Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

If you’re dealing with serious injuries, you should consult an attorney about the details of your situation. In the meantime, here’s a general look at some of the legal issues and principles that you might encounter as your case unfolds.

Most personal injury cases rely on a legal theory called negligence. This means that the defendant caused the victim’s injuries because they didn’t act as carefully as they should have under the circumstances. The standard of care is usually defined as what a reasonable person would have done. For example, a driver who runs a stop sign probably didn’t meet this standard. A more specific standard may apply in certain situations, such as medical malpractice claims. When the standard is more specialized, an injured person often needs to present expert testimony to explain what the defendant should have done.

If you were injured by an employee of a business, you might have a vicarious liability claim against the business in addition to your claim against the employee. Vicarious liability can make it easier for an injured person to recover the full scope of their damages. It makes an employer liable when its employee was negligent in the course of their job duties. The employer doesn’t need to have been negligent to be liable under this theory. Sometimes an employer might be directly liable, though, such as when its negligent hiring or supervision of employees put others at risk.

Another theory called strict liability applies in a limited set of personal injury cases. This means that an injured person doesn’t need to prove negligence by the defendant. For example, a manufacturer of a defective product can be held liable for injuries caused by the defect regardless of how much care they took during the process. Strict liability also applies to dog bite cases in Minnesota.

Perhaps you got injured in a crime, such as an assault. Regardless of whether the defendant gets charged, or what happens in the criminal case, you can bring a civil lawsuit for your damages. This is known as an “intentional tort” because the defendant acted deliberately rather than carelessly. The prosecutor needs to meet a much higher standard of proof than the standard in civil cases, so you might succeed even if the defendant isn’t convicted of a crime.

If you’re considering filing a lawsuit, you have only a limited time to move forward with your case. Minnesota imposes a deadline called the statute of limitations. If you don’t file before the statute of limitations expires, you’ll probably lose your right to get compensation. The defendant can get your case dismissed on this basis regardless of whether they were actually at fault.

The general Minnesota personal injury statute of limitations is six years, but there are some variations. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is four years, and there’s a two-year statute of limitations for intentional torts like assault and battery. A wrongful death case based on a fatal accident generally needs to be brought within three years of the date of the death. If you’re not sure which limit applies to your case, you should consult an attorney as soon as possible.

Perhaps you’re concerned that you might have been partly at fault for an accident. In Minnesota, this doesn’t necessarily prevent you from getting compensation. The state applies a rule called “modified comparative negligence.” An injured person who was partly at fault can recover damages unless they were more at fault than the defendant. Their damages would be reduced according to their degree of fault. In other words, if a jury decides that you were 30 percent at fault, you could recover 70 percent of your damages. If the jury decides that you were 60 percent at fault, on the other hand, you couldn’t recover anything.

Some states have imposed damages caps that limit how much compensation an injured person can recover. These are especially common for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. However, Minnesota doesn’t have damages caps. An injured person has a right to recover whatever amount a jury finds appropriate.

If you’re pursuing a claim against a government entity, such as the City of Minneapolis or the State of Minnesota, you’ll need to file a notice of claim within 180 days of the accident. This provides basic information such as what happened, when and where it happened, and how much compensation you’re demanding.

Minnesota is a no-fault insurance state for car accidents. This means that victims have restrictions on their right to sue. For example, they generally can’t recover non-economic damages from the at-fault driver unless they meet certain statutory requirements.

Even if an injured person thinks that they have a strong case, it’s hard to know for sure how a jury or judge will see the evidence. Defendants and their insurers have a similar incentive to avoid the risk of an outcome different from what they expect. This makes it more likely that the two sides will reach a compromise called a settlement that ends the case. The injured person gives up their claims against the defendant based on the incident, while the defendant or insurer pays out a certain amount of compensation.

A settlement also may help bring a case to a conclusion in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. An injured person gets money sooner that they can put toward medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs that may be piling up. They also may feel financial pressure if they’re missing work because of their injuries. Still, as stressful as this situation can be, you should carefully evaluate any offer that you get to make sure that it’s reasonable before you accept it. Insurers focus on their bottom line rather than the best interests of injured people, so they often try to get rid of claims quickly for less than their full value.

It’s often smart to wait until you reach maximum medical improvement before you resolve your case, especially if your injuries will require ongoing treatment or permanently affect your life. This is the point at which your doctor feels that you’re not likely to make much further progress. Once you release your claims in a settlement, you probably can’t go back and get more money later for costs that you hadn’t anticipated.

As you try to recover from your injuries, putting together a legal case is a headache that you don’t need to manage. Your lawyer can take this burden off your shoulders, handling logistical matters like gathering the evidence that you need to prove liability and damages. Some types of evidence that often play a role in these cases include photos of the accident, police reports and other official documentation, witness statements, medical records, pay stubs showing lost income, and bills and receipts for out-of-pocket costs. In many cases, testimony from experts in fields such as medicine, economics, or forensics may strengthen a claim for damages as well.

You can expect the other side to have skilled lawyers representing them. This could put you at a disadvantage during settlement negotiations if you don’t have legal representation of your own. Your attorney will push back against any efforts by insurers to minimize your claim, and they’ll be able to assess the fairness of any settlement offers that you receive. This can help you make an informed decision about whether to take an offer.

If your case goes through proceedings in court, there’s no substitute for the knowledge, experience, and skill of a legal professional. They’ll be able to craft polished strategies to persuade a judge or jury to believe your version of the events, and they’ll also keep up with deadlines and any other procedural requirements for the litigation. A personal injury lawsuit has high stakes, so you shouldn’t cut corners in trying to handle it on your own.

A wide range of personal injury attorneys serve people in the Minneapolis area, each with their own personality and approach to cases. The process of finding the right advocate can be daunting. The Justia Lawyer Directory aims to help you compare your options efficiently and thoroughly. It also allows you to promptly contact attorneys who interest you.

As you consider your choices, you should focus on finding a lawyer who handles the type of claim that you’re bringing. Each area of personal injury law has its own nuances. If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property, for example, you should work with a lawyer experienced in premises liability cases. If you got injured by a defective household appliance, you should get an attorney with a background in products liability lawsuits.

You’ll probably explore the websites of attorneys who interest you. These will provide useful information like the education and credentials of the attorney, awards and other recognition that they’ve received, and some of their most notable achievements. You also should check out client reviews, which can help you understand what it might be like to work with that attorney. If they’ve gotten good reviews from other attorneys, meanwhile, this might suggest that they’ve built a strong reputation in the profession.

You should check the disciplinary history of someone you’re considering with the Minnesota State Bar Association. A minor ethical misstep might just be one of many issues that you keep in mind, but a series of infractions should make you think twice about hiring that lawyer. Poor integrity or incompetent representation could seriously damage your case.

Once you’ve put together a list of attorneys who seem like they’re worth exploring further, you can set up consultations with each of them. Personal injury lawyers usually offer these meetings for no charge. You can explain what happened to you and ask some questions about their thoughts on your legal options and their process for handling cases. The attorney will think about whether it makes sense to take your case, and you can think about whether you would feel comfortable entrusting them with it. Don’t overlook the importance of personal rapport in the attorney-client relationship.

Probably the most common type of incident that can lead to a personal injury lawsuit is a car, truck, or motorcycle accident. These motor vehicle collisions also might involve bicyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users. However, personal injury lawsuits extend much more broadly. Additional examples include:

• Malpractice by healthcare providers, such as misdiagnoses and surgical errors
• Negligence or abuse at nursing homes
• Products with defects in their manufacturing or design, or without proper warnings about their safe use
• Slip and falls on property that hasn’t been maintained well enough
• Dog bites and other animal attacks
• Violent crimes, such as assault

If you got injured at work, you likely can’t sue your employer. This is because the Minnesota workers’ compensation system generally provides the exclusive remedy for an injured employee. It allows you to get reimbursement for your medical costs and replacement for some of your lost wages without proving your employer’s fault, but it doesn’t account for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. To get these damages and others that aren’t covered by workers’ comp benefits, you’d likely need to bring a third-party personal injury claim. This could be an option if someone other than your employer was at least partly responsible for your injuries, such as a careless driver or a manufacturer of a defective product.

A study on a set of Minnesota personal injury cases that went to trial showed that injured people received compensation 67 percent of the time. This is significantly higher than the national average. The median award in these cases was about $30,000. (The median is the number that is greater than half the awards and less than the other half.)

Here’s a look at some notable settlements and verdicts from recent personal injury cases in Minnesota:

• $2 million when a surgical team left a sponge inside a patient
• $1.1 million in a “wrongful birth” case when a couple had an unplanned child after a nurse incorrectly told the husband that his post-vasectomy test was negative
• $1 million when a chain reaction crash allegedly caused various back and neck injuries to someone who had pre-existing conditions
• $300,000 in a wrongful death case involving a truck accident caused by a commercial driver running a red light
• $176,000 when a rear-end collision caused hearing loss and back injuries to a woman who was stopped at a red light
• $44,000 for a small child who was bitten by a dog, allegedly causing facial scarring

The value of each case depends on its specific facts. You should ask your attorney for a general sense of what your case might be worth.

The Office of Traffic Safety in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety presents statistics from the Minneapolis Police Department on car crashes. These show 3,789 crashes in 2024, including 12 fatal crashes and 1,436 crashes that resulted in injuries. (There were 13 fatalities and 1,892 people who were injured.) There were 154 crashes involving commercial vehicles and 121 crashes in work zones. Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Park Police Department reported 140 crashes, including 43 crashes that caused 49 injuries, five crashes involving commercial vehicles, and five crashes in work zones. There were no fatal crashes reported by this agency.

In Hennepin County more generally, there were 18,270 crashes in 2024. These included 53 fatal crashes and 4,775 crashes that caused injuries. (There were 55 fatalities and 6,446 people who were injured.) There were 1,160 crashes involving commercial vehicles and 694 crashes in work zones.

The City of Minneapolis has identified a high injury crash network of streets. Less than 10 percent of the streets in the city accounted for two-thirds of injuries and deaths from car crashes during the time period analyzed by the study. The resulting report also identified dangerous intersections, such as:

• 5th Avenue South and 6th Street South
• Franklin Avenue and Portland Avenue
• Park Avenue and 15th Street South
• Lasalle Avenue and 15th Street

It’s important to prioritize safety and defensive driving when you’re approaching an intersection. You should stay alert so that you can respond promptly to any unexpected hazards that you encounter.

After a car crash in Minneapolis, it’s important to get the police report on what happened. This can provide useful evidence to support any pursuit of compensation later. You can contact the Records Information Unit of the Minneapolis Police Department to find out whether your report is available. They’re located in the Minneapolis Public Service Building at 505 Fourth Avenue South and can be reached by phone at 612-673-2961. If the report is available, you can complete an accident request form and submit the request online. There’s no fee for individual accident reports.

If you think that you received incompetent care from your doctor, you may want to contact the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice about your concerns. The Board will send you complaint forms if they feel that this is appropriate. You can start a formal review of the doctor’s conduct by completing the forms, getting your signature notarized, and sending the forms to the Board. Meanwhile, if you suspect substandard care at a nursing home, you can call the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 844-880-1574.

In the aftermath of a violent crime, you may want to contact the victim specialists provided by the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office also has a Victim Services Division. In addition, the Minnesota Alliance on Crime consists of programs that provide a wide range of services and resources to victims. You might also consider applying for reimbursement for losses caused by the crime from the Minnesota Crime Victims Reimbursement Program.

When you’ve experienced an accident on the job, you can explore the resources provided by the Workers’ Compensation Division of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. This provides information to injured workers about topics such as the benefits available, the process of filing a claim, and workers’ compensation settlements.

1. How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer?

   You don’t need to worry about the cost of hiring a lawyer for your case. The contingency fee arrangement used in most of these cases means that the lawyer will collect their fee as a percentage of any money that they get for you. This is usually between 25 and 40 percent, with the percentage potentially varying depending on whether the case settles or goes to trial. You won’t need to pay anything if the lawyer doesn’t get compensation for you.

2. Who can file a wrongful death action in Minnesota?

   Only a trustee appointed by the court can file a wrongful death case. The surviving spouse of the victim (or one of their next of kin) must file a petition with the court for an appointment.

3. Are dog owners strictly liable for dog bites in Minnesota?

   Yes, there’s a statute that generally makes a dog owner liable when their dog attacks or injures someone who is acting peaceably in any place where the person is allowed to be. It’s worth noting that this extends strict liability beyond bites to other incidents causing injuries, such as when a dog knocks down a person. The statute doesn’t apply if the victim provoked the dog.

4. When can I sue another driver for non-economic damages?

   The Minnesota no-fault car insurance system allows you to sue for non-economic damages if you incur more than $4,000 in certain medical expenses, or if you suffered permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, or a disability for 60 days or more. The law defines a “disability” as an inability to engage in virtually all of your usual and customary daily activities.

5. Will I need to go to court for my personal injury case?

   It’s more likely than not that you won’t need to go to court to wrap up your case. The vast majority of these cases end in settlements rather than going all the way to trial. However, it’s always smart to prepare for trial in case you don’t get a fair settlement offer. Sometimes people end up getting much more from a jury than what the defendant or insurer proposed.