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Each year, car crashes injure or kill millions of Americans. Premises liability matters, such as slip-and-fall injuries, swimming pool drownings, and dog bites, kill or injure thousands of people as well. All these victims are entitled to compensation for their damages. All these victims should consider partnering with a Minnesota Personal Injury Attorney in order to try and secure the compensation they deserve.
In court, victim/plaintiffs typically establish legal responsibility, or liability, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). Assume that there are two equally-full glasses of water side by side on a table. If someone adds a drop of water to the glass on the left, it contains more liquid than the glass on the right. That’s a good picture of a preponderance of the evidence.
Most car crash claims in Minnesota involve negligence, which is essentially a lack of ordinary care. There are five elements in a negligence case:
All Minnesota victims are entitled to damages for their economic losses, such as medical bills and property damage. Victims who sustain serious injuries, as the law defines that term, are entitled to additional compensation for their loss of enjoyment in life, pain and suffering, loss of consortium (companionship), emotional distress, and other noneconomic damages.
Premises liability cases, such as dog bites, work a little differently. Victim/plaintiffs in these cases must usually establish that the tortfeasor knew about the dangerous property situation.
Negligence per se works a little differently as well. Tortfeasors are responsible for damages as a matter of law if:
In some cases, negligence per se is only a presumption, and not absolute proof, of liability.
An alarming number of drivers in Minnesota are either uninsured or underinsured. In catastrophic injury cases, if the tortfeasor has limited or no insurance, victims sometimes have a difficult time obtaining fair compensation for their injuries. Vicarious liability gives these victims an added source of recovery. Some common theories include:
Minnesota is a modified joint and several liability state. Therefore, in most cases, the judge apportions damages among multiple responsible parties based on their percentage of fault.
Almost all negligence cases begin with a demand letter. After ascertaining the case’s settlement value, a Minnesota Personal Injury Attorney sends a letter demanding an amount of money to the insurance company. Settlement value depends on a variety of factors, including the strength of the plaintiff’s evidence, the likely composition of the Buffalo jury, and any insurance company defenses.
If the two sides cannot reach a settlement agreement at this point, the victim/plaintiff usually files a legal claim for damages. In most cases, such a claim must be filed within two years of the Minnesota car crash or other negligent episode.
After the parties conduct discovery and the judge decides pretrial motions, the case usually goes to mediation. There, a neutral third party tries to facilitate a settlement between the victim and insurance company. If mediation fails and there is no such settlement, the case proceeds to a trial before a judge or a jury.
Every negligence case is different, but most follow a common outline. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Minnesota, contact Carlson & Jones, P.A.
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215 East Highway 55, Suite 201
Buffalo, MN 55313
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Phone: (612) 800-8057
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Brainerd, MN 56401
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Phone: (218) 736-9429
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Hutchinson, MN 55350
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Phone: (320) 289-4761
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Minnetonka, MN 55305
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Phone: (952) 260-9640
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