Brandenburger Law firm will help you investigate and pursue potential claims available to you when injured as a result of a severe automobile incident. Contact us to make sure your claims are properly established and pursued in a strategic manner. Although every situation is unique and your claims depend on the circumstances, below are overviews of typical personal injury claims caused by automobile incidents.
Liability Claims
Liability claims are third-party claims against the at-fault party or at-fault parties. It is important to investigate thoroughly, gather witness statements and evidence, preserve evidence, and ensure matters are organized and addressed in detail early on. Disputes often arise about liability or apportioning percentages of liability between parties. It is critical to properly present and establish your damages, including past and future medical, wage loss, pain and suffering, and other damages to ensure you are treated fairly within the system.
Brandenburger Law Firm has substantial experience handling liability claims and achieving favorable outcomes for their clients. Whether it’s a dispute over causation, damages, coordination with other parties who involved, or dealing with a contemporaneous workers’ compensation claim, Mark will guide you through resolution.
No-Fault Claims
Minn. Statute § 65B.44 governs no-fault benefits in the state of Minnesota. The law requires a minimum of $20,000.00 in medical coverage and $20,000.00 in economic loss (most commonly wage loss). Other payable benefits include medical mileage and homestead replacement services.
No-Fault benefits are generally first party coverage, meaning the typical priority is your no-fault benefits are paid through your own insurance policy (where you are “insured”), whether you are in your vehicle, a friend’s vehicle, a relative’s vehicle, or harmed as a pedestrian by a vehicle. If you are not an insured on a policy, you typically go to a relative’s policy who you live with as second priority, and through the vehicle you were occupying at the time of the crash as the third priority. There are different rules or priority for pedestrians, business furnished vehicles, vehicles used in the business of transportation, etc.
It is not uncommon for insurance companies to deny or terminate no-fault benefits based on a statutory “independent medical examination,” where you are examined by a doctor chosen and paid by the insurance company. If this occurs, Mark will help you seek recourse by filing for a Minnesota no-fault arbitration, the protocol designed for such disputes by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Mark also serves as a no-fault arbitrator, issuing decisions on cases presented before him.
Uninsured Claims
Persons who are harmed by at-fault drivers who do not have insurance, or are harmed by hit-and-run drivers, have first-party coverage through their own insurance to cover their damages. Your insurance company essentially substitutes into the position of the liability insurance that was required by law to have been in force. These cases can present unique challenges of proof and establishing your claim early on. Mark can help you investigate the facts in these cases and pursue the appropriate course of action to help recover your damages.
Underinsured Claims
In the event the liability coverage of the at-fault driver is insufficient to compensate the injured party’s damages, there is first party coverage on the injured party’s policy to cover the excess damages. One example of this is where the other driver’s insurance carries the minimum liability coverage ($30,000.00) which does not properly address the damages. Another example is where the liability coverage is $100,000.00 or $250,000.00, but the catastrophically injured party’s damages amount to hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Medical bills alone can often exceed the liability policy limits. Mark has experience resolving many underinsured cases for severely and catastrophically injured clients whose damages exceed the underlying liability limits.