Dakota County Dram Shop Liability Lawyer

Recovering Damages in Personal Injury Cases

People who injure or kill others through acts of negligence and a violation of a duty of care can be held financially liable for their actions. At the law office of Kelly & Lemmons, we work closely with accident investigators, safety consultants, engineers, and other experts as needed in personal injury cases involving drunk drivers, slips and falls, and wrongful death. In order to quantify the cost of an injury or fatal accident, our attorneys consult medical economists and life care planners. Where the cause of an accident is in question, we gather evidence, eyewitness statements, and use computer animation if necessary to reconstruct what happened.

If you have been seriously injured in a drunk driving accident, slip and fall, or have lost a family member due to someone else's negligence, contact St. Paul, Minnesota personal injury attorneys at Kelly & Lemmons today.

Injuries Due to Drunk Drivers and Minnesota's Dram Shop Law

In cases involving injuries or fatalities due to a drunk driver, drinking establishments can be held liable for their actions as well. Under Minnesota's dram shop law a restaurant, bar, or liquor store that serves alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated can be held liable for injuries caused by them in a drunk driving accident. Working with investigators, our attorneys recover bar tabs, credit card receipts, and interview wait staff and patrons in order to determine what happened. Using testimony and other evidence, we can establish if someone was slurring their speech, having difficulty walking, or acting in a manner that indicated they were drunk. Once the facts are established, our attorneys can cross examine a bartender or other wait staff, point out inconsistencies in their testimony, and hold them liable for our client's injuries.

Premises Liability

Property owners, retailers, managers of office buildings, and owners of parking garages can be held liable for injuries that result from disrepair or inadequate security. When investigating premises liability cases, our office works with safety experts, design engineers, and others in exposing structural defects and inadequate safety measures involving the following:

• Crumbling stairs or sidewalks
• Exposed wiring
• Wet floors
• Malfunctioning elevators or escalators
• Inadequate lighting
• Broken front door locks
• Falling debris
• Fire
• Locked fire escapes

We also consult with medical experts in order to establish the severity of a head injury, herniated disc, spinal cord injury, or broken bone that often accompanies slip-and-fall accidents.

Wrongful Death/Fatal Accidents

Not all wrongful death cases involve gross negligence or a reckless indifference toward the well-being of others. Manufacturers, employers, and property owners can be held liable for fatalities in cases where failures to remove foreseeable dangers and hazards resulted in fatal accidents. Here, whether or not a person or entity was in compliance with the law is not as important as to whether or not their action or inaction was negligent. If there were foreseeable dangers or risks that were not removed or counteracted, a manufacturer, property owner, retail establishment, employer, or driver can be held financially responsible for deaths caused by their actions.

For more information regarding dram shop drunk driving cases, premises liability, or wrongful death, contact St. Paul, Minnesota personal injury attorneys at Kelly & Lemmons today.