? Can there possibly be coverage? The surprising answer is “yes.”

Two SiebenCarey Attorneys Selected "Top Women Attorneys in Minnesota"

SiebenCarey is pleased to announce Susan M. Holden and Shannon C. Carey have been selected as "The Top Women Attorneys in Minnesota". This selection was made from the women who were selected to the 2012 Minnesota Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Move Over Law – Protecting our Protectors

In 2000 Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ted Foss was killed, while conducting a routine traffic stop in southern Minnesota. A semi-truck passing by the scene crashed into his patrol car and the stopped vehicle killing Trooper Foss. He was survived by his wife, Andrea; son, Mitchell, age 5; daughter, Hannah, age 2. Soon after, our Legislature enacted a new law in honor of Trooper Foss.

Jeffrey Montpetit on the Legal Journal

Chris Huberty, host of the Legal Journal on Business 1570, interviewed Jeffrey Montpetit, partner at SiebenCarey about automobile accident injury claims.

Black Ice. Does Cold Weather Make A Difference?

I've always been told to be careful of black ice when it gets really cold. Careful of the slip and slide, especially on bridges when the temperature dips below zero. Well today when I stepped outside it was freezing. I mean really freezing with the mercury at eight below zero. It got me thinking that maybe I should take a look and see if there is really something to this cold weather and black ice rumor. Here's what I found through my early morning research. This kind of feels like a middle school science project but hey, if it helps make things safer for someone then great.

Shannon Carey interviewed on the Legal Journal radio program

Ross Brindle, host of the Legal Journal on Business 1570, interviewed Shannon Carey, attorney at SiebenCarey about medical malpractice claims. Shannon discusses medical malpractice claims, lawyers' duties in pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit and how to hire a medical malpractice attorney.

Michael Scully discusses workers' compensation laws & benefits on the Legal Journal

Ross Brindle, host of the Legal Journal on Business 1570, interviewed SiebenCarey shareholder Mike Scully about workers' compensation claims and benefits. Mike discussed workers' compensation injury claims, the steps of filing those claims and the issues surrounding injuries on the job.

Drug Compounder Poisons Hundreds with Deadly Fungal Meningitis

Spreading Awareness

As a national public health crisis develops across the country due to an outbreak of fungal meningitis, lawyers in Minnesota have filed a class action against the company that compounded, or mixed, the steroid medication that has sickened 214 and killed 15 people.

At this point, only five cases have been reported in the state, but there could be many more - in Minnesota and elsewhere. According to one report, public health officials have contacted 12,000 of the roughly 14,000 people who received the steroid shots at clinics in 23 states.

Lakeville attorney recognized for excellence in practice

"In today's day an age, I think specializing helps," he said. "And I specialize in helping injury victims."

Lakeville-based attorney Art Kosieradzki has been selected by "Super Lawyers" magazine for recognition in 2011. Only 5 percent of lawyers in the state of Minnesota are named to this list each year. Kosieradzki is a partner at SiebenCarey in Lakeville, where he manages the location.

"Super Lawyers" is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. It is published as a special supplement in several publications including Super Lawyers.

He sits on the Million Dollar Roundtable, a recognition given only to lawyers who have won million-dollar-plus verdicts, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a national merit organization consisting of about 700 of the nation's most accomplished attorneys.

Given his record of winning large-figured verdicts might cause some to believe his work is all about money, but hearing him talk about his involvement in the lives of those he is helping legally could leave one with an entirely different impression.

When It's Time to Let Go of Law

Fred Soucie knew what to do: Call Tex

Veteran personal injury attorney Fred Soucie, the Anoka lawyer who is familiar to fellow trial lawyers as well as billboard-watching drivers along Hwy. 10, recently decided it was time to let someone else take his cases.

Woman Recovers $48,137 for Dog Bite

"I thought this case was notable because of her and her courage."

A woman received a bench verdict of $48,137 in Hennepin County District Court for injuries she sustained when, at the age of 80, she was bit by a dog.

Weighing negligence and risk

The Minnesota Supreme Court put the brakes on a defendant's argument that the doctrine of primary assumption of risk should relieve him of liability for negligent operation of a snowmobile.

That April 25 ruling in Daly v. McFarland stems from a lawsuit regarding a January 2007 accident. Christopher Daly and Zachary McFarland were riding when McFarland's snowmobile hit a drift and became airborne. He pushed his snowmobile away from his body to avoid injury, and it collided with Daly's sled. Daly fell off and was injured.

Attorney with roots in Fairfax named among Top Women Attorneys in Minnesota

Fairfax native Shannon Carey was selected as one of the top women attorneys in Minnesota.

Carey graduated from University of St. Thomas in 1996 and obtained her law degree from  William Mitchell College. Carey was pleased to receive the honor. "I was very humbled to be recognized with women I look up to everyday," she said.

In Depth: Million Dollar Call

Hopeful a lawsuit will get people to rethink their habits using cell phones while driving.

Driver distraction is now a leading factor in Minnesota car crashes. The Minnesota Safety Council estimates that at least 70 people die every year and another 350 are injured due to distraction. Using a cell phone is one of the worst. An insurance industry study found drivers are four times more likely to get into an accident when they're on the phone.

Minnesota Lawyer Honors James P. Carey as "ATTORNEY OF THE YEAR"

SiebenCarey President and Managing Partner James P. Carey has been recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as a 2011 "Attorney of the Year." This award is reserved for a select group of attorneys from throughout the state who have distinguished themselves through exemplary work. The honorees were chosen based on the following criteria: leadership in the profession, involvement in major cases or other newsworthy events, excellence in corporate or transactional services and public service.

What You Should Know Before Tires Touch the Pavement

When it comes to driving, teens are tops in all the wrong categories:

The good news, if you can call it that, is that research shows exactly which behaviors contribute to teen crashes. Inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, drinking and driving, not wearing seat belts, distracted driving, nighttime driving, and other drug use aggravate this problem.

Know the Warning Signs of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can be an ugly part of a childhood or high school experience, but it doesn't have to create lasting effects.

Cyberbullying is defined officially as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones and other electronic devices." And while cyberbullying looks different from the schoolyard variety, it is driven by the same social and emotional dynamics. However, there are some key differences.

With government shut down, workers' comp claims in limbo

If there's a dispute, currently we're not offering resolution services.

Without a working state government, there's no forum to resolve the disputes that embroil thousands of Minnesota workers over workers' compensation benefits. Workers, employers and their insurance companies argue the validity of claims or attempts to change, reduce or end wage and medical benefits.

Malpractice lawsuits highly technical, expensive

Medical malpractice lawsuits are difficult to file in Minnesota, let alone win, and they're not approached lightly.

Under a state law passed in the 1970s to prevent frivolous lawsuits, before a case can be brought it must be reviewed by an independent medical expert who specializes in the same field of the physician accused of wrongdoing. That expert then has to sign a detailed affidavit saying that not only did negligent care occur, but the care resulted in harm. The cost to get an expert and to obtain medical records can be thousands of dollars.

"A lot of law firms stay away from these cases because it involves a lot of time and expense before you even know if there's a case," said Paul Schweiger, a Duluth attorney who specializes in malpractice cases.

PI lawyers pay attention

Minnesota Senate to hear testimony to repeal "no fault" today

“No fault” has been a battle point among insurance companies and plaintiffs’ attorneys
for many years. Previous attempts to change or get rid of the system went nowhere under the Democratic controlled legislature but the Republican takeover of both bodies this year has changed the landscape.