The Minnesota No-Fault Act: Long Overdue Changes Needed
May 25, 2011 | John T. BuchmanMinnesota passed the “No-Fault Act” in 1974 and it became effective on January 1, 1975. The purpose of the Act was, among other things, to insure prompt payment of certain types of benefits to replace lost wages and to pay for medical care. Minn. Stat. 65B.42. One of the goals was to reduce public funds being used to help uncompensated victims of car crashes who could not afford medical care or could not work because of injuries suffered in a car crash. Another goal was to eliminate small value lawsuits and reduce the drain on judicial resources. In return, injured people gave up certain rights too, namely that they must satisfy a tort “threshold” to recover any non-economic losses from the party causing the collision. One of the main “thresholds” is whether or not the person suffered a “permanent” injury. At trial, injured people lose approximately 40-50{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of the time and recover nothing because a jury finds that they have not suffered a “permanent” injury. One of the no-fault benefits is reimbursement for lost wages. Initially, the legislature indicated that a person could obtain 85{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of their lost wages subject to a maximum of $200 per week. In 1979 the maximum wage loss amount was increased to $250 per week. Unfortunately, in the…
Read MoreTexting While Driving Revisited
April 20, 2011 | Adriel B. VillarrealA couple of months ago I posted some information regarding the dangers of “texting while driving.” Since then this topic seems to have been in the news on a daily basis. Anyone watching the Minneapolis nightly news during the last couple of days was again reminded that texting while driving can lead to devastating consequences. In October 2010, a twenty year old mother with two kids in her car is alleged to have struck a motorcyclist in Eden Prairie, MN while texting/talking on her phone. Luckily the motorcyclist was not killed but sustained life changing injuries requiring multiple surgeries. This week she was charged with multiple counts including criminal vehicular operation with injury. This felony charge in and of itself warrants a prison sentence. The tragic consequences are endless for all parties involved. While I make no claim to be an expert in this matter, I believe a good practice is to inform, inform and inform. Simply put, all drivers (young and old) need to know the real consequences that texting while driving creates. The following is an article prepared by Abhijit Naik detailing some meaningful statistics, regarding the topic, published by the Virginia Tech Driving Institute and the NHTSA. Dangers of Texting While Driving: Statistics A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute…
Read MoreEmployee Benefits Law Attorney joins Barna, Guzy and Steffen “of counsel”
April 13, 2011 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.Attorney W. James Vogl, Jr. will join the law firm of BGS and practice “of counsel” in the specialty area of Employee Benefits Law with an emphasis on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Jim has worked with medium sized closely-held companies in designing, implementing and maintaining ESOPs for its employee/owners. Jim also provides additional legal services related to retirement plans and general corporate legal work. Mr. Vogl has practiced in the area of employee benefits since 1993 and has worked on hundreds of ESOP transactions for clients in all manner of business. “Adding Mr. Vogl “of counsel” to our firm allows us to expand into an area of law previously not offered by our existing attorney base,” said Jeffrey Johnson, President of Barna, Guzy and Steffen, Ltd. To contact Mr. Vogl, interested parties may reach him at BGS at 763-783-5163 or jvogl@bgs.com. More information about Jim and his law practice can be found at www.bgs.com. Established in 1938, Barna, Guzy & Steffen provides a variety of legal services for individuals, companies and governmental agencies and has worked with thousands of clients in the metro area. For more information about the firm, visit www.bgs.com. A Tradition of Service since 1938 ####
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