Does Minnesota Workers Compensation Provide For Pain and Suffering?

If you have sustained a serious injury while working for a Minnesota employer you may be entitled to what is called Permanent Partial Disability / PPD.  Often those who undergo surgery, lose a limb, or suffer another form of traumatic injury will likely be provided with a whole body permanency rating.  The rating are typically rated after the injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement / MMI (point at which no significant lasting medical improvement will occur).

In trying to understand PPD, you must accept that Minnesota's workers compensation is not fair.  The best you can hope for is a reasonable outcome and with the assistance of an attorney you can maximize your benefits.  Minnesota is on the low end as it pertains to payment of monetary damages for PPD in comparison to other states.  Pro Publica recently conducted a study that demonstrates that the national average for a lost leg is $150,000 and as high as $850,000 in states like Nevada.  However in Minnesota we only provide $48,000 in compensation for a lost leg.  Yes you read that right, if your leg is amputated you are limited to approximately $48,000 depending on how much you lost.  Granted you are also entitled to various wage loss benefits, vocational and retraining assistance and medical benefits which could result in an exceptional larger settlement of your claim, the PPD component is draconian at best.

If you have sustained a Minnesota workers compensation injury, the expert attorneys of Atkinson Law Office have over 50 years of combined experience in handling injury claims like yours.  Attorneys Thomas Atkinson, Kerry Atkinson and Dana Gerber are award winning attorneys dedicated to you.  They are all former insurance company attorneys waiting to share you the secrets that insurance companies don't want you to know.  Contact us today 24/7 at 651-333-3636

I Can't Afford A Minnesota Workers Compensation Attorney. Really?

I get about a dozen phone calls each week from workers who have been injured at work and want a free consultation.  In most cases, I simply provide free advice and explain some questions regarding their case and leave them my cell phone number should they have any future concerns.  Occasionally, however, there are some who should have contacted me months or even years ago. 

Don't assume that the internet, work comp blogs, your family and friends or your old personal injury attorney has the CORRECT answers to your questions.  Minnesota Workers Compensation is a very specialized area of the law.  A personal injury attorney who handles a few cases every year is in no way an expert.  Your family or friends workers compensation case may be very, very different than yours based upon the facts of their case.  You may be entitled to far more benefits then they received.

Experience also matters in finding an attorney.  The internet is the great equalizer.  Some firms like Fields Law Firm advertise that they are the biggest law firm in Minnesota and yet I have never seen the firms namesake, Steve Fields, at the Office of Administrative Hearings where I have been to thousands of times over the past 21 years.  Other attorneys claim they are the most respected workers compensation attorneys in our state and yet rarely handle workers compensation matters. 

I want you to call the lawyer whom the firm is named after and ask him or her how many cases they have PERSONALLY gone to hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings AND appearances before the Workers Compensation Court of Appeals in 2014.  The answers may shock you.  At Atkinson Law Office, both Kerry and Tom Atkinson have taken cases to hearing every month in 2014.  We have also appeared before the Minnesota Workers Compensation Court of Appeals as well.  Every week I personally make multiple appearance at the Office of Administrative Hearings for settlement conferences, discontinuance conferences, medical dispute conferences, vocational rehabilitation conferences, meditations, and/or hearings. EVERY week!

Finally, there is NEVER a fee to contact an attorney and discuss your workers compensation case.  Atkinson Law Office will not require you to pay a retainer fee or send us payment at ANYTIME during your case.  We get paid directly by the insurance companies when benefits are disputed.  Can you afford NOT to contact an experienced law firm and attorney like Thomas Atkinson.  Visit us today for a free consultation.  www.mndisability.com or call 651-333-3636, 24 hours/day, 365 days/year.