After a winter storm earlier this month, record-setting cold tempuratures spread across Minnesota. These temperatures, ranging from 4 degrees Farenheit to -32 degrees Farenheit, caused black ice to form along many state roads and highways. Multiple car pile-ups, rollover accidents, and spin outs were reported due to the black ice hazards.

Black ice is formed when car exhaust freezes on the pavement of a snow covered road when temperatures are below 0 degrees Farenheit. Also, any road chemicals that are designed to melt snow and ice do not work well in extreme cold temperatures like these, and can actually promote the formation of black ice. Black ice is virtually invisible and causes roads to be unexpectedly slick, which is dangerous for drivers.

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a car accident involving black ice, contact the Minnesota car accident attorneys of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C., at 612-333-5544. 

Minnesota farmers will be suing Xcel Energy, Inc., an energy provider, alleging that the company's practices led to the deaths of the farmers' cattle.  The farmers are claiming that stray voltage killed 80 of their dairy cows.  Stray voltage is electricity that is unintentionally returned to the surface of the ground from conductors beneath the surface.

Xcel Energy had filed a claim with the Minnesota Court of Appeals request that the lawsuit be hears by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, but the Court denied the request last week.  More recently, the court ruled that the farmers can proceed with their lawsuit.  The farmers will sue Xcel Energy for $5 million.

Negligence can lead to serious damages.  Not only did the farmers lose money with the death of the cows, but the cows died unnecessarily.   If you suffered damage because of someone's negligence, contact the Minnesota personal injury attorneys of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C.  Call us at 612-333-5544, or visit our website.

This past Wednesday morning in Southern Minnesota near the Mississippi River, two trains collided and subsequently derailed in a serious accident.

Both trains were freight trains, and the effect of the colliison derailed 26 cars and sent at least one car into the Mississippi River.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported that due to the collision, fuel and liquid fertilizer leaked into the river.  Cleanup efforts are currently underway, but it is expected that these will have to continue for several weeks before the site is fully cleaned.

As of Thursday, the cause of the collision was still under investigation.  

If you or someone you know has been injured in a train or railway accident, contact the Minnesota train accident attorneys of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C. today at 612-333-5544.

Deb Laugerude, the mother of a Minnesota inmate who committed suicide in Jan. 2008, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Minnesota. The inmate, David Laugerude, committed suicide by overdosing on prescription and over-the-counter drugs while on suicide watch and in a locked-down security area of the Rush City state prison.

The suit, which seeks at least $50,000 in damages, cites negligence by the prison employees as the cause of David's death. According to Deb, David had roughly 700 pills of various kinds, administered by the prison, in his cell at the time of his death. David was known to be suicidal and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, so the prison employees should not have allowed him to have such a large quantity of mixed medications.

If someone close to you has suffered a wrongful death, contact the Minnesota wrongful death attorneys of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C. today at 612-333-5544.

The first personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits were filed in November over the Interstate 35W Bridge collapse of August 2007, which killed 13 people and injured 150 more. These lawsuits, filed in the District Court of Hennepin County, are expected to be the first of many involing those killed or injured in the bridge collapse.

The lawsuits allege that URS Corp, the consulting firm in charge of evaluating the bridge in the years before the collapse, negligently failed to observe the bulging and buckling of the bridge or failed to attach the appropriate significance to these signs of distress. The lawsuit also charges Progressive Contractors, Inc. with unnecessarily storing 587 tons of equipment at the weakest point of the bridge. The contractor was performing maintenance on the bridge at the time of the collapse.

If you or someone close to you has been injured or has suffered a wrongful death, contact the Minnesota personal injury attorneys of Terry & Slane, P.L.L.C. today at 612-333-5544.