Local, Experienced Legal Help Right Here and Right Now in Northern Minnesota

We frequently receive telephone calls from people who have an attorney in Duluth or the Twin Cities but have realized that traveling 100 or 150 miles for a meeting with a lawyer is inconvenient and expensive. Or, their lawyer is in a big, busy law firm and doesn’t return their calls. I understand that someone …

Is it Time to Contact a Lawyer about Your Minnesota Work Comp Claim?

It’s a new month, in a new year and if you are like me, you are just starting to get organized and back into a normal routine after the stress and strain of the holidays and end of the year things to do. If you are also dealing with a work comp claim, maybe you have been …

What Is a Fair Settlement Value for My Minnesota Work Comp Claim?

This is a question we deal with in every claim where the parties begin discussing a possible settlement. There are any number of reasons why a claim may be settled, either at the suggestion of the insurance company or the injured worker. A work comp insurer may want to discuss settlement of the claim for …

Workers’ Compensation Protection for First Responders and Certain Healthcare Workers Who Contract COVID-19

As a response to the current coronavirus pandemic, the Minnesota legislature has stepped up and enacted a law which affords protection to various groups of individuals who are working on the front lines of the pandemic. This was bipartisan legislation, supported by Governor Walz, which recognizes that the people who provide our health and childcare …

What Happens to My Minnesota Work Comp Claim If I Switch Jobs?

This is a question or concern I frequently hear from clients after they have been injured at work. Another way of asking the same question would be: Does my work comp claim end if I no longer work for the employer where I was injured? Let’s face it, if you have been injured at work …

UPM Blandin Layoffs Announced. Are Minnesota Work Comp Benefits Available?

Here in northern Minnesota, we recently received some bad news with the announcement by UPM Blandin that it plans to close down one of its two remaining paper production lines. With the permanent shutdown of Machine 5, approximately 150 jobs will be lost. This is a significant blow to our community and to the workers …

How Long Does a Minnesota Work Comp Claim Stay Open?

A few times each year I get calls from people with questions about an old Minnesota work comp claim. Most often, they have either had some type of flareup or progressively worsening symptoms from a work injury which had occurred several years in the past. The questions usually relate to whether the insurance company is …

What Should I Do If I Receive a Notice of Intention to Discontinue Benefits on My Minnesota Work Comp Claim?

At some point in almost any work comp claim where you are paid wage loss benefits, you will receive a Notice of Intention to Discontinue benefits, commonly referred to as an NOID. An NOID is simply a form which the insurer is required to serve and file whenever they will be discontinuing wage loss benefits. …

Beware of a New Attack on Benefits for Injured Workers

It's  bad enough that state legislatures, including ours right here in Minnesota, have chipped away at the rights and benefits of injured workers over the past 30 years. Now, some states are getting rid of workers’ compensation altogether and creating their own systems for compensating workers injured on the job. The argument made by business owners …

Avoiding Problems in Your Minnesota Work Comp Case

In my experience, the majority of Minnesota work comp claims “fly under the radar”, meaning there are no lawyers involved, no major disputes, no conferences or trials with the work comp judges, no settlements, etc. Claims involving minor injuries with fast recoveries typically are opened and closed relatively quickly without any involvement in the legal …