Personal Injury
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Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyers
Advocating for Minnesota Personal Injury Clients Since 1986
Goldenberg Lauricella Senior Partner Stuart Goldenberg founded his first firm in 1986 as a traditional personal injury law firm. For over 38 years, we have been helping Minnesotans injured by bad drivers, defective products, and negligent healthcare providers obtain compensation for their injuries. It is the heart of who we are as firm.
We understand that suffering an injury is about more than just physical pain. There are debilitating medical bills to pay. Loss of wages and future earning capacity. Stress on marriages and relationships. Mental anguish over loss of function and mobility. The list goes on. Our number one goal when we take a personal injury case is to do everything we can to relieve these burdens. We want you to focus on getting the treatment you need to recover from your injuries. Let us worry about dealing with insurance companies, product manufacturers, and other lawyers. You can trust that your team at Goldenberg Lauricella is doing everything we can to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Our motto is “Leave The Sleepless Nights To Us,” and we mean it.
Contact us today for a free Minnesota personal injury lawsuit consultation at 1-800-903-1643.
Ask our Minneapolis Personal Injury Attorneys: do I Have A Case?
The most common question we hear from potential new clients is “Do I Have A Case?” Until we have all the facts of what caused your injury, we cannot give a definitive answer of whether you have a case or not. However, if you have been injured and are wondering if you have a personal injury case, the first question you should ask yourself is:
Was your injury caused by something out of your control?
If the answer is yes, you may have the basis for a personal injury claim. Even many situations that you think are an “Act of God” may be caused by the negligence of others. For example, a tree falling and causing injuries may be caused by inadequate maintenance by the property owner or tree care company. Or a house explosion may be caused by nearby construction companies failing to properly avoid gas lines. We have represented many individuals who initially did not think they had a case, but they were injured and wanted answers.
The Minneapolis personal injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella pride themselves on providing answers to injured people who know something bad happened to them but don’t know who is at fault. Sadly, many times no one is at fault. We are all victims of occasional bad luck, and sometimes that can have devastating consequences. However, it never hurts to consult a personal injury attorney to determine whether you may have a case. Consultations with our Minnesota personal injury attorneys are free and easy. Contact us today.
Overview
Personal Injury Case Timelines
Step 1: Hiring A Personal injury Lawyer
The most important step to bringing a personal injury case is hiring a personal injury lawyer who will keep your best interests in mind. Personal injury cases take time to achieve the best result so be wary of any attorney who claims they will settle your case quickly.
At this stage, you will document the facts of your potential case. It will be important to provide detailed information about:
- The date(s) your injury occurred
- Where the injury occurred
- Who was present at the time of the injury.
- Where your injury was treated
- Any contacts with insurance companies
If the personal injury attorney takes the case, you will sign a retainer agreement and authorizations that will allow them to order your medical records.
The personal injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella work on a contingency fee agreement, which means we are only paid our fee and reimbursed our costs if we successfully resolve your case, so you will not need to pay anything up front.
Step 2: Determining Who Is At Fault
In order to bring a successful personal injury case, there must be sufficient evidence that a person or company is responsible for your injuries. Proving liability is often the most difficult step of the personal injury case process, particularly if there were no witnesses when the injury occurred or if both sides accuse the other of being at fault.
In a car accident case, liability can often be determined by obtaining the accident report if the police were called. If the police or other emergency services were not called to the accident, then your attorney may need to hire an accident reconstruction expert to recreate the accident.
Proving liability in a medical malpractice case can be more complicated and almost always requires a medical expert to determine whether your injuries were caused by a healthcare provider failing to provide the standard of care.
Regardless of the case type, it is important to have an experienced attorney who looks at your case from every angle to determine who is liable for your injuries.
Step 3: Documenting Damages
Documenting damages is often the lengthiest pre-litigation process of a personal injury case if you are still receiving treatment for your injuries. If you are still treating, your personal injury attorney will check in regularly after your appointments and order records from your ongoing treatment.
If it is determined that your injury requires long term treatment or is permanent, then at least one expert will be needed to evaluate the long term prognosis of your injury and the treatments required to keep the injury from getting worse. In both situations, it will be important to obtain reports from your treating doctors.
Your attorney will also keep a detailed record of the wage loss you incurred due to your injuries. If your injuries are severe enough to impact your future earning capacity, your attorney may need to hire an economic damages expert to determine the value of your future earnings loss.
Damages can also include the impact of the injury on your marriage or relationships (loss of consortium), loss of enjoyment, and pain and suffering.
Step 4: Sending a Demand
Once the total damages on your personal injury case are estimated, your attorney will compile all relevant documentation of your case and send a demand to the insurance company or attorney representing the defendant.
The demand will walk through the timeline of your injury, document proof of liability, and include detailed information on your treatment, wage loss, and analysis of your future damages. The demand will request a monetary value to resolve your claim without filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Your personal injury attorney will speak with you before sending a demand to walk through your case and the process for calculating your demand amount. Your attorney cannot send a demand without your approval of the amount requested. The demand may act as a trigger to start negotiations to resolve your claim prior to litigation.
If the defendant is not willing to negotiate, then a personal injury lawsuit will need to be filed.
Step 5: Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit & Discovery
If the demand is not successful in resolving your case, the next step will be to file a lawsuit in the proper venue. Typically a personal injury lawsuit will be filed in the state court that has jurisdiction over where the injury occurred.
If the defendant in your personal injury case is a corporation headquartered outside of your state, your case may need to be filed in federal court. Your personal injury attorney will determine the proper venue for your case.
Once your case is filed you will begin the discovery process, in which each party exchanges information regarding the accident that caused the injury. Discovery can involve the production of medical records, cell phone records, expert reports, and any other information deemed relevant to document the accident, injury, medical treatment, and financial impact.
Depositions also occur in the discovery process. Depositions require the injured party, defendant, witnesses, treating doctors, and any other relevant parties to the case to provide testimony of the facts of the case under oath.
Step 6: Resolution - Trial OR Settlement
Once the discovery process is complete, parties will engage in mediation to attempt to resolve your personal injury lawsuit. Mediation involves hiring a neutral third party attorney to evaluate the strengths and weakness of each side’s arguments and suggest a fair number or range to resolve the case. This is known as a Mediator’s Proposal.
Neither side is obligated to accept the Mediator’s Proposal, but it can often act as a middle ground for each party to negotiate around. Many cases are resolved at mediation to avoid proceeding to trial.
If the parties cannot agree to a resolution at mediation, then the pre-trial process will begin. This can involve expert depositions and pre-trial motions to include or exclude evidence from trial.
If your personal injury lawsuit goes to trial, the parties will work together to select a jury from the jury pool. Once a jury is finalized, your personal injury trial will begin. Trials can take anywhere from days to weeks, depending on the complexity of your case and the number of witnesses required to provide testimony.
Once your trial ends, the jury will meet to determine who is liable for your injury. When there is a consensus, the jury will issue a verdict.
What Are The Qualities of A Good Personal Injury Attorney?
- Honest
You need a personal injury attorney who is honest with you in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Most cases are not million dollar cases. While the personal injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella can never guarantee a case will settle or settle for a specific amount, we can guarantee that we will never mislead you into believing your case is worth more than it is.
- Ethical
Attorneys are required to operate under a strict set of ethical guidelines. An ethical attorney does not cut corners or do anything irresponsible that could jeopardize your personal injury case. The personal injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella are competent, diligent, honest, and communicative. We appreciate the importance of confidentiality and go to great lengths to keep our client data secure.
- Pragmatic
A successful personal injury attorney is reasonable. You do not want a reckless attorney that will accept nothing less than a trial verdict. You also do not want an attorney who is afraid of the courtroom. The personal injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella know when to be aggressive and when to be patient, and will clearly communicate that strategy to you throughout your case.
Personal Injury
Free Consultations
Goldenberg Lauricella offers free consultations to anyone who thinks that they have a personal injury case. There is no charge and there is never any obligation. We are only paid our fee if we win your case. Our Minneapolis personal injury law firm will provide you with the Gold standard of advocacy that you deserve!
Personal Injury FAQs
At Goldenberg Lauricella, we see our role as advocating for your rights. We look forward to meeting you and having a positive impact on your life.
We will first go over the details of your accident and your injury to make sure we have all of the facts correct. Helpful documents we ask you to provide include documentation and photos of the accident, along with any and all medical records documenting your injuries.
From there, we will discuss your potential case and give you an honest assessment of our chances of success. Finally, we will lay out the road map for how we believe your case will proceed toward a successful outcome.
Our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys will not place a timeframe on when your case might settle. There are many factors that can impact whether a case will settle for the appropriate amount.
These factors include ongoing treatment of related injuries, the amount of time missed from work due to your injuries and the resulting wage loss, the amount of insurance coverage held by the defendant(s), and cooperation from insurance adjusters and defense attorneys.
No! At Goldenberg Lauricella, our personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That means we only get paid if we secure a settlement or favorable verdict in your case.
A contingency fee agreement stipulates that our fee is determined as a percentage of your award. As a result, you will never owe us any money if your case is not successful.
- Be honest, accurate, and thorough in documenting your injury
- Take photos of your injury and the location of the incident
- Save any defective items or devices that may have caused the injury. Do not return any defective device to the manufacturer.
- Keep a journal of what occurred and your observations
- Create a file or an electronic record of all documents related to the incident
Our personal injury attorneys in Minneapolis understand how tempting it is to ignore warning signs of injuries after your accident. The pressure to avoid litigation can be immense. It can come from insurance companies, the other party, and even yourself. However, we also understand how crucial speaking to a lawyer is.
We’ve helped clients throughout Minnesota who initially thought they had no claim or felt great reluctance to take the necessary steps to protect their rights.
You should speak to our attorneys because:
- Speaking to a lawyer does not obligate you to any course of action; you will not have to file suit just because you speak to one of our lawyers.
- All of our initial consultations are free. It will cost you nothing to talk to one of our personal injury lawyers.
- Speaking with us sooner allows us to make recommendations on how to document details such as injuries and timelines. This helps us argue your case in the future.
- Minnesota no-fault laws can be confusing and can result in you accepting an inadequate settlement. If you have serious injuries, your damages may exceed the no-fault limit of your insurance policy. If we can prove the other party was at fault, we can go after the other party’s policy for additional compensation.
- In many cases, you may have compelling reasons why you believe the other party was at fault, but it has not been proven. If we take your case, we can investigate your accident to determine and prove fault.
- Our personal injury lawyers can help you pursue compensation for medical bills, lost wages, mileage, and other significant expenses.
Contacting a personal injury attorney is not a malicious or aggressive move; it is a smart one.
Exploring your options doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming. In fact, our goal is to make your recovery process as tolerable and stress-free as possible.
If you’re considering speaking to a Minnesota personal injury lawyer about your accident, give us a call for a free consultation at (800) 903-1643.
Personal injury refers to any type of damage to a person in particular (excluding property). This can include emotional, mental, or bodily injury.
Referrals are still popular for finding a personal injury lawyer. Online research is another popular avenue and allows you to compare many different firms. However you approach the search, you should look for a few specific things to choose the right attorney for your needs. It’s important to choose a PI lawyer who has been in practice for many years, who specializes in personal injury, and who treats you like you’re more than just another case.
Hiring a personal injury attorney makes it more likely that you will win the case and get the maximum amount you may be entitled to. You’ll save time and reduce stress with a professional helping hand.
Three main things must be true for you to win a personal injury case: There was negligence on the responsible party’s end, that negligence caused your injury, and that injury resulted in compensatory damages. These damages can include pain, suffering, lost wages, loss of consortium, medical bills/monetary damages, and more.
Why Choose Goldenberg Lauricella?
The Minnesota personal injury lawyers at Goldenberg Lauricella will always have your best interest in mind throughout every step of your case. We understand that we work for you, and making sure your needs are met is an important part of our job. Contact us today for a free personal injury lawsuit consultation.
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Difference
Kindness Is Strength
With us, you matter most. This team spends the time to ensure clients like you get to rest and leave the sleepless nights to us.
Accountability Is Bravery
We live and breathe what we do, and we don’t stop until the responsible party is held liable.
Leadership Is Trust
Our firm has been trusted to lead roles within some of the nation’s largest litigations.
Knowledge Is Power
Our firm is focused on the science of the case and applying it to helping our clients recover.