St. Paul Slip and Fall Lawyer | Millions Won for Clients

Q: How Do I Value My Minnesota Slip And Fall Claim?

Victims may win a variety of awards after a slip and fall accident. Plaintiffs can pursue compensation for medical bills, wage loss, and “non-economic damages,” including pain, embarrassment, disability, and emotional distress. Every case is different, and amounts range from thousands to millions of dollars depending on the circumstances of the accident. Other factors include the costs involved, the seriousness and permanence of the injury, your age, earning capacity, family status, whether you can return to work, and whether comparative fault comes into play.

Q: Does The Property Owner Have To Pay My Medical Bills And Wage Loss?

It is a common misconception that if someone is hurt on a property, the owner must automatically pay medical bills and wage loss. Compensation for these and any other damages relies on proving the owner’s negligence and its direct relation to your injuries. Medical bills, income loss, and other losses are paid in a lump sum at the end of a case or after a verdict at trial. Some property insurance policies have medical payments, or “med pay,” coverage that will immediately cover bills up to the limits of coverage, regardless of who is at fault. Without med pay coverage, health insurance covers medical bills even if someone else is ultimately determined to be at fault. Short-term disability benefits will also pay immediately after an injury, although health insurance and short-term policies may seek money back from your settlement.

Q: How Soon Should I File A Lawsuit After A Slip And Fall?

he statute of limitations in Minnesota for a personal injury claim is six years. In Wisconsin, the window is only three years after the date of the accident. It is critical that you speak with a slip and fall attorney well before the statute of limitations ends to ensure your lawyers have enough time to investigate and prepare your case. If you allow the deadline to pass in either state, you will lose your chance to sue. There are certain circumstances where the statute can be extended. Your St. Paul slip and fall lawyers can advise you whether any such conditions apply in your case.

Q: Should I Talk To Insurance Companies?

No, you should not. Insurance company lawyers focus on denying or minimizing payments. They will take a recorded statement from you soon after your fall, attempting to get something they can use against you. Your best action is to refer them to your lawyer and let us handle all discussions with them.

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to keep their properties safely maintained to protect others. They must repair hazards, such as uncleared ice and snow, slick surfaces, broken walkways, uneven paths, and unmarked spills. They must also notify visitors of any risks. Failing to do so can contribute to slip and fall accidents, and victims can suffer catastrophic consequences.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries in a fall, you can get guidance from the highly respected St. Paul, MN, slip and fall injury lawyers at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law. We have vast experience in settling and winning slip and fall trials. Our team will fight for your rights for a fair settlement and hold the negligent parties accountable.

How Our St. Paul Slip and Fall Injury Attorneys Work to Help You

When you are injured on someone else’s property due to their negligence, it may seem simple to file an insurance claim against them. However, Minnesota laws are complicated, and property owners and their insurance companies know how to use them against you. They will try to deny or minimize compensation or even put the blame for the accident on you.

When they have high-powered lawyers working against you, you are left trying to fight this battle on your own. Fortunately, you can put your trust in a St. Paul slip and fall lawyer from Tyroler Leonard Injury Law. Our legal team will begin working for you during your initial consultation. We will:

Meet with you to hear how the accident happened, its effects on your life, what parties may have been at fault, and the costs and suffering you have endured. We evaluate your case and estimate its worth.
Investigate the circumstances to determine who was negligent and show why you were not at fault. We will gather evidence, such as surveillance videos, photographs, police and medical reports, and interviews with witnesses.
Deal with insurance companies. Our lawyers will aggressively negotiate for a fair settlement, pushing back against lowball offers.
Hire expert witnesses to testify on your behalf as to fault, the effects of the accident on your life and family, and the costs and treatments you may face in the future.
Build your case and take it to court if an agreement with insurance cannot be reached.

At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we take the burden off you by filing all documents and dealing with all legal matters so you can focus on your recovery. Our attorneys are experienced and compassionate with clients who have been through the trauma of a slip and fall accident.

Our Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers in St. Paul Can Determine if You Have a Case

A successful slip and fall case depends on proving the negligence of a property owner or manager is the direct cause of your accident. This is more complicated than whether you fell in their store or premises. Your St. Paul slip and fall attorney must present compelling evidence that the property owner was aware of and failed to correct the hazard.

You can pursue a claim against any person, business, insurance company, government entity (or combination of these) who bears liability for your injuries. To prove negligence, your attorney will have to demonstrate the following elements:

Duty: The defendant owed you a legal “duty of care” to ensure that an environment or location was safe by removing, repairing, or warning you about any hazards.
Breach: The defendant breached this duty by doing, or failing to do, something that a reasonable person would have done in a similar situation. The defendant had time and opportunity to remedy the condition or warn about the problem but failed to do so.
Causation: The defendant’s actions or inaction were a direct cause of your injuries.
Damages: You suffered damages as a result.

Determining liability in a slip and fall case can be challenging. The property owner might be liable if the owner or the owner’s employees caused the danger or were aware but failed to fix or warn of it. They can also be liable if they should have known about the danger because a reasonable person would have known about it and repaired it.

Modified Comparative Negligence Rule in Minnesota

If the injured person was extremely careless or disregarded warning signs, they may be found partially liable, reducing their award. Minnesota is a “comparative fault” or comparative negligence state, allowing both plaintiff and defendants to share blame for an accident. For example, if a case is worth $50,000, but the injured person is 50% at fault for the fall, they will recover $25,000. If you are over 50% responsible, you will have no claim.

Insurance companies will often argue that the danger was known or obvious, so they do not owe anything. They will try very hard to push the blame onto you so they can minimize or deny your claim. The slip and fall attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law will fight back to secure the settlement you deserve.

Damage Awards Our Slip and Fall Injury Lawyers May Help You Recover

Our slip and fall injury lawyers may be able to win the compensation that covers both your economic or monetary losses and your non-economic damages that do not have a specific dollar value.

Monetary damages include:

Medical and rehabilitation bills and future medical services
Loss of income from being unable to work and lost future earning capacity
Any property damage from the accident.

Non-monetary damages include:

Pain and suffering
Emotional trauma
Loss of companionship and consortium.

In some rare instances, punitive damages are awarded by a court when there is evidence of gross negligence by a defendant who knowingly or recklessly placed persons in danger. These are designed to punish a defendant and prevent any other would-be wrongdoers from being similarly negligent.

Our St. Paul slip and fall attorneys will seek to identify all potentially liable parties who may have contributed to your accident. We will investigate any assets and insurance they may have which could go toward a settlement. We will fight to recover all your monetary and non-monetary damages.

FAQs about Slip and Fall Accident Cases in St. Paul

Clients often have similar questions about a slip and fall injury lawsuit about timing, definitions, dollar amounts, and costs. Here are answers to questions our St. Paul slip and fall accident attorneys are frequently asked:

How Do I Value My Minnesota Slip and Fall Claim?

Does the Property Owner Have to Pay My Medical Bills and Wage Loss?

How Soon Should I File a Lawsuit After a Slip and Fall?

Should I Talk to Insurance Companies?

How Long Does a Slip and Fall Lawsuit Take?

If you have additional questions, please contact our attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law at 651-259-1113.

Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help When an Accident Results in Death

When someone dies after a slip and fall accident, our attorneys can file a wrongful death claim. According to Minnesota statute, if a death was caused by the wrongful act or omission of any person or corporation, the surviving spouse or one of the next of kin can file a written petition with the court. A trustee will then be appointed who can bring an action for an injury caused by the wrongful act or omission.

When a wrongful death occurs, our compassionate attorneys are here to help the next of kin bring a claim against the parties who caused the death. Damages are paid to the surviving spouse and next of kin in proportion to the losses caused by the death. While money cannot replace a loved one, it can provide comfort and resources for your family’s future needs. It also punishes a negligent property owner to prevent similar accidents in the future.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

Insurance companies often refuse to acknowledge that the property owner is at fault even when they failed to properly maintain their property. They will blame the person who fell, even when the property owner knew of the dangerous condition, and the injured victim did not.

You and your lawyer must get as much information as possible by:

Seeking medical treatment: Get first aid at the scene and follow up with your doctor.
Reporting the fall: File an accident report with the property owner and contact your insurance company.
Getting photos: If possible, take or have someone take pictures of your injuries, the accident scene, and any other relevant items. Capture the scene as it was when you were hurt before anything is cleaned up or repaired.
Speaking with witnesses: Get the contact information of anyone who was nearby when the accident happened. Our attorneys can speak with them and ask them to testify on your behalf.
Checking for video: Security, surveillance, and bystander cameras can record what happened and support your claim of negligence against the property owner.
Sending a preservation letter: Notifying the owner to preserve evidence can keep it from mysteriously disappearing or being purposely destroyed.

These actions can be done more easily with the help of a dedicated team of slip and fall injury lawyers. We interview witnesses and hire experts to testify about the circumstances of the accident scene and your injuries. We pull together a compelling narrative to show how you have been wronged and why you deserve full compensation for your losses.

Injured? Call a St. Paul Slip and Fall Injury Attorney for Help

When you need the services of top-tier St. Paul slip and fall injury lawyers, Tyroler Leonard Injury Law is here for you. We spend as much time as you need to help you understand what happens after you hire us.

We believe in developing a collaborative relationship to work together to achieve the best results. Our clients speak highly of our results and recommend us to their family and friends, which is the ultimate sign of trust for our team.

We handle all legal requirements and negotiations to take the burden off you so you can focus on your recovery. You deserve to have the compassionate, experienced representation our firm provides. If you have questions about a slip and fall in St. Paul, use our online form or call us at 651-259-1113.

Attorney Rachel Sperling Leonard

A partner of Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, Ms. Sperling Leonard practices exclusively in personal injury and wrongful death claims. Specifically, she specializes in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, boating accidents, dog bites, dog attacks, slip and falls, trip and falls, sexual assaults/abuse and other assaults. Some representative cases of Ms. Sperling Leonard’s in the last few years include: a $1 million settlement for an individual injured in a car crash, a $750,000.00 for a man injured when he slipped and fell, a $455,000.00 settlement for an individual injured after falling, and multiple $250,000.00 settlements for individuals injured in motorcycle and auto accidents, among many others. She frequently turns insurance company denials into fair-value offers.
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