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Over the past couple of weeks the news media in the Twin Cities has been reporting on a trial taking place in federal court in Minneapolis involving Toyota and the issue of whether they are responsible for cases of uncontrollable acceleration on some of their vehicles. If you read the reports on the trial it sounds like any reasonably competent attorney could be representing the plaintiffs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In this morning's Star Tribune there was an article about a man named Greg Torell, who lives in Cambridge, Minnesota. Seven years ago, on June 12, 2007, he was at the hospital when his granddaughter Elizabeth was born. He held her for a while and then got on his motorcycle to go back home. 20 minutes later he was broadsided on Highway 47 by a drunk driver. He lost his left arm and his left leg as a result of the accident and was blinded for life.

A lot of folks are opposed to Obamacare for a variety of reasons. As a trial lawyer, however, I had a recent case come across my desk which shows why this law is necessary and good for the country.Because my wife is a registered nurse, I may have a little more insight into this issue than most people.One of the big problems with the American healthcare system is that it is open to everyone, whether they are insured or not, or whether they can pay for their health care or not.

That was the title of a short article in today's Star Tribune (Metro section, B3). The article was written by a journalist who had written an article which appeared in the paper last week about this 11-year-old boy who was struck by a car as he crossed a busy St. Paul Street on his way to school. The first vehicle in line saw the little boy crossing the street and slowed so that he could cross safely.

I happened to be in France for my oldest daughter's wedding two weeks ago. While there I got in a discussion with my daughter's future father-in-law about jury trials, something not available to the average citizen in his country. He was very intrigued by the whole idea of a group of citizens from the area deciding cases involving other citizens from the same area. He thought it was a wonderful idea.As the song goes, "you don't know what you've got till its gone".

For a few years now Progressive insurance company has been pursuing an aggressive policy about settling personal injury claims against them. Shortly after an accident is reported (usually within a few days) Progressive will dispatch one of its claims adjusters in one of those little white trucks to visit the injured person. Ostensibly this visit is to discuss the claim and make sure that everything is okay.

In this morning's Star Tribune was a short article discussing the annual report on car crashes in Minnesota from 2013. Apparently some department at the state keeps track of this sort of thing and releases this report once a year. The statistics of interest are

There's an old saying that goes something like "no man's property is safe while the legislature is in session." That does not apply to the recent Minnesota legislative session that ended last week. There was a lot of stuff that was enacted into law that will help consumers.

If you have been injured in a car crash or similar unfortunate event, and it wasn't your fault, you might wonder if and when you  should call a personal injury lawyer. Just yesterday I got a call from a woman who was injured last February. She wasn't fully recovered by any means, and it does not look like she will fully recover any time in the future. With serious injuries like that, a phone call to an attorney right after the fact is usually a good idea.

If you really want a good look at how insurance companies think when it comes to claims, take a good look at this: http://www.insurancebadbehavior.org/ The lawyer who makes a couple of short cameo appearances is my good friend, Craig McClellan, an excellent lawyer from San Diego.