Personal Injury Cases: Boating Injury Accidents

One type of personal injury case that our office handles, and we see frequently in the summer, involve recreational injuries, including boating accidents. Minnesota DNR provides rules and regulations for boat travel, and some Minnesota lakes even have strict boat traffic rules that apply. The purpose of these rules and regulations are safety, and unfortunately, when these rules are broken, accidents happen.

 

As a case in point, a fisherman was trolling about 20 feet off shore in a small fishing boat on a Minnesota lake. As he was trolling along, a speed boat with an underage operator, no adult on board, speeding, and traveling in violation of a regulatory buoy struck the fisherman’s boat. The fisherman was injured as a result of a boat collision that could have been avoided.

 

The types of accidents that occur in Minnesota waterways that our office represents include injuries that occur to water-skiers, swimmers struck by boats, colliding jet skis, and boats capsizing from operator error.

 

As Minnesotans enjoy the summer on Minnesota’s lakes and waterways, it is important to abide by the DNR’s rules for operating water craft. To review the Minnesota DNR boating rules and regulations, click here.

 

If you have legal questions concerning a Minnesota boating accident or personal injury, please call.

 

-John Scott

612-840-8961

Consumers and the Fair Debt Collection Act

In today’s economy, businesses are hiring more and more aggressive debt collection agencies. Sometimes, over a mix up in paperwork, consumers are being contacted all hours of the day, at work, on cell phones, and on Sundays. The Federal Fair Debt Collections Act (FFDCA) is the consumer’s weapon and shield against harassing debt collection agencies.

 

The FFDCA prohibits “abusive and deceptive” conduct when attempting to collect debts, including the following:

 

• Contacting consumers by telephone outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time.
• Contacting consumers after being asked to stop.
• Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously.
• Contacting consumers at their place of employment.
• Contacting consumers known to be represented by an attorney.
• Abusive or profane language used in the course of collecting debt.

There are other prohibitions too. The FFCDA is a strict liability law, which means that a consumer need not prove actual damages in order to claim statutory damages of up to $1,000.00 plus reasonable attorney fees.

 

If you have questions concerning a harassing debt collector or debt collection agency, please call our office today.

 

Minnesota No-Fault in a Car Accident Case

Minnesota is known as a no-fault state in car accident cases. This is because Minnesota state law requires that every car registered to a Minnesota address be insured, and that the policy of insurance include coverage for:

 

·        Liability coverage

·        Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM)

·        Underinsured Motorist coverage (UIM)

·        No-Fault coverage

 

No-Fault coverage applies to compensate you for medical bills, wage loss, medication, mileage to and from doctor appointments, replacement services, and other economic expense related to the car accident if you are injured. If does not matter who was at fault.

 

If you think you want to sue the driver of the other car, a Minnesota lawyer representing you in a car accident case will tell you that you have to meet certain requirements before you can sue. Minnesota lawyers call these requirements “tort thresholds”. The tort thresholds are you must have one of the following: 1) a permanent injury; 2) $4,000.00 in medical bills, not including diagnostic bills; 3) a disability of 60 days or more; or 4) a permanent disfigurement (scar). In addition to meeting a tort threshold, you cannot be more than 49.9% at fault for the car accident.

 

If you have questions about Minnesota No-Fault or a car accident injury case, please call our office today.

 

-John Scott