If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Minneapolis, your first concern is about safety. After the accident though, you may need legal help in being compensated for your damages.
We’ve compiled a list of the best Minneapolis car accident lawyers to help you get started. Talking to a lawyer can help you understand your options, take control of your future and steer back onto the road to recovery.
Best Car Accident Lawyers in Minneapolis, MN
Compare Top Car Accident Attorneys
Filing a Minnesota Car Accident Lawsuit
If you have been injured in an accident, you should contact one of the best Minneapolis, MN car accident lawyers. An experienced attorney can help you understand your immediate options for obtaining essential medical treatment and evaluate the best ways to pursue insurance coverage and potential legal action to recover the compensation you deserve.
Minnesota Statute of Limitations
The amount of time you have to file a lawsuit to recover damages for your injuries is called the statute of limitations. In Minnesota, the type of personal injury claim determines how long this period is.
- A six-year statute of limitations applies to most negligence claims, including most vehicle accident claims, premises liability and animal attack cases.
- A three-year statute of limitations applies to all wrongful death actions, except those for murder (which have no time limits).
- A two-year statute of limitations applies to claims involving intentional misconduct, including assault, battery, defamation or false imprisonment and Dram Shop Act violations (e.g., suing a bar that overserved a drunk driver).
In most cases, the statute of limitations begins to run when the event that caused your injuries occurs. However, there are a few exceptions. Many special notification requirements and time limits apply in certain circumstances, such as suits against police departments, municipalities or other government entities.
If you don’t file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, you can lose the right to recover compensation for your injuries. Therefore, it’s best to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident.
Promptly involving a lawyer also allows them to begin investigating your case before witnesses’ memories fade and evidence is lost or destroyed. The best personal car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN, will help you comply with deadlines and procedural requirements, investigate the evidence and build a strong case so you can focus your recovery.
The best Minneapolis, MN, car accident lawyers can also help connect you with excellent resources and treatment options. In their years of experience helping accident victims and their families, they establish strong relationships with medical providers, rehabilitation facilities and occupational therapists. Making these connections can help improve your recovery significantly.
Minnesota Auto Accident and Insurance Laws for Car Drivers
- In Minnesota, all drivers must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage for immediate medical care and at least partial wage-loss reimbursement. In 2023, the minimum coverage is $20,000 for medical care and $20,000 for wage loss per covered person. Your policy covers you and any relative living in who does not have a policy of their own, along with any driver using your car with your permission who is not covered by another policy.
- Drivers must also carry liability insurance, which covers claims made by another driver for injuries and property damage, and uninsured/underinsured coverage for damages that exceed your PIP limits.
Identifying Fault for a Car Crash
Minnesota is a no-fault state. After a car accident, you must file any damage claims as follows:
- First, file a claim under your own personal injury protection coverage to get compensation for your own medical bills and other damages, regardless of who caused the crash.
- If another driver is at fault, you can file a claim against their liability policy for damage to your vehicle and medical damages exceeding your PIP limits.
- If your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s liability coverage or they are uninsured, file a claim under your underinsured/uninsured benefits.
PIP coverage will reimburse you up to your policy limits for economic costs related to an accident (sometimes called special damages), including medical bills, wage loss and replacement services such as housekeeping. In the event of death, it covers $2,000 of funeral expenses. It will not compensate you for general damages like pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of opportunity.
You can only bring a lawsuit to recover economic (special) damages if they exceed the available coverage in a car accident. However, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against an at-fault driver or other responsible party for general damages if any of the following are true:
- You sustained at least $4,000 in reasonable medical expenses
- You suffered at least 60 days of disability
- You sustained a permanent injury or permanent disfigurement
Consulting with one of the best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN can help you understand your options and pursue claims for all of your damages.
How Can an Attorney Help You?
The best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN help manage your recovery from beginning to end. They help you navigate the no-fault system, contest wrongful denials of coverage, and pursue claims against all parties responsible for your injuries. They may be able to file defective product claims against a car manufacturer, premises liability claims against a property owner, Dram Shop claims against alcohol providers or other types of claims.
Although you don’t need a lawyer to file a lawsuit or pursue an insurance claim, Minnesota’s procedural rules and requirements are relatively complicated. Hiring one of the best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN ensures you comply with the rules and deadlines that apply to your case and explore all avenues for compensation. They have the skill and experience to negotiate a settlement that fairly compensates you for all of your damages or take your case to trial.
How to Find the Best Car Accident Lawyer in Minneapolis, MN
To find which of the best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN is right for you, contact a few different choices and narrow down the field. The following tips will help you determine whether a potential candidate is a good fit.
Ask for Referrals
Ask friends, coworkers, family members and other community members if they can recommend a great personal injury attorney. You could also reach out to car clubs and organizations such as AAA. Explore each attorney’s online reviews and profiles to learn more about their experience, client relationships and reputation.
Check Their Credentials
Before hiring an attorney, make sure they are licensed and active to practice in Minnesota. You can check with the bar association to see the date an attorney was first licensed to practice in the state, their license status, any disciplinary history and their contact information.
Target Their Experience
The right attorney will have experience with the type of accident you were involved in, the type of injuries you have suffered and the court that will decide your case. Liability can be especially complicated in multi-vehicle accidents, which may require you to file suit in a federal court (rather than a Minnesota state court).
Communicate Effectively
Choose a lawyer who communicates well with you. If it’s more comfortable or necessary for you to speak another language, ensure they (and their staff) are fluent. Ask whether they can provide updates via email, text or telephone or prefer to send more traditional status update letters. Discuss whether they have virtual meeting options that could make it easier for you to communicate regularly.
Discuss the Fees
The initial consultation with a personal injury attorney is usually free. If they are interested in taking your case, most of the best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN offer a contingency fee arrangement. In this type of agreement, the lawyer keeps a percentage of any settlement or award they recover rather than charging an hourly fee for their services. This percentage is usually between 33% and 40%. If they don’t recover compensation for you, you are not liable for their fees.
Discuss Strategy and Potential Outcomes
The vast majority—about 95%—of personal injury cases settle before they go before a judge or jury. However, many car accidents involve life-changing, catastrophic injuries and high damage claims. Insurance companies may not be willing to settle for an amount that fairly compensates you or your loved ones. If you’ve suffered significant injuries, ensure a potential lawyer has the experience and ability to take your case to trial if necessary.
Methodology
To come up with the Best Car Accident Lawyers in Minneapolis, MN, for 2024, Forbes Advisor considered many factors. Forbes Advisor’s mathematical module considers and weighs the information collected to calculate a specific rating and reviews these results to find the best attorneys in a given practice area.
Within the model, we consider factors that legal professionals and consumers value in an attorney’s qualifications. After assigning weighted scores to hundreds of data points, we narrowed the field down to our top choices based on:
- Legal experience
- Special licenses & certifications
- Ethics and bar disciplinary measures
- Legal thought leadership
- Education & employment background
- Scholarly lectures & writings
- Awards & Honors
Forbes Advisor collects public data from a variety of sources, including state bar associations, court records and other published sources on the internet. This information should not be considered comprehensive, however. It might not include additional relevant information on an attorney’s legal skills and experience.
Each lawyer listed here has their own merits. Remember that our list relates to these lawyers’ legal backgrounds but does not evaluate their personalities or knowledge of the law. One attorney may be more suitable than another for your specific legal situation.
One thing that can’t be quantified, though, is the rapport you establish with your attorney. Personality goes a long way when teaming up with an attorney, especially when facing a potentially tricky legal situation. These rankings should serve as a reference and potential starting point in your search for the right lawyer for you and your legal concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many car accidents happen a day in Minnesota?
The most recent data released by the Minnesota Department of Transportation reveals that in 2021, there were 63,751 traffic collisions on Minnesota roads. These resulted in 488 deaths and 24,083 reported injury victims. On average, this means that there were approximately 175 collisions per day.
Do you have to report a car accident in Minnesota?
The driver of any motor vehicle involved in a collision must immediately stop their vehicle at or near the scene of the collision and reasonably investigate. If you know or have reason to know the collision involves injury, death, damage to a vehicle driven or attended by another, damage to any unattended vehicle or damage to property, you must remain at the scene of the collision until you give the statutorily required information to the other parties involved. Within 10 days, you must submit an official Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Report to the state Department of Vehicle Services.
What is the average settlement for a car accident in Minnesota?
Settlements in Minnesota vehicle accident cases vary widely depending on each case’s facts, the quality of the evidence, the attorneys’ skill and many other factors. Many settlements are confidential, so it is impossible to know their value. As a result, it’s not possible to calculate the average car injury settlement in Minnesota. The best car accident lawyers in Minneapolis, MN, will evaluate the facts of your case, the nature of your injuries and the applicable law to estimate the potential value of your claim.