People like to take time off from their busy schedules to relax with their friends. Often, this involves alcohol consumption. You might go to a bar and have a few drinks with your friends. You might be out on the lake, drinking and boating. Whatever you do, you should remember that alcohol can add danger to the situation if you or anyone who has been drinking decides to drive.

Driving a car home from the bar, you may be impaired more than you know. Usually, driving home after drinking, you are coming down off of your drunkenness. This is the point when most people underestimate how inebriated they are. If you are pulled over by the police, you will be charged with a DWI. If you are not pulled over, it is possible that driving drunk will end with serious injury or death.

Some people think that the rule of the roads do not apply to them when they are operating a boat; however, this is not true. People often drink heavily when they are out with friends on a boat. However, drinking and boating is much the same as drinking and driving. The dangers in boating while intoxicated are just as high as with driving while intoxicated, and sometimes higher. On the water there are no marked lanes for traffic to follow. This means that accidents due to alcohol use are far more likely.

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Mixing alcohol and driving of any type of vehicle is a bad idea, and can lead to serious injury or even death. If you or someone you know has been injured by a drunk driver, contact the Minneapolis personal injury attorneys of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen at 612-362-0000.

Since the early 80s, deaths associated with drunk driving have fallen steadily year after year. This drop can be attributed, in part, to effective educational programs as well as an increase in the number of drunk driving laws.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (of NHTSA) reports that an estimated 25,173 people were killed in automobile accidents that were alcohol-related in 1982. That number dropped to 16,885 in the year 2005. Groups such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have stated that this change can be attributed to the success of anti-drunk driving laws, as alcohol-related deaths declined more notably than non-alcohol related deaths.

Types of Drunk Driving Laws

There are various laws governing alcohol consumption and automobile operation. The first, and most well known offenses are Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Driving While Intoxicated or Impaired (DWI), or Operating While Intoxicated or Impaired (OWI). These offenses are usually assigned based on an officer’s impression of a driver, usually resulting from:

• Erratic and dangerous driving
• Slurred speech and / or incoherency
• Failure to pass a roadside sobriety test

A more recent offense is called “illegal per se”. When talking about drunk driving, illegal per se makes it illegal for an individual to drive with a blood alcohol content (or BAC) of 0.08% or higher. Since 2002, all 50 states in the US have made it illegal to drive with this BAC.

Some states have made even stricter penalties for individuals who get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. Some states have introduced “zero tolerance” BAC levels which can result in punishment for drivers who have a BAC of anywhere between 0.01%-0.05%. There are also “enhanced penalty” BAC levels in some states which give even harsher punishments for drivers with a BAC of .15% or higher.

With the amount of variation from state to state, it is important to contact a legal professional to know exactly what the laws are for your particular state regarding drinking and driving.

If you or someone you know has been injured in an alcohol-related automobile accident, contact the Minneapolis drunk driving accident lawyers of Terry & Slane, PLLC today at 612-362-0000.

Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents. Unfortunately, when someone chooses to drink and drive, the consequences do not always stay with them. Perfectly sober people, minding their own business, are killed by drunk drivers every year.

When a person chooses to drive drunk, there is always the possibility of a crash. After the first drink, people are affected by alcohol. Everything is affected from vision to reaction time to judgment. This is what causes accidents. While it is true that not every drunk driver will end up in an accident, it is not worth it to take the chance, especially given the possible outcomes.

You hear about people killed by drunk drivers all of the time. Perhaps it was someone driving down the road when a drunk driver crossed into oncoming traffic and caused a head on collision. Perhaps it was the drunk driver who hit a child in the early morning. No matter what the story is, there is always one common factor. Someone caused the accident by driving drunk.

You shouldn’t have to pay for other people’s bad choices. Someone who decides to drink and drive should not be your responsibility. However, if that person causes an accident involving you or someone that you know and care about, you are suddenly very much involved in that person’s decision.

Speak with a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you know has been involved in a drunk driving accident, contact the Minneapolis auto accident lawyers of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen at 612-362-0000.

Swimming and water sports are fun activities that are enjoyed by many; however, people forget the risks involved with playing in and around water. Drowning is a more common phenomenon than people might think. In 2005, there were over 3,500 unintentional deaths due to drowning in the United States. Over 25% of these fatalities occurred in children under the age of 14.

It may seem surprising that so many adults are involved in drowning accidents, but there is a wide range of causes for these incidents, many of which would not typically affect a child. For example, alcohol can be a large player in drowning accidents. Alcohol tends to affect one’s ability to react or function properly. It also influences one’s decision-making process, making that person liable to make irrational choices or judgments.

Other common causes of drowning include inability to swim, accidents involving some sort of watercraft, cramps, seizures, or sustaining a head injury while in the water. Some of these phenomena are unavoidable, such as a seizure; others can be easily evaded with the proper precautionary actions.

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Even if you take the proper precautions, accidents do happen that result in a fatality. If you know someone who has suffered from drowning due to neglect on behalf of another individual, Minneapolis personal injury lawyers Terry, Slane & Ruohonen, P.L.L.C. can help. Please contact their law offices at 612-362-0000 today to set up an appointment.

Dog Safety

Approximately 800,000 people are treated each year in America for dog-bite injuries. We mostly tend to think of dogs as loving companions, and forget that they are animals, capable of inflicting serious harm to those who may not understand exactly how to interact with dogs.

In order to keep yourself and your family safe, here are some tips for avoiding dog bites and dog-related injuries.

• If you have children, make sure you teach them how to safely deal with animals. They should never be left alone with a dog, as children may inadvertently harm or antagonize a dog, thus provoking aggressive behavior.
• You should never approach an unknown dog, as you have no way of knowing if it is aggressive or not.
• If an unknown dog approaches you, you should remain motionless until it has moved a safe distance away.
• Before petting or touching any dog, hold out your hand so that the dog can sniff you first.
• If you are near a dog, do not make sudden movements or make high-pitched noises. Most of all, do not run away. All of these things may provoke aggressive behavior.
• If you are attacked by a dog, curl into a ball and protect your head. You should remain still in this position until the dog has left.
• Do not make eye contact with a dog.
• If a dog is eating, sleeping or taking care of puppies, it should be left alone.

If you or someone you know has been attacked by a dog, the dog’s owner may be liable for your injuries. Contact the Minneapolis dog bite lawyers of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C. today to receive information on your full legal rights.

Serious injuries can result from dog bites, including disfigurement and death. Unfortunately, a person being injured by dogs is not an uncommon occurrence. In the United States, roughly 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year, with 800,000 requiring medical care. Sadly, most of the bites are sustained by children.

Those who have suffered significant harm due to an injury by a dog have the right to legal restitution. The dog’s owner, care center, landlord, or former dog owner can be held responsible for dog bite injuries.

Domesticated dogs are normally nonviolent by nature and are not likely to bite unless provoked. However, circumstances can be unpredictable. Dog bites most frequently occur when the dogs are fearful, acting in protection of its owner or property, threatened and lacking alternatives, sleeping or eating, attempting to establish dominance, or mistreated.

Not all dog owners are as cautious as they should be. If they violate animal restraint and confinement laws or keep a dog with a past history of aggression towards people, they could be liable for the dog bite. If the party is found responsible, you are legally able to seek compensation for any pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages that have been incurred.

If you or a loved one has suffered an attack by a dog, it is important to talk with an experienced attorney who can advise you on your rights and options. For a free consultation, call the Minneapolis personal injury lawyers at the firm of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen, P.L.L.C. by dialing 612-362-0000 today.

When people think of medical malpractice, they generally do not think about dental malpractice. However, this is a type of malpractice that occurs frequently and should not be taken lightly. Any healthcare provider is capable of malpractice that can lead to injury. This includes even dentists.

Just like with any other malpractice case, there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled in order for dental malpractice to be proven. These are the same four requirements that must be fulfilled in any other malpractice case. They are:

• A duty was owed: This duty is understood any time a healthcare provider gives any type of care. In dentistry this is not any different.
• The duty was breached: The dentist must have deviated from medical standards of practice in order to have breached the aforementioned duty.
• The breach caused an injury: The actions of your dentist must have caused you some sort of injury. While most people do not think of injuries as common in dentistry, they can and do happen.
• There were damages: Just as with any other malpractice case, there must be damages involved. They can be monetary or emotional, but they must be proven for the case to be brought against the dentist.

You may not have considered the fact that a dentist can be negligent. Nobody wants to believe that any healthcare provider is capable of negligence. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Negligence happens, and it is not unique to any one group of people.

Speak with a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you know has suffered from dental malpractice, contact the Minneapolis personal injury attorneys of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen at 612-362-0000.

When you drop your children off at day care, you expect them to learn something new, have fun, and, most importantly, to be safe. Some people search for a very long time to find the right day care for their children. Some people pay a lot of money for the best day care possible. For the most part, however, this is not necessarily the case.

While most day cares are fun, healthy, learning environments, there are always exceptions. There are some day cares out there that may not look after your children as well as you would like. This, unfortunately, can become a very large problem.

There have been a lot of different problems that have centered around day cares over the years. While these problems are not the norm, they do happen. There have been cases of injuries sustained because of the environment, and there have been teachers who have beaten the children.

There is a certain level of trust that you place in the people who watch your children. Breaking this trust can be a very difficult thing. Especially with younger children, there are signs of danger that your child will give you. Not wanting to go to school is normal at first, but being afraid may be a sign of something more. Strange injuries can also be a tip off.

Call a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you know has had to deal with day care injuries, contact the Minneapolis personal injury lawyer of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen at 612-362-0000.

Tattoos are no longer a clichéd adornment found only on the bodies of former inmates and motorcycle gangs. Regardless of who has them, they are still a somewhat dangerous way of adorning one’s body.

One of the biggest problems with tattoos is that people frequently don’t know they are allergic to tattoo ink until after it has already been injected under the surface layer of skin by the needles. Depending on the severity of the allergy, major repercussions and a trip to the hospital could be in store for the allergic individual.

The other huge problem with tattoos is that many parlors are not careful to follow to the rules of sanitation as they should be. Tattoo parlors are governed by state laws, just like hair salons and nail salons. The difference is that these parlors are potentially dealing with a person’s bodily fluids, including their blood, when they are performing their service. As such, considering the number of diseases transmitted by blood, tattoo parlors need to be extremely careful when they are sanitizing their materials.

In addition to ensuring proper sanitation of the materials, they also need to ensure that the utensils remain sterile between the sterilization process and the tattooing process. This means that the tattoo artist should not test the efficacy of the needles on his own skin prior to starting a tattoo on a customer. It also means that the utensils need to be sanitized after every customer, or at least before they are used on the next customer.

Contact a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have contracted AIDS or hepatitis due to the improper sterilization processes of a tattoo parlor, contact the Minneapolis personal injury lawyer of Terry, Slane, & Ruohonen, P.L.L.C. at 612-362-0000.

Most insect bites are considered relatively harmless. Mosquitoes and ants typically do not pose a problem for people unless the attacked individual is allergic to them. There are really only a few arachnid and insect species out there that pose real threats to human beings.

Spiders

A large number of spider species exist, but only a few of them can or will attack a human. Of these, very few can actually deliver a lethal bite. Black widows and brown recluse spiders are the most widely known, lethally venomous species of arachnids present in the United States. Other than these two, however, most other spiders will not bite unless provoked, and even then, their attacks are typically not threatening. Bites sustained from the common sac spiders, for example, generally just leave an itchy welt on the skin. Sometimes the victim might feel slightly ill for a while, but no real danger is present.

Bee and Wasp Stings

These attacks are the number one cause of insect/arachnid-related deaths in the United States. Since both bees and wasps tend to inhabit areas as colonies, people usually sustain several stings when attacked. Common symptoms of a sting are local swelling and pain, which can last several days. However, individuals who are allergic to the venom found in these insects can suffer much more severe effects, such as anaphylaxis. Many times, if help is not sought right away, these individuals will pass away.

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If you or someone you know has suffered serious injury from a dangerous insect bite and your exposure to that insect was the cause of someone’s negligence, please contact the Minneapolis personal injury attorneys of Terry, Slane, & Ruohonen, P.L.L.C. at 612-362-0000 today to set up an appointment.