Author: Steve Terry

The cervical facet joint is the most common source of chronic neck pain after a motor vehicle crash. The lumbar and thoracic spines also have facet joints. The facet joints are the small joints in the back of our spine that allow us to bend and twist our neck and back.

Anatomy of Facet Joint

The facet joint is made of a variety of hard and soft tissues.

• The boney pillars of the facet joints provide opposing surfaces for the joint.
• Those boney surfaces are covered in cartilage.
• The synovium is a connective tissue lining the fibrous capsule that secretes synovial fluid which lubricates the joint and enables frictionless motion.
• The fibrous capsule ligament envelopes the entire joint.

Mechanism of Injury

Biomechanical and autopsy studies indicate that the facet joints can be damaged in motor vehicle crashes. Facet joints are the most common source of chronic pain after a whiplash injury. Facet injuries can include:

• Capsular strain and tears
• Boney impingement
• Synovial fold pinching
• Direct impact injury resulting in contusion
• Intra-articular hemorrhage
• Damage to subchondral bone

Diagnosis

Facet injuries cannot be diagnosed on MRI scan. Facet joint injury is diagnosed using a medial branch block. To do this test, a doctor uses a needle that is inserted up against the medial branch of the nerve to place a numbing medication on that nerve. If the pain is relieved, this confirms injury to the facet joint is the pain generator.

Treatment

The chronic pain stemming from injury to the facet joint can be relieved by using a procedure known as radio frequency neurotomy. Using x-ray guidance, a doctor inserts a needle parallel to the targeted nerve. A radio frequency generator is then used to heat the tip of the needle. The heat burns the nerve so that the pain signal is interrupted and cannot reach the brain. The RFN procedure is not a permanent cure as the nerve will regenerate and grow back and when it does, the pain will return.

Pain relief generally lasts between 9 to 18 months depending on the patient. The RFN procedure can be repeated indefinitely when the pain returns.

Contact a Minneapolis car accident lawyer at (612) TSR-TIME. We represent back injury victims in Albert Lea, Bloomington, Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, St. Paul, and the entire state of Minnesota.

Hyphema is a condition where blood accumulates in the front chamber of the eye between the cornea and iris. It is usually caused by blunt trauma to the eye. A direct hit to the eye can break blood vessels in the iris, causing them to leak blood into the anterior chamber and mix with the clear aqueous fluid, blurring vision. The blood may appear as a reddish tinge to the eye, or it may be a pooling of blood at the bottom of the iris.

Hyphema Symptoms and Treatment

Because there are times that the blood is not visible, victims of eye trauma need to be aware of other symptoms. They include:

• eye pain
• light sensitivity
• blurred vision
• elevated eye pressure

In mild cases of hyphema, the blood can be reabsorbed with no treatment. For more severe cases of hyphema, treatment includes:

• bed rest with head elevated 45-60 degrees with both eyes closed
• use of ice packs
• avoid strenuous activity
• removal of the blood if the eye pressure increases
• eye drops

Do not take aspirin or NSAIDs. They thin the blood and could lead to additional bleeding.

Hyphema Complications

Any injury to the eye can be frightening. It is vital to follow treatment instructions to obtain the best possible recovery. The complications following hyphema include:

• recurring bleeding
• glaucoma
• damage to the cornea (causing permanently cloudy vision)
• loss of vision

Experienced Legal Counsel

TSR Injury Law is a premier Minnesota personal injury law firm with extensive experience handling eye injury cases. Our personal injury lawyers are experts at proving liability in complex medical cases. Call (612) TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form.

Food poisoning and food borne illnesses can result in serious illness and devastating consequences. Some food borne illnesses are potentially life-threatening and can lead to kidney failure, among other things. The most common food borne illnesses we see are E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis A, botulism and listeria outbreaks. People most at risk for serious illness include children, the elderly, and women who are pregnant.

If you have suffered any illness due to food poisoning, then you may have a legal case. The manufacturer of the food that may you ill — whether it was bought in the grocery store, bought by a vendor or bought in a restaurant — should be held responsible for this accident.

Symptoms of Food Poisoning

Food poisoning results in a number of serious and painful symptoms; from dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea to weakness, jaundice and even death. There have been known cases where young children have been hospitalized, but unable to survive the illness; where elderly patients have been too weak to fight back against the food borne illness; and where pregnant women have lost their unborn child due to food poisoning outbreaks. Regardless of your age or your situation, food poisoning can come with devastating and often tragic consequences.

Food Poisoning Litigation

At TSR Injury Law Firm, we understand how hard this is for you. We are here to fight for your legal rights so you can concentrate on recovery and moving forward. When handling a food borne illness case, we look at a number of factors including microbiology, epidemiology, sanitation, food safety and agricultural aspects, and look closely to find a link between contamination, causation and damage to the victim. If your food borne illness is the fault of a manufacturer, then you could be looking at a product liability or wrongful death case.

Food Borne Illness Lawsuits

Food poisoning can occur in a number of different types of food. Dairy products, such as cheese, milk, yogurt and egg, carry a high risk of listeria; while meats often come with recall notices of salmonella or E. coli. Just recently, there was a large recall for hazelnuts and mixed nuts containing E. coli. Even foods like alfalfa sprouts, sandwiches and cantaloupes have been recalled for suspected causation of food poisoning in consumers.

The harsh reality is: you never know what foods could make you sick. However, what you can do is contact an experienced food borne illness lawyer as soon as possible. We have worked with several clients suffering from food borne illnesses, including a recent man suffering from food poisoning after the hazelnut E. coli outbreak.

Food Borne Illness Lawyers

At TSR Injury Law Firm, we know how serious food borne illnesses can be. Not only could you be physically suffering, but you may also need to take time off work, lose out on income and face serious aftermath due to this illness. We believe our clients deserve fair compensation for their suffering and we won’t stop until you get it. Don’t let food poisoning stop you in your tracks. Contact the leading MN injury lawyers at TSR Injury Law Firm at (612) TSR-TIME today.

A mother is mourning after the death of her three sons when they were in a plane crash with their father in Wyoming. Now she is suing the air traffic control company that provides services at the Jackson Hole Airport.

Michelle Bucklin’s ex-husband was a pilot and was the pilot of the plane that carried their three sons. He was given clearance to fly although the weather was bad and lost control of the plane over the Wind River Range.

As a result of this crash, Mrs. Bucklin is suing Serco Inc based out of Virginia, claiming that the negligence of the air traffic controller was the cause of the crash.

The victims were 41-year-old Luke Bucklin of Minneapolis, 12-year-old Noah, and 14-year-old twins Nick and Nate. They all died when the plane crashed in October 2010 in the Wind River Range of Wyoming.

Luke Bucklin was the ex-husband of Michelle Bucklin and he had remarried since their divorce. He was the co-founder and president of Sierra Bravo Corp, a Minnesota-based web development company in Bloomington.

Bucklin and his sons were flying to a family function in Jackson Hole in the 1977 Mooney. A snowstorm was about to hit the area, so he tried to book a commercial flight home, but the commercial flight was cancelled. This is when he decided to go ahead and fly his own plane home.

A voice recording originating from the doomed flight shows that he had difficulty achieving elevation over the Wind River Range in the snow storm right before the crash occurred. This caused him to descend rapidly. Bucklin was heard in the recording saying there were “severe mountain waves,” which was a reference to the wind currents over the mountains.

The wreckage was found by mountaineers and so were the bodies of all four victims after search parties searched for a week.

The lawsuit says that the airplane that was piloted by Bucklin was flying too low, resulting in the collision with the mountain.

The National Transportation Safety Board says in their report that Bucklin had made phone calls to the Jackson Hole Airport twice to talk to flight services to get the weather briefings for the day of his flight. It is said that the reports for the day said that there was turbulence, icing, and mountain obscuration. This has caused the National Transportation Safety Board to determine that it was Bucklin’s decision to fly the heavily loaded plane in the bad weather conditions that caused the crash.

However, the NTSB noted that the air traffic controller that was handling Bucklin’s flight gave him clearance when he shouldn’t have, leading him on a path that would have him flying over some of the highest mountains in Wyoming. They also noted this as a contributing factor.

In addition, the report said that the plane was at or near maximum certified weight. The information was available to Bucklin, but he may have discounted that fact or was unaware of it, especially since the route that he was assigned required an altitude that was near the altitude limits of the plane. The altitude of that route was higher than he had requested.

It seems that there were a great deal of factors that contributed to the crash.

The driver of a school bus in Monticello is under investigation after several students on her bus say that she choked a 7th grader.

Travis Walker told the media that he is healing, but that he is afraid to get on another school bus again because of what happened to him in November 2012.

Walker said that the bus driver dove on him and put her hands around his neck, hitting him. He said he tried to reach for his phone. He says that the driver became upset because he had answered a cell phone call from his sibling while on the bus. It turned out his sibling was locked out of the house.

There were dozens of students on the bus at the time and some of them called the police, while others called Walker’s sister, who met them at the next bus stop.

Hailey Walker, Travis’s sister, stated that the bus driver started to pull off at the next stop, but she stepped in front of the bus and stood there. She then asked Travis what happened and saw the hand prints around his neck. Travis then pulled down the front of his shirt to show his sister his red chest. Hailey Walker further stated that the side of Travis’s face was red as if he had been punched.

Travis Walker’s mother says that her son has gotten into trouble with the driver before, but she says that gave the driver no reason to choke her child.

One student was noted as saying that the driver spit in the boy’s face and called him stupid. The student said Travis said some curse words back at her.

The family said they want to file charges, but investigators state that there are two sides to the story. Even so, the case is expected to be handed over to county prosecutors.

School officials have said that the driver will remain on suspension until a total of four investigations are completed. The investigations are being conducted by the bus company, the Wright County Sheriff’s Department, The school district, and by the Department of Education.

A spokesperson for the bus company, Hoglund Transportation, issued a statement saying that they were saddened over the situation and they have interviewed the driver. They say that she has been a driver for them for approximately eight years and had never even been written up before.

This is the first time that Hoglund Transportation has had to deal with allegations against a bus driver committing assault.

If you are the victim of a serious injury that is the result of the actions of another individual, you may be eligible to file a damages claim and hold them responsible for their actions. Contact a Minneapolis injury attorney at TSR Injury Law today by calling (612) TSR-TIME. Your initial consultation is free.

An 85-year-old man died in a late January apartment fire in Minneapolis.

The three-story brick building had a fire that broke out on the second floor, but firefighters were able to quickly put it out.

The site of the now-closed Roundup Beer Hall, police officers said that the man lived in a second floor apartment and was found dead when firefighters conducted a search of the building after the fire. Several neighbors said the man’s name was Donald A. Morgan, whom they said lived in the building for many years and used to be the caretaker of the building before it was sold a number of years ago.

A woman, Pamela Boyd, who lives in a third floor apartment with her son, called 911 before fleeing outside with her son and dogs. She had smelled the smoke for about 10 minutes before making the call. She said she was unable to save her cat.

Boyd had lived in the building for over a decade and told police that only two apartments were occupied and those were hers and Morgan’s. She said she didn’t see any fire, but she did see the smoke. Fortunately, her smoke alarm went off and her dogs came running to her.

Boyd said she heard noises before the fire, but she was not sure if they were related to the incident.

Right now, the cause of the fire is unknown. The building on 35W and E. Lake Street is easily seen by the nearby freeway, as it is the site of a digital billboard on the roof that is owned by Clear Channel.

If you or a loved one has become the victim of an incident that may have been preventable, those negligence parties may be held responsible for their actions. To learn more about the options that may be available, contact a licensed injury attorney in Minneapolis at TSR Injury Law for a free consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Minneapolis assault and battery lawyers of TSR Injury Law represent victims of many forms of physical assault. Our partners have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers many times. You can pursue justice. We can help. Call Steve Terry, Chuck Slane, or Rich Ruohonen at 612-TSR-TIME or fill out our contact form.

Being threatened (assault) or attacked (battery) by another person is a terrible experience. You may have sustained very serious, even life-altering injuries after being:

• mugged;
• beaten;
• raped; or
• otherwise attacked by callous individuals.

Beyond the physical injuries sustained as a result of assault and battery, there are often long-lasting emotional effects that you must live with, such as increased anxiety, decreased enjoyment of life and, potentially, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Seeking Justice

Even if your attacker is convicted and sent to jail, you are left to deal with lingering physical and emotional pain. There is also the stress of paying off medical bills at a time when you may be temporarily or permanently unable to work.

One way to seek justice is to file a personal injury claim against the person who attacked you. If you win, you can be compensated for:

• your past medical expenses (associated with this attack);
• your future medical expenses;
• lost wages; and/or
• pain and suffering.

It will not undo the pain of your experience, but it will ease your recovery by paying your medical bills and providing compensation for your suffering.

Unfortunately, this type of suit can be difficult to win. The problem is that the damages awarded must come from either insurance or the attacker’s personal assets. Many insurance companies do not cover damages that were deliberately done by the policy holder, although there are exceptions to this. Most likely, you will have to receive your damages from the attacker’s own account, which means you may not be able to collect the awarded compensation.

Contact Minneapolis Assault and Battery Victim’s Attorney

If you are filing an assault and battery lawsuit, you will need a dedicated attorney who understands the complexities of the law and knows how to win the compensation you deserve. Contact TSR Injury Law at (612) TSR-TIME or submit our contact form.