Schmidt Law Home Page

Currently, the Schmidt Law Firm is representing the victims of serious car accidents which have been caused by the most outrageous driving conduct imaginable.

Example #1: Young man, angry at his girlfriend, threatened to take her on “the ride of her life”. When he accelerated, she tried to call 911 for help. He wrestled the cell phone from her and, while still driving, transferred the phone from his right hand to his left hand while presumably having no hand on the steering wheel. He lost control and the car went into the ditch, striking a large tree. The girlfriend was seriously injured.

Example #2: In a “road rage” episode, a car driver chased another driver down Highway 100 for over 2 miles, all the while honking, “flipping the finger” at her, and cutting off her attempts to change lanes to get away from him.

Example #3: The driver of a car, while blinded by the sun, drove into the rear of a vehicle ahead that was totally stopped, signaling to take a left turn. The driver has admitted, under oath, that his vehicle collided with the rear of the car ahead at a speed of almost 50 mph with no attempt to slow down or stop. He admitted that he absolutely did not see that car before hitting it!!! He was driving completely blind, guided only by the sense of touch!!!

Example #4: The driver of the car that rear-ended the car in which Schmidt’s client was riding admitted, under oath, that he was intoxicated and that, as the result of this collision, pled guilty to his fourth DWI (Driving While Intoxicated)!!!

The Schmidt Law Firm is firmly dedicated to bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death resulting from car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents. The Schmidt Law Firm serves the entire state of Minnesota, including Elk River, Zimmerman, Albertville, St. Michael, Buffalo, Delano, Maple Grove, and Anoka.

The Schmidt Law Firm has 30 years experience, in over 6,000 successful cases, of bring justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death. This experience includes a very successful track record in central Minnesota counties, including McLeod County (Glencoe and Hutchinson), Sibley (Gaylord), Meeker County, Carver County, Scott County, Renville County, Nicollet County, LeSueur County and Wright County.

Example #1: $2.4 million jury verdict in medical malpractice case in Scott County courthouse involving Shakopee doctor.

Example #2: $900,000 victory in court trial in Sibley County courthouse in Gaylord for farmer injured in combine accident.

Example #3: Settlement of products liability case against International Harvester in Carver County (Chaska).

Example #4: Settlement for Renville County farmer injured in improperly guarded grain auger.

Example #5: $185,000 recovery in jury trial in Brown County (New Ulm) involving truck accident.

Example #6: $54 million recovery for Minnesota farmers, including Nicollet County farmers, in class action against Chubb Insurance Company.

Example #7: $1 million recovery for LeSueur baby in birth injury medical malpractice case.

In Minnesota, it is the law that a person who is injured while coming to the rescue of the victim of injury caused by another person’s negligence may collect damages against the negligent person for those injuries. But what if a person is injured while coming to the rescue of a dog that is being attacked by another dog?

To make the question even more complex, what if the rescuer is not injured by the vicious dog? What if the injury happens when the rescuer suffers an ankle injury while jumping off a storage shed, landing wrong and fracturing the ankle?

These were the facts of a case which was successfully handled by Douglas E. Schmidt of the Schmidt Law Firm. The case was tried to a jury in Dakota County District Court in Hastings, Minnesota and resulted in a success recovery for Schmidt’s client.

Schmidt successfully convinced the judge that the Minnesota rescue law which makes the negligent person liable for injuries also applied to dog attacks. The judge, interpreting Minnesota law, ruled that the owner of the vicious dog that was attacking the rescuers dog was liable for the injuries to the victim dog which were sustained while coming to the rescuer.

The Schmidt Law Firm has 30 years experience in over 6,000 successful cases of bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death. This track record includes many cases of injuries and deaths due to animal attacks, including dog bites, dog attacks, as well as attacks by other animals, including cattle and sheep.

The Schmidt Law Firm serves Ramsey, Dakota, Scott, Rice, and Carver Counties, as well as the cities of Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Inver Grove Heights, Savage, Shakopee, Lakeville, Fairbault, Prior Lake, Jordan, New Prague, Chaska and Chanhassen.

The Schmidt Law Firm has 30 years experience in over 6,000 successful case of bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death. This experience and success record extends to many cases of injury and death due to defective products where the claim was pursued using Minnesota product liability law.

Minnesota product liability law allows the victims of personal injury and the families of the victims of wrongful death to seek compensation where a defective product was the cause. Minnesota product liability law is summarized in the jury instruction that is given in product liability trials. The authors comments state this:

The Minnesota Supreme Court adopted strict liability in tort in McCormack v. Hankscraft Co., 278 Minn. 322, 339-40, 154 N.W.2d 488, 500-501 (1967). The court indicated its intent to adopt the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965) as the basic strict liability formulation to be used in Minnesota. See, e.g., Olson v. Village of Babbitt, 291 Minn. 105, 110, 189 N.W.2d 701, 705 (1971); Lee v. Crookston, Coca-Co Bottling Co., 290 Minn. 321, 328-329, 188 N.W.2d 426, 432 (1971); Farr v. Armstrong Rubber Co., 288 Minn. 83, 89, 179 N.W.2d 64, 68 (1970). In 1984, however, the court reformulated the standard for design defect and failure to warn cases by applying negligence principles to those claims. See Bilotta v. Kelley Co., 346 N.W.2d 616, 622 (Minn. 1984) (design defect must be evaluated according to a risk-utility standard); Germann v. F.L. Smithe Machine Co., 395 N.W.2d 922, 926, n. 4 (Minn. 1986) (negligence principles apply to strict liability failure to warn claims). However, in a case involving a manufacturing flaw, it is appropriate to submit both strict liability and negligence claims.
Elements of a Products Liability Claim. There are three basic elements in a products liability case. First, the defendant’s product must have been in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. Second, the defect must have existed when the product left the defendant’s control. Third, the defect must have been the proximate cause of the injury sustained. See Bilotta v. Kelley Co., 346 N.W.2d 616, 623, n. 3 (Minn. 1984); Aby v. St. Paul Union Stockyards, 373 N.W.2d 810, 812 (Minn. Ct. App. 1985); Smits v. E-Z Por Corp., 365 N.W.2d 352, 354 (Minn. Ct. App. 1985). These elements are common to strict liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranty claims, Worden v. Gangel¬hoff, 308 Minn. 252, 254-255, 241 N.W.2d 650, 651 (1976), although in design defect and failure to warn claims, the plaintiff should be entitled to assert only a single theory of recovery. Bilotta, 346 N.W.2d at 623; Hauenstein v. The Loctite Corp., 347 N.W.2d 272, 275 (Minn. 1984). Implied warranty of merchantability theory is also merged with strict liability and negligence in a single theory of recovery. Piotrowski v. Southworth Products Corp., 15 F.3d 748 (8th Cir. 1994) (citing Westbrock v. Marshalltown Mfg. Co., 473 N.W.2d 352, 356 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Gross v. Running, 403 N.W.2d 243, 245 (Minn. Ct. App. 1987), and noting that those cases cited Bilotta for the merger proposition, even though Bilotta did not specifically hold that implied warranty theory was merged with strict liability and negligence).

The Schmidt Law Firm, Minneapolis Accident Lawyers, has successfully handled products liability cases where the defective product caused car accidents, truck accidents, snowmobile accidents, farm accidents, construction site accidents, and industrial accidents. The Schmidt Law Firm serves its clients throughout the State of Minnesota, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Blaine, Eden Prairie, Shakopee, Burnsville, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and Coon Rapids.

Tailgating-A Major Cause of Car Accidents

Douglas E. Schmidt, the senior trial lawyer at the Schmidt Law Firm, has handled over 6,000 accident and injury cases in his career. That experience has led him to the following observations:

1. Drunk Driving is a major cause of injuries.
2. Cell phone usage is a really major hazard, causing severe injuries.
3. Tailgating is a major problem.

The best factor of defensive driving is that of maintaining a safe distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead. This is true for two separate reasons:

1. Maintaining a safe distance reduces the likelihood of colliding with the vehicle ahead.
2. Maintaining a safe distance reduces the chances of you being rear-ended. (The best protection against being rear-ended is that of having a safe distance within which to slow gradually, thus reducing the chances of being rear-ended, protecting yourself and your passengers.)

The Schmidt Law Firm, Minneapolis Car Accident Lawyers, is committed to bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death. The Schmidt Law Firm has offices in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Minnetonka, Minnesota, with meeting sites in Shakopee, Chanhassen, Chaska, Anoka, Blaine, Plymouth, Roseville, Burnsville, Eagan, Richfield, Edina, and Eden Prairie.

When You’ve Been Injured, You Deserve the Very Best Lawyer!</p>

HERE ARE THE TOP TEN REASONS FOR SELECTING THE SCHMIDT LAW FIRM.

1. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM is FIVE STAR RATED by its CLIENTS.

2. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM has 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE, in over 6,000 Successful cases.

3. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM is an AWARD-WINNING LAW FIRM.

4. Respected by the MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT.

5. Respected by LAW SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES..

6. Respected by OTHER LAWYERS.

7. KNOWLEDGE of the Law.

8. GREAT STAFF.

9. The firm WORKS as HARD on small cases as it does on big cases.

10. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO DOWNTOWN FOR A GREAT LAWYER.

!. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM IS 5 STAR RATED BY ITS CLIENTS:

The best recommendation that a Law Firm can receive is from its HAPPY AND SATISFIED CLIENTS.

The Schmidt Law Firm is the only personal injury and wrongful death law firm in the State of Minnesota to receive a FIVE STAR RATING by its clients on both CITY SEARCH and YAHOO.

Click here for CITY SEARCH reviews.

Click here for YAHOO SEARCH reviews.

2. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM has 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE in over 6,000 SUCCESSFUL CASES.

Click here for examples of our SUCCESSFUL CASES.

3. The SCHMIDT LAW FIRM is an AWARD-WINNING LAW FIRM:

-American Bar Association-

Schmidt has been the recipient of the coveted Award of Merit of the ABA which was presented by the president of the ABA at its national convention in Dallas, Texas.

Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association-

Schmidt is the two-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the MTLA. He has been a frequent speaker at the CLE programs of the organization and was the author of its “Practice Pointers’ feature for 15 years.

4. RESPECTED BY THE MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT:

Schmidt has been honored by the Minnesota Supreme Court which has appointed him to a number of positions of respect and authority. The Minnesota Supreme Court appointed Schmidt to Steering Committee that has established the Rules of Arbitration under the Minnesota No Fault Insurance Act and supervises the Minnesota No Fault Arbitrtion process.

Schmidt served as the draftsman/editor of the !st, 2nd, and 3rd Editions of the Rules of No Fault Arbitration.

The Minnesota Supreme Court also appointed Schmidt to serve as an No Fault arbitrator under that system. Schmidt has served for 20 years in that capacity, rendering decisions in dozens of cases.

5. RESPECTED BY LAW SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES:

University of Minnesota Law School-

Schmidt has served as a visiting lecturer at the U of M Law School.

William Mitchell College of Law-

Schmidt has been recognized by the Wm. Mitchell Law School as the appointed autor of an article on products liability claims. He has served as a visting professor and a seminar speaker at the College.

Northwestern Health Sciences University-

Schmidt has served as an adjunct professor in the pre-law courses of the University.

Gustavus Adolphus College-

Schmidt has served as a visiting lecturer in the pre-law curriculum at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota

National Institute of Business-

Schmidt has been selected by the National Institute of Business to present Continuing Legal Education Seminars to other practicing lawyers on subjects such as “Successfully Handling a Car Accident Case” and “Successfully Handling a Trucking Accident Case”.

6. RESPECTED BY OTHER LAWYERS:

In his over 30 years of experience as an accident and injury lawyer, Schmidt has earned the respect of other lawyers. The following are illustrations of that respect:

American Inns of Court-

Schmidt has been elected to the rank of Master of the American Inns. He has also been elected, and served, as the President of the Douglas K. Amdahl Inn in Minneapolis, MN.

American Bar Association-

The Award of Merit of the American Bar Association was presented to Schmidt at its annual convention in Dallas, Texas. Schmidt was, at the time, the youngest recipient of that award.

Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association (now the Minnesota Association for Justice):

Schmidt has been elected to serve in my official positions in this organization. He has twice been honored as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of that association.

Minnesota Bar Association:

Schmidt has been elected to positions of respect in the Minnesota Bar Association. He has been elected, and served, as President of the District Bar Association.

Minnesota Millions Dollar Roundtable:

Schmidt has qualified for and inducted into the Minnesota Million Dollar Roundtable which is composed of lawyers who have successfully produced one or more jury verdicts in a personal injury or wrongful death case. Schmidt currently serves as President of that organization.

7.KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW:

Schmidt’s knowledge of the law is proven by the many scholarly books and articles that he has written, including the following:

William Mitchell Law Review:

Schmidt was selected by William Mitchell Law Review to write a scholarly article on the subject of Products Liability Law. The Law Review had this to say about Schmidt:

Continuing Legal Education Seminars:

Schmidt has, during the course of his legal career, spoken at over twenty Continuing Legal Education seminars, sponsored by the Minnesota Bar Association, the William Mitchell College of Law, the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association, the National Institute of Business, and other organizations.

Schmidt was the principal speaker at a recent seminar on the subject of “How to Effectively Prepare an Automobile Accident Case”. He was one of the principal speakers at a seminar sponsored by William Mitchell College of Law on the subject of products liability law. He was the principal speaker at the University of Minnesota Law School on the subject of “Damages in Agricultural Litigation”. He has spoken on such other subjects as trucking accident cases, railroad accident cases, construction site injury cases, and insurance law.

Schmidt, senior trial lawyer at the Schmidt Law Firm, recently delivered a presentation at a trial lawyers’ continuing legal education seminar in Minneapolis on the subject of “How to Effectively Cross Examine the Most Difficult IME Doctors”. This seminar was sponsored by the Minnesota Association for Justice (MNAJ), formerly the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association.

Continuing Chiropractic Education Seminars:

Schmidt has been served as a keynote speaker at 5 different Continuing Chiropractic Education seminars in the last 15 months.

Schmidt spoke on the subject of “Chiropractic Boundaries”, regarding the legal and ethics boundaries of the practice of chiropractic medicine. During his presentation, Schmidt discussed the various causes for professional discipline under Minnesota law. He also reviewed the Standards of Practice of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association, with special emphasis on the use of the Standards in charting and record keeping by chiropractic doctors.

Schmidt has lectured at seven continuing education seminars in the last 15 months. He has been a guest lecturer at the Northwestern Health Sciences University, speaking on various issues of interest to the chiropractic profession.

Schmidt has lectured at the University of Minnesota Law School, the William Mitchell College of Law, Northwestern Health Sciences University, and Gustavus Adolphus College. He has lectured at continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association, the Minnesota Bar Association and the National Business Institute on subject including product liability law, automobile accident injury claims, traumatic brain injury claims, effective jury arguments for pain and suffering, and a host of other topics.

He recently was one of the featured speakers at a continuing legal education seminar sponsored by the Minnesota Association of Justice, speaking on the topic of effectively cross examining medical experts.

8.GREAT STAFF:

A truly great law firm excels because of a COMPETENT AND CARING STAFF. The Schmidt Law Firm has a great staff of lawyers, paralegals, and legal assistants who take great pride in providing quality service to the clients.

Please notice that the recommendations of the clients of the Schmidt Law Firm pay special tribute to the “awesome” staff of the Schmidt Law Firm.

9. The Schmidt Law Firm Works as Hard on the Smaller Cases as it Does on the Big Ones.

Some prospective clients have noticed that the Schmidt Law Firm has an excellent track record in bigger cases and have wondered if the Schmidt Law Firm would give attention to a smaller case. That concern was answered by one of Schmidt’s clients who wrote a letter of recommendation containing this statement:

“I’ll never forget. As we were sitting in court, the Judge’s court reporter came over and told us, “We always love to see Doug Schmidt in our court. He works just as hard on the small cases as he does the big ones!!!”

10.. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO DOWNTOWN FOR A GREAT LAWYER!!!

Many folks looking for an accident and injury lawyer have difficulty getting out to meet with a lawyer. The Schmidt Law Firm offers home and hospital visits. “We will come to you.”

Many folks just don’t like going downtown, fighting the traffic, trying to find a parking ramp, and then having difficulty finding the lawyer’s office in the skyscraper buildings. The Schmidt Law Firm offers a ground level, handicap accessible, easy to find and easy to get to home office. It also offers meeting sites throughout the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the Twin Cities area.

The Schmidt Law Firm offers meeting sites in Anoka, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Chaska, Chanhassen, Delano, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Elk River, Hastings, Lakeville, Mankato, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Rochester, Roseville, Shakopee, St. Cloud, St. Paul, and Woodbury,

The Schmidt Law Firm offers the highest quality legal services that are “user friendly”.

Remember: YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO DOWNTOWN FOR A GREAT LAWYER.

The Schmidt Law Firm has produced yet another successful settlement for its client, a St. Paul woman who was hit by a commercial truck at an intersection in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

Schmidt’s client was riding a bicycle and was duly in the crosswalk at the time that the truck pulled forward to take a “left-hand turn on a red light”. The driver failed to notice Schmidt’s client who was legally crossing the street within the lines of the painted cross-walk.

Schmidt has handled several cases recently where the truck drivers claimed that their vision was obstructed by the “blind spot” directly in front of the trucks engine compartment. Schmidt comments, “Truck drivers should be ever aware of the blind spots that exist in their visual field and do everything possible to accomodate that problem. Most trucks are equipped with special mirrors and truck drivers need to know how to use them.”

The Schmidt Law Firm, St. Paul accident attorneys, has 30 years experience in over 6,000 successful cases of bringing justice to the victims of car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents. The firm serves its clients in St. Paul, Roseville, Shoreview, Mound, Blaine, Eagan, Woodbury, and White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

The Schmidt Law Firm recently successfully settled an injury case for a man that wa “hit by a Mack Truck” in a Minnetonka, Minnesota car-truck collision.

Douglas E. Schmidt, the senior trial lawyer at the Schmidt Law Firm, noted that “We sometimes attempt to explain a really big collision as ‘like being hit with a Mack Truck’. This time it really was a Mack Truck!”

Even though the client was not taken away by ambulance and did not seek immediate emergency room treatment, the Schmidt Law Firm, Minneapolis and St. Paul accident attorneys, was able to successfully settle this case for $430,000.00.

The Schmidt Law Firm has over 30 years experience, in over 6,000 successful cases of bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death in car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents. The firm has offices in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Minnetonka with meeting sites in other Twin Cities locations, including Shakopee, Chaska, Chanhassen, Savage, Eden Priairie, Hopkins, Plymouth and Maple Grove, Minnesota.

The Schmidt Law Firm, St. Paul Accident Lawyers, has 30 years experience in over 3,000 successful cases of bringing justice to the victims of personal injury and wrongful death in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.

The Schmidt Law Firm has offices in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Minnetonka and meeting sites in Roseville, Moundsview, Shoreview, Eagan, Stillwater and Woodbury.

p>The Schmidt Law Firm has successful experience in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, ATV accidents, boating accidents, ATV accidents, ski-jet and boating accidents.

The Schmidt Law Firm, Minneapolis Car Accident Lawyers, calls your attention to the dangers of urban driving:

It is beyond any reasonable doubt that urban or metropolitan driving is far more dangerous than rural driving.

This is true for many reasons:

1. Metropolitan traffic congestion.

2. The sense of urgency of metopolitan life.

3. The confusional aspect of city driving

4. The likelihood of multiple vehicle collisions.

The Schmidt Law Firm has 30 years experience in over 6,000 successful cases in representing the victims of personal injury and wrongful death in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. This experience includes car-truck collisions, car-motorcycle