In 2019, there were 80,636 car accidents in Minnesota, which left 364 people dead and 27,260 people injured. This number has risen in the last year, and St. Paul is no exception to this.
These statistics make it clear that you are likely to be involved in a car accident at some point in your life if you are a resident of St.Paul, Minnesota. When that happens, there are a couple things to keep in mind before contacting a St Paul car accident attorney.
Procedure Before You Get An Auto Injury Attorney St Paul
Minnesota requires a report of an accident only if:
- someone dies
- there is more than $1000 worth of damage
- someone is injured
There is an official car accident report to fill out in these cases, which your insurance company will want to see within a couple of weeks of the incident. Anyone starting a lawsuit for a car accident needs to make this report and make a claim to their insurance company immediately for the paperwork.
Since you can bring suit later for medical expenses that might not be immediately apparent, get the name of everyone involved and fill out the form even if you don’t have to file a report.
Considerations
Minnesota is a no-fault state. Most of the time, you have to apply to your own personal injury insurance company for any financial compensation, whether to fix your car or for medical bills.
When Do You Get A St Paul Car Accident Lawyer?
The no-fault rules for compensation make it seem difficult to bring suit over a car accident.
There are, however, times when you can lay your charges on the at-fault driver. If you run up more than $4,000 worth of reasonable medical expenses or 60 days of disability, you can bring suit against the other people involved to get your money back. You have to bring your suit within 6 months of the accident to do this.
There are also other time limits. If you want to sue over an injury, you have two years to bring it to court. If you want to sue over a death, you have three years. The time limit starts to run out the moment the accident happens, so you want to move fast.
There are also no lower limits on how much you can sue someone over damage to your car. There are also other ways to suffer from car accident, such as losing future wages because of a permanent disability or having to hire someone to care for you in the home.
These time limits mean that if you want to get back money from this and you live in St Paul, you should contact a St Paul car accident lawyer as soon as possible to make sure you have a case.
Why Get A St Paul Car Accident Lawyer
When you are in a car accident, you can be on the hook for:
- Emotional distress
- Lost future wages
- Disfigurement
- Funeral expenses
- Home care expenses and doctor visits
- Assistance devices such as wheelchairs and ramps
- Diminished spousal and familial support
- Pain and suffering
A lawyer from the St. Paul area that specializes in car accidents can help you identify exactly what this accident cost you and how much the insurance company won’t cover.
They will also be able to identify the percentage of the damages that you are due. Minnesota has a ‘comparative negligence’ law. This means that a jury can parcel out blame for a car accident, and they can reduce your reward if they find you partially at-fault for an accident. The reward will be reduced to nothing if the jury thinks that you are more than 50% for the accident.
This means that you need an St Paul Car Accident Lawyer who has expertise in dealing with the city and in state law. If you are looking for someone who has these areas of expertise, contact Swor & Gatto. We offer a free initial consultation and will do our utmost to defend our clients from comparative negligence claims and accusations of exaggerating their injuries.