Minneapolis, Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyers
Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP
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333 South Seventh Street Suite 2900 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 USA |
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(612) 333-9500
or (866) 397-4497
(612) 333-9579
injury.gaskinsbennett.com
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At Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP, our personal injury-based practice has had unparalleled success in achieving significant results on behalf of individuals whose lives have been altered through the negligent actions of others. We have been helping injury victims all over the state of Minnesota and have extensive experience trying and litigating personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, police brutality, product liability, insurance coverage, and other matters.
At Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP, we understand what you are going through and are ready to help. Through the years, we have developed a reputation as a firm that will fight for our clients and take their cases all the way to trial, when necessary. We strive to provide aggressive and effective representation for our clients, regardless of the size or complexity of the case.
We understand that hiring an attorney is an important decision. Who your attorney is, should and does, have a significant effect on both your recovery and chances of success. When you have suffered a serious injury, choosing the best lawyer to represent you and your family is an important decision—a decision that your future depends on. By hiring a qualified attorney you are letting the insurance companies know that you are not going to be a victim twice.
We work with only the best resources. We are up to date on the changing face of personal injury laws in Minnesota. And our team includes a full professional staff of paralegals, investigators, and experts renowned in their fields, including medical, vocational and accident reconstruction experts.
Practice Areas
Additional Practice Areas: Police Brutality; Pool Accidents; Diving Accidents; Child Drownings; Sports and Recreation Injuries; Texting While Driving Accidents; Intentional Wrongdoings; Defective Medical Services.
Practice Areas Description
Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP provides legal representation on the following areas of practice:- Brain Injuries
Every year in the United States, approximately two million head injuries occur and between 75,000 and 100,000 Americans die each year as a result of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that require medical treatment and affect their ability to perform everyday activities. Traumatic brain injury is sudden physical damage to the brain. You do not have to be traveling at a high rate of speed or to strike a hard object in order to suffer a traumatic brain injury. The leading cause of traumatic brain injury for adolescents and adults is motor vehicle accidents. Newborns can suffer brain injuries during birth due to lack of oxygen to the brain.
- Burn Injuries
Burns can be one of the most painful injuries one can sustain and can happen in an instant. According to the American Burn Association, each year there are 1.1 million burn injuries in the United States which require medical treatment. Of those injuries approximately 45,000 require hospitalization and approximately 4,500 of these victims die. Nearly half of these injuries occur at home. If you or a loved one has suffered a burn because of someone else’s negligence talk to an experienced burn injury attorney at Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP.
- Car Accidents
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), every 10 seconds someone in the United States in involved in a car accident. The NHTSA also reports there were 73,498 traffic crashes in Minnesota reported to Public Safety in 2009. And, there were 421 deaths on Minnesota roads. In addition to the 421 killed 31,074 were injured, 1,271 of these were severe injuries, 7,714 of these were moderate injuries, and 22,089 of these were minor injuries. Unfortunately, automobile accidents are responsible for more deaths than virtually any other cause and give rise to the majority of personal injury claims in the United States.
- Commercial Vehicle Accidents
While all trucks are commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles are not always trucks. Nobody expects an accident with a commercial vehicle like a taxi, intercity bus, construction vehicle, rental car or other work vehicle. Commercial vehicles are usually driven by professionals who have a special commercial driver’s licenses or other special training, but can also be an employee who is running an errand for his employer. Depending on the commercial purpose of driving this allows the victim to bring claims directly against the company who had the driver on the road. For the most part drivers who are driving for their job usually have an interest in making sure their jobs are safe by making sure their driving is safe.
- Dealing with Car Insurance Companies After an Accident
In general, most people rely on good faith and would not expect to be forced to sue an auto insurance company or negligent driver in order to receive timely payment for expenses resulting from an auto accident in Minnesota. Typically, most drivers just want to have their car repaired and their medical bills paid. If you were injured in a car accident, it is very likely that an insurance adjuster will call you within a few days after your injury. Do not give a taped recorded statement until you have spoken to an experienced Minnesota car accident attorney at Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP.
- Texting While Driving Accidents
Texting while driving has become a huge issue for drivers in the United States, including Minnesota. The dangers of using a phone while driving are becoming more apparent and there has been an increase in the number of cases of negligent and reckless driving involving texting. Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road. Even if only for a second, you are driving blindly. If you or a loved one has been injured by a careless driver using a cell phone, talk to one of the Minnesota texting accident attorneys at Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP.
- Catastrophic Injury Cases
A catastrophic personal injury is one that causes severe and harmful injury to a person’s body. These injuries often stem from events that occur suddenly and without any warning and can forever change one’s life. After sustaining extensive injuries from a catastrophic injury, many people are unable to do the things that once came easily to them. They can no longer participate in activities of daily living, work at the jobs they once held, or support their families. At the law firm of Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP, our attorneys understand how devastating a catastrophic injury can be to both the victim and his or her family.
- Defective Medical Services
Medical devices have revolutionized health care. In order to maintain your quality of life, medical devices may need to be implanted. Severely arthritic or injured individuals have regained mobility from knee and hip replacements. People with heart problems can enjoy normal lives with the help of implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. While you may expect that only the highest quality medical devices be used, all too often people develop additional health problems when the medical device used for their procedure was improperly designed, tested, or manufactured.
- Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycles are more dangerous than cars and trucks, and when involved in an accident, motorcyclists can suffer serious injury, brain injury, or wrongful death. The number of cars on the road, the rising costs of fuel, and lower maintenance expenses than a car, encourage more people to choose to travel the highway on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, motorcycle riders are four times more likely than other motorists to be seriously injured or killed in traffic related accidents. Motorcycle riders enjoy the freedoms that come with their chosen from of transportation, but they are also at an increased risk for serious or even fatal injuries because of the lack of protection.
- Pool Accidents
Apartment pool drownings, child drownings, diving accidents, pool drain entrapment, pool safety laws, and drowning accidents.
* Apartment Pool Drownings
Families and children spend countless hours in or around swimming pools, especially in the summer. While swimming pools are fun places to spend a summer day, they are also dangerous places that can cause serious personal injury or death. Every year thousands of children and adults suffer serious injury or die in swimming pool accidents, diving accidents and spa-related accidents.
* Child Drownings
Each year, nationwide, more than 300 children under 5 years old drown in residential swimming pools, usually a pool owned by their family. In addition, more than 2,000 children in that age group are treated in hospital emergency rooms for submersion injuries. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, drowning ranks as the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1 to 14. The health department states 80 percent of victims are male and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that for every youth who drowns, six others require hospitalization or emergency treatment for near-drownings and immersion injuries.
* Diving Accidents
Owners of private backyard pools often provide their friends and neighbors with a great deal of enjoyment. Owners and operators of public pools, apartment building pools, community pools, health club pools, and hotel pools provide similar benefits to all of us. However, each of them also have a legal responsibility to provide a safe environment. Many people who own private pools fail to take the steps necessary to ensure pool safety. In failing to provide proper protections and warnings, their negligence often leads to serious personal injury and wrongful death.
* Pool Drain Entrapment
Swimming pools and spas are becoming an increasingly popular feature of backyard pools across the country. The innocent act of swimming in a pool on a hot summer’s day can quickly turn dangerous from faulty drains that can trap young swimmers. Many people realize that drowning is a potential hazard whenever there is a pool around, but most people do not realize the dangers that are associated with pool drains. While laws have been in effect since 2008 to make pool drains safer, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) still warns pool owners that the risk still exists. Pool drain safety is an ongoing concern throughout the United States.
* Pool Safety Laws
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, drowning ranks as the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1 to 14. The health department says 80 percent of victims are male and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that for every youth who drowns, six others require hospitalization or emergency treatment for near-drownings and immersion injuries. Unfortunately, most of these swimming pool accidents are caused by negligent property owners who fail to meet the safety standards. Fatal and catastrophic pool and spa injuries have devastated the lives of families and children for decades due to the lack of safety regulations concerning pool systems, safety equipment and pool maintenance.
* Drowning Accidents
Drowning is the fourth leading cause of accidental death in the United States. It is the second leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of fifteen. Of the 4,000 people who die from drowning in the US each year, approximately one third are children under the age of 14, and almost 20% of those drown in a public pool with a trained lifeguard present. Children are often attracted to neighborhood, hotel and apartment complex pools or hot tubs and when safety precautions are not upheld, children can often easily get to the water. If you have lost a loved one in a drowning accident, speak to a drowning accident attorney at Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP to assist you with the legal aspects of the case.
- Pedestrian Accidents
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) reports that each year nearly 5,000 pedestrians die in motor vehicle related accidents, and more than 78,000 pedestrians suffer injuries when hit by a car or truck. Thousands of non-vehicular pedestrian accidents also occur annually. More often than not, pedestrian accidents are caused by negligence on the part of a careless motor vehicle operator. Poor property maintenance, sidewalk or parking lot defects and construction or other debris on walkways cause or contribute to these accidents.
- Premises Liability
Premises liability is a term used to describe the legal responsibility that a landowner and tenants of a property have for injuries and accidents that occur on their property, they are most often referred to as slip and fall accidents. Claims may also be filed for injuries resulting from equipment used on the property. If you or a loved one has been injured on public, private, or commercial property the premises liability attorneys at Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP can represent you and your rights against the owners of commercial or private property. We will obtain the compensation you deserve when you have been injured on another person’s property.
- Product Liability
Defective or dangerous products are the cause of thousands of injuries every year in the U.S. Product liability holds product manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers accountable for injuries suffered from an unsafe product. Responsibility for a product defect that causes injury lies with all sellers of the product who are in the distribution chain. Potentially liable parties include: the product manufacturer; a manufacturer of component parts; the wholesaler, and the retail store that sold the product to the consumer. Companies are legally responsible for the safety of their products. A consumer that has sustained illness, injury, or death as a result of a commercial product has the right to bring a product liability suit against the manufacturer, retailer, distributor, or supplier.
- School Bus Accidents
3.5 million elementary and secondary school children ride school buses daily throughout the United States. Many of these school buses do not have restraint systems or seat belts which increases the risk of injury or death. 12,000 of these children are injured each year in school bus accidents. Although the majority of the injuries are minor, some are catastrophic and as many as 11 children a year die as a result of school bus accidents. In April of 2009 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was cited by the board for not implementing a ten year old set of board recommendations intended to improve bus safety.
- Spinal Cord Injuries
Every 49 minutes an American sustains an injury to the spinal column. Each year, around 11,000 people suffer spinal injuries. Eighty percent of those injured are men; a majority are young adults between the ages of 16 and 30, and their injuries are largely caused by trauma such as motor vehicle crashes, acts of violence, and sports and recreation injuries. Falls also account for a large number of spinal cord injuries. At Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP, our spinal cord injury attorneys are committed to a thorough and accurate investigation for any client on whose behalf we undertake representation. In spinal cord injury cases, gathering the facts and evidence as soon as possible can be critical to the success of the case.
- Truck Accidents
With their tremendous size and sheer power, large semi-trucks or 18-wheelers are one of the more troublesome aspects that drivers of smaller passenger cars have to overcome on a daily basis. According to statistics from the Federal Department of Transportation, commercial trucks crash less often than passenger vehicles do, but when they do crash, they are much more likely to be fatal. In 2010 over 500,000 large truck and commercial vehicles were involved in accidents; with over 100,000 people sustaining serious injuries, and over 5,000 people dying in these crashes. This was compared to only 3,200 deaths involving large trucks in 2009, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Don’t expect to see these numbers to level out or come down in the near future as over 20% more trucks are expected to hit the roads by 2012.
- Vehicle Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents are among the most deadly vehicle accidents. A rollover occurs when a vehicle turns over onto its roof or side. All vehicles can rollover, but automobiles with high centers of gravity are more susceptible to rolling over. Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have a higher center of gravity than other vehicles and this makes them top heavy. Automobiles manufactured today and in recent years are safer than those built at any previous time, however, this improved safety has not explicitly translated to SUVs.
Attorneys
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Mr. Robert Bennett
Attorney Personal Injury, Wrongful Death |
More Information on Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP
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