What is Legal Causation in Minnesota?
January 30, 2017 | Adriel B. VillarrealIf you are involved in a personal injury case, you know how stressful the legal aspects can be. You are already experiencing the pain of the injury itself, while at the same time navigating medical bills and court dates. With a skilled personal injury attorney on your side, you’ll be able to better navigate the challenges and map out the strengths of your case. For your personal injury case, it is very important to know about what legal causation is in the state of Minnesota. Not every case is able to recover damages for the injuries sustained. This is often due to the inability to prove legal causation. Legal causation refers to extent to which the defendant knew that what he or she was doing had the likelihood of resulting in harm to the plaintiff. Legal causation is different from actual causation, which refers to the actual cause and effect of the accident itself. So, it may be determined that a defendant did cause an accident (actual cause) but was not aware of the likelihood of their actions to cause harm (legal or medical causation.) Legal causation is also different from negligence. Negligence refers to being held liable for actions not taken, like failing to provide adequate safety measures. Since Minnesota law places…
Read More“Just pull it off the internet!” Said no good lawyer…ever
January 10, 2017 | Carole Clark IsaksonNeed a graphic of fireworks for a party invite? Looking for a cartoon for a blog? It’s tempting to just use your favorite search engine and copy one of the internet… but please DON’T (at least not until after you read this article!). Copyright law is alive and well – and applies to items on the internet to the same extent that it applies to the books at the library. We all know that copying someone else’s work is illegal; that work includes art, photos, books, movies, songs and more. Recent law suits have highlighted the wrongful use of pieces of songs, with courts reiterating that any original work of authorship (so long as it is expressed in a tangible way) is protected. The internet IS a fixed medium, and works that are found on the internet are still subject to protection. That fireworks graphic? Well, it was created by someone and if you want to use it, you need to have permission. At this point I suspect some readers are thinking “wait! This is fair use. I won’t make any money on that party invitation so I can use the artwork”. Actually, not true… but don’t feel bad about being wrong, most people (including lawyers) are confused by the concept of “fair…
Read More