No one is immune from the risk of carelessness or negligence in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka. Personal injury accidents can happen anywhere without warning, from public roads and parking lots to shopping centers and private properties.
With the potential for long-term physical, emotional, and financial consequences, trusting Minnetonka personal injury lawyers from Fields Injury Law ensures fair compensation for accident victims.
Our personal injury law firm understands how no-fault insurance claims work in Minnesota, and we can help you navigate through the complexities of the legal process.
Through comprehensive legal guidance, aggressive advocacy, and personalized attention, Fields Injury Law stands ready to help personal injury victims recover compensation that covers all injury-related needs.
Minnesota Personal Injury Law: What You Need To Know
Do I Have a Personal Injury Claim in Minnetonka, MN?
Minnesota personal injury statutes make determining the legitimacy of your claim challenging.
To prove your case, injured victims or a personal injury attorney must:
- demonstrate that the other party's negligence caused your injuries
- show proof of damages, such as medical bills and lost wages
- file within the statute of limitations
Even without insurance companies minimizing claims and reducing payouts, the physical and emotional injuries sustained make it challenging to prove your case without a personal injury attorney in Minnetonka.
What Causes Personal Injury Accidents?
Whether or not you understand if your Minnetonka accident falls under the category of personal injury, understanding the common types of cases can help you determine if you may have a claim:
- Car accidents: Caused by driver negligence, such as speeding, distracted/aggressive road behavior, or drunk driving.
- Slip and fall accidents: Occur when property owners fail to maintain safe conditions on their premises, resulting in injuries for visitors or guests.
- Workplace: On-the-job injuries are often due to unsafe working conditions or lack of proper safety protocols.
- Dogs: Dog bites or scratches from aggressive or unprovoked behavior. The owner may be liable for damages.
- Medical malpractice: A healthcare professional fails to provide adequate care, resulting in further harm or injury to the patient.
- Wrongful death: When the negligence or misconduct of another party causes a person's death.
These common personal injury cases damage property, finances, and livelihoods.
They also cause long-term physical and emotional harm to the victim and their families, especially in wrongful death and medical malpractice cases.
If you or a loved one has suffered due to another party's negligence, seek medical attention and contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Common Personal Injury Terms and Definitions
Legal documents and correspondence from insurance companies use complicated terms related to personal injury cases. This terminology makes it even more confusing and overwhelming for the injured victims to seek justice.
To help you better understand the legal process, here are some typical personal injury law terms and their definitions:
- Negligence: Failure to exercise reasonable care or caution that results in harm or injury to another person.
- Damages: Monetary compensation awarded for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Statute of limitations: This refers to the time limit within which a lawsuit must be filed after an accident or injury occurs.
- Duty of care: The legal obligation of a person or entity to act with reasonable care and caution towards others to prevent harm or injury.
- Breach of duty: When a person or entity fails to meet their legal obligation of duty of care towards others, resulting in harm or injury.
- Causation: The link between the breach of duty and the resulting harm or injury. Actual cause refers to the direct link between the action and the injury, while proximate cause refers to a logical connection between the action and the injury.
- Settlement: An agreement reached between parties in a personal injury case that resolves their dispute without going to trial.
Knowing these terms may not make you capable of handling a personal injury case alone. However, it may help you build the confidence to contact experienced personal injury attorneys from Fields Injury Law. For a free consultation to learn what your case means, call (612) 206-3495.
What Can I Claim in a Personal Injury Case?
Medical Expenses
Depending on the type of accident, medical expenses from physical injuries can include:
- cuts
- bruises
- sprains
- broken bones
- concussions
- soft tissue damage
- burns
- spinal cord or brain injuries
- amputations
- disfigurement
- permanent disabilities
Many of these physical injuries require more than acute medical treatment, resulting in long-term care, therapy, and ongoing medical expenses. A personal injury lawyer seeks to compensate for these costs, lost income, and future earning potential due to these injuries.
Emotional and Psychological Trauma
Emotional trauma presents its own set of challenges for accident victims. An injured person may experience the following:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Fear and phobias related to the accident or injuries
Emotional injuries have a long-lasting impact on the victim's daily life, relationships, and overall well-being. Compensation is essential to help victims cope with these challenges through therapy, counseling, and other forms of treatment.
Non-Economic Damages
Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium are considered non-economic damages in personal injury claims. These damages are not easily quantifiable but can significantly impact the damages awarded.
To qualify for non-economic damages, the victim's injuries must:
- Be a direct result of the accident or injury
- Result in substantial disruption to daily life and relationships
- Cause physical, emotional, or financial strain on the victim and their loved ones
An experienced personal injury attorney understands the various damages covered by personal injury claims and can effectively advocate for fair compensation on behalf of clients.
No-Fault and Comparative Negligence: How Do I File A Personal Injury Claim
Minnesota applies two legal practices for personal injury claims: no-fault and comparative negligence. Understanding your claim's category in the legal system is crucial in determining the best legal options.
No-fault practices are reserved for auto accidents in Minnesota. This means that, regardless of who is responsible for the accident, each party's insurance will cover their damages.
However, if your medical expenses and lost wages exceed a certain threshold or your injuries are deemed severe, you may be able to file a claim against the at-fault driver.
All drivers in Minnesota must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, which covers medical expenses and lost wages. Sometimes, this may not be enough to cover all the damages from an accident.
When this happens, seeking legal representation from a Minnetonka personal injury lawyer can help you pursue additional compensation.
Comparative negligence is applied to other personal injury claims in Minnesota, meaning that damages and compensation are determined based on the percentage of fault each party holds. If you are found to be partially at fault for your injuries, your compensation may be reduced by that percentage.
A personal injury attorney from Fields Injury Law can help you navigate the complexities of Minnesota's no-fault and comparative negligence laws to help you seek maximum compensation for your injuries.
How Much Is My Minnesota Personal Injury Claim Worth in Minnetonka, MN?
Insurance companies will often try to minimize your damages and offer low settlements when the actual value should depend on a complete evaluation of the following:
- Injury severity
- The extent of property damage
- Lost income and future earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Level of negligence
To get a better idea of what this means for your specific case, consider average
total costs from the short and long-term effects of an accident:
- Pedestrian hit by a car: $10,000 to $3 million in medical expenses
- Rear-end collision: $15,000 to over $300,000+ in damages
- Workplace slip and fall: $30,000 to 150,000+ for medical bills and lost wages
- Disfigurement from dog bites: $6,000 to $25,000+ in medical expenses
- Medication Errors: $20,000 to $200,000+ due to medical expenses and lost wages
- Spinal cord damage from bicycle accident: $75,000 to $2+ million in expenses over a lifetime
- Traumatic Brain Injury: $250,000 to 3+ million in lifetime medical bills
- Rehabilitative therapy after breaking hip in slip and fall: $6,000 to $175,000+ over a lifetime
- Psychological treatment after a traumatic personal injury: $2,000 to $150,000+ over a lifetime
- Soft tissue damage from unsafe work environment: $2,000 to $50,000+ in medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering
- Dislocated shoulder from car crash: $4,000 to $30,000+ medical bills and decreased earning potential
- Loss of limbs from workplace, highway, car, or boating accident: $45,000 to $2+ million in expenses over a lifetime
These personal injury expenses don't include non-economic and punitive damages for pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Minnesota has no caps on these types of damages.
An experienced personal injury attorney from Fields Injury Law can best assess your right to pain and suffering compensation.
Our Practice Areas
The experienced personal injury attorneys at Fields Injury Law can provide compassionate, comprehensive legal assistance in the following practice areas:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Workplace Accidents
- Dog Bites
- Medical Malpractice
- Wrongful Death
- Construction Site Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Distracted Driving Accidents
Are your injuries a result of someone else's negligence or carelessness? Find out how we can help you seek justice and fair compensation. Schedule a free consultation with a Minnetonka personal injury lawyer today.
Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer From Fields Injury Law
If you or a loved one has been injured due to someone else's negligence, an experienced accident attorney at Fields Injury Law can help.
Our dedicated team of legal professionals understands the physical, emotional, and financial toll personal injury cases have on victims and their families. We are committed to providing compassionate, comprehensive legal support to help our clients live their best life after a serious injury.
Contact a Minnetonka personal injury lawyer at Fields Injury Law online or at (612) 206-3495 for a free consultation of your case in English or Spanish.
