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PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits are intended to compensate injured workers for permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function.  PPD benefits are not dependent upon wage loss or ability to work.  In order to qualify for Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Minnesota, an injured worker must show that the permanency of the injury is causally related...

MAJOR MINNESOTA DWI NEWS In separate opinions released today, the Minnesota Supreme Court has said that portions of the Minnesota DWI law is unconstitutional. Specifically, these cases addressed the issue of whether a driver can be charged with a DWI in Minnesota for refusing to provide a blood or urine sample when the arresting officer does not have a search warrant. RECENT LEGAL...

UPDATE CRIMINAL DEFAMATION As previously discussed, we have been fighting the constitutionality of the Minnesota Criminal Defamation statute for some time.   After we successfully obtained a full dismissal of all charges for a client in Blue Earth County, we picked up another Criminal Defamation case out of Isanti County.   The prosecutors held firm in that case and refused...

CHIROPRACTIC CARE PAYMENT Sometimes when a worker is injured in Minnesota, he or she would prefer to go to a chiropractor to treat their injuries.  Minnesota workers’ compensation, however, limits the amount of chiropractic care that insurance companies are required to pay for. These “limitations” are called the treatment parameters.  The treatment parameters apply to all dates of injury...

STARTING A WORKERS COMP CASE The method to start a Minnesota work comp case depends on the benefit being claimed and whether the employer has accepted primary liability.  If the employer has denied primary liability for the injury, then a Claim Petition must be filed to start a Minnesota work comp case.  If the employer has accepted primary liability for the...

In most cases, the answer is yes. Under Minnesota workers’ compensation law, the employer/insurer is entitled to an independent medical examination of the employee for any injuries claimed.  Many times this will occur during your case while you are receiving benefits.  In other cases, when your Minnesota work comp claim has been denied from the beginning, it will occur after the...

DETERMINING MINNESOTA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION WAGE LOSS BENEFITS CAN BE TRICKY. An injured employee’s wage on the date of injury determines the amount of the employee’s Minnesota workers’ compensation wage loss benefits.  A fair estimation of the injured employee’s future earning power, taking into account a reduced earning capacity because of injury, is the main objective of determining an injured...

The Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office recently dismissed charges of Minnesota Criminal Defamation and Stalking against a client.  This case was discussed in an earlier blog post, which you can find here. The charges stemmed from an email sent by the client that commented on an individual’s sexual preferences and activities and also contained a nude photograph of the individual....

RAMSEY COUNTY EXPUNGEMENT Minnesota criminal defense lawyer John Arechigo recently obtained another expungement for a former client.  The former conviction was only for a misdemeanor theft, so there’s nothing particularly extraordinary about getting a misdemeanor theft expunged.  What was different about this case, however, is that the expungement followed a dismissal after the client successfully completed the Ramsey County...

WORKERS COMP – NOTICE OF INJURY In two of our recent Minnesota workers’ compensation cases, we successfully argued that although no written or verbal workers compensation notice of injury was given to the employer by the injured employee the employer still nonetheless had actual notice of the injury.  An employer has actual notice of an employee’s work injury if...