Minnesota Car Accident & Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Brown Law Firm : Minneapolis, St. Paul, Twin Cities MN

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a pedestrian was killed in East Bethel on Sunday night while crossing Highway 65. Anoka County law enforcement indicates that the car accident occurred at about 8:00 PM. No further details have been offered, and an investagation at the scene continues.

Two other deaths occured this last weekend as the result of auto accidents, one in Mille Lacs County and the other in Olmstead County. Minnesota has now sustained over 200 deaths on its roadways since the first of the year.

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Insurance adjusters are the representatives who are employed by an insurance company to process automobile collision claims like yours. Some adjusters focus solely on property damage and the valuation of automobiles, while others work primarily on the injury and medical aspects of a claim.

As you might expect, adjusters’ personalities differ from one to the next. Some are very cordial and easy to work with, while others take a very antagonistic and conservative approach to compensating injury victims. Keeping in mind that it is the insurance company’s job to collect as many premiums as possible while paying out as little as viable, the adjuster’s role is that of a gatekeeper.

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Even if you are completely at fault for an accident, you are entitled to the no-fault benefits that exist under your automobile insurance policy. You should contact your insurance company and discuss the circumstances of the accident with them openly and honestly.

If you cause an accident that results in injuries to another, the injured party, or their attorney, will notify your insurance company. It is up to your insurance company to assess the value of the injured person’s losses and determine whether or not they will settle the claim for a reasonable sum, or require the injured person to file suit. 

Once the injured party files suit, your insurance company is obligated to provide you with a legal defense. The insurance company must also pay for any settlement or jury award, up to the amount of liability coverage that you have under your policy.

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In an attempt to avoid clogging the courts with relatively minor lawsuits, the legislature requires one of four “thresholds” be met in order to bring a claim for personal injuries against an at-fault driver. The thought is that no-fault benefits should be sufficient to compensate those who have not met one of the following criteria: 

• $4000.00 in medical expenses, exclusive of diagnostic scans and x-rays; or
• An injury that is permanent; or
• A disability lasting 60 days or more; or
• Death.

Unless one of these thresholds is met, a lawyer may not bring a claim for injury against the other driver on your behalf. Often, this issue will remain in controversy throughout your claim process. Good car accient lawyers understand that at the time of your initial call, one of these thresholds has probably not been met.

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Comparative fault is a legal term that compares the responsibility of one person against another. If an injury victim is 10% at fault for their injury, then their “comparative fault” is 10% while the other driver’s “comparative fault” is 90%. In Minnesota, a person who is found to be partially responsible for an accident may still make a recovery against another driver, so long as their fault does not exceed the fault of the other driver.

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Negligence is the legal doctrine most often invoked following an auto accident, and is rooted in unintentional conduct. Those who cause auto accidents usually don’t so intentionally, but are held accountable for their inattention. Legally speaking, negligence is characterized by a person’s failure to exercise the degree of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised in the same circumstances. Essentially, negligence is equated with carelessness.

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Personal injury protection (PIP or “no-fault”) benefits are provided in every motor vehicle insurance policy issued in Minnesota. They are the first place to turn for compensation for medical bills and lost wages.

PIP benefits are called no-fault benefits because they are granted to every motorist involved in a collision, regardless of who is at fault. Even someone 100% at fault for rear-ending another driver is entitled to recoup PIP benefits. 

Your insurance company is obligated to provide you, and any other “insured” under the policy, with at least $20,000 in reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to the accident, and another $20,000 in wage loss (up to $250 per week) and replacement service benefits (up to $200 per week). There are a few other categories of benefits that a motorist involved in a collision is entitled to, but these are the most common. 

The minimum coverages required by law are for each individual vehicle occupant. In other words, each motorist (driver and passengers) is entitled to a separate 20/20 in coverage.

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The simple answer is insurance. The State of Minnesota requires all motor vehicle owners to insure their vehicle. Most drivers follow this rule, the purpose of which is to spread the risks associated with motoring across a large number of people. Insurance is purchased to protect those who have both caused and been harmed in an auto accident from financial distress. It’s there for times like these. 

If you are not at fault for an accident, you will likely receive compensation from both your own insurance company, as well as the other driver’s company in the form of personal injury protection benefits, liability, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. All of which are discussed elsewhere in our auto accident blog.

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Generally, there are two forms of compensation that follow an injury – “special” damages and “general” damages. 

Special damages arise when actual economic loss is incurred as the result of an injury. This includes things like lost wages, medical expenses, payments made for replacement services, and other tangibles. For example, you may regularly miss an hour of work to treat with a physical therapist, incur the cost of prescriptions or co-payments, or need someone else to shovel your sidewalk. You have the right to compensation for all of your out of pocket expenses following the accident. 

General damages compensate victims of an injury for non-economic damages loss. General damages are awarded for pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. Those who have been severely injured have lost something, and law provides for reasonable compensation for those things that cannot necessarily be measured, but are very real to the injury survivor.

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