Meuser Law Office, P.A. has proudly and successfully represented hundreds of police officers and firefighters throughout the state of Minnesota for PERA disability and workers’ compensation claims for in-the-line-of-duty injuries.

Coordinating all the different types of benefits available to injured police officers and firefighters is complicated. It’s easy to make mistakes, and those mistakes can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the most common mistakes we see is when an individual applies for the wrong type of PERA Police and Fire Plan Benefit.

In addition to retirement benefits, Minnesota police officers and firefighters who are disabled from performing their regular duties may be eligible for a variety of different types of disability benefits, including:

• regular disability
• duty disability
• permanent and total regular disability
• permanent and total duty disability

If you have been through the Minnesota workers’ compensation system, you are probably well aware of the fact that it’s not always fair to injured workers. In fact, in many respects, the deck is stacked against injured workers.
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing an injured worker get shortchanged because of an innocent mistake, ambiguous language within the law, or because the benefits provided by workers’ compensation are simply inadequate to fully address the full extent of their losses.

Major changes to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act don’t happen often, and it’s usually a long process to make changes to the law. Nonetheless, I’d love to see the Minnesota legislature take up the challenge of making this change to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act to make things more fair for injured workers.

Repeal of Minn. Stat. §176.021, Subd. 7.

This portion of the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act provides in relevant part, that:

If an employee covered by the Minnesota State Retirement System receives total and permanent disability benefits pursuant to section 352.113 or disability benefits pursuant to sections 352.95 and 352B.10, the amount of disability benefits shall be deducted from workers’ compensation benefits otherwise payable. If an employee covered by the teacher’s retirement fund receives total and permanent disability benefits pursuant to section 354.48, the amount of disability benefits must be deducted from workers’ compensation benefits otherwise payable.

Meuser Law Office, P.A. is honored to have represented Ken Boelter, a Fire Captain in Coon Rapids for 16 years. On a beautiful fall day, Ken and his crew were called to action when a house fire broke out. On this day, Ken had taken command of the situation while the crew was fighting the fire. Since he was the instant commander, Ken did not have an air pack on and was inhaling a lot of smoke.
Because of the smoke inhalation he found himself wandering around the fire scene and did not realize at the time he was having a stroke. Meet Ken and his wife Lisa and listen to Ken tell his incredible story about the day his life changed while taking command of a crew of firefighters battling a house fire.

While still paralyzed from the stroke, Ken received a phone call from the work comp insurance company telling him his benefits were being denied. At this time Ken knew he needed to find an experienced attorney to represent him. During the initial phone call with Jen Yackley of Meuser Law Office, P.A., Ken realized they are very knowledgeable in Minnesota PERA police and fire and workers’ compensation law. Meuser Law helped Ken secure his Minnesota PERA line of duty and workers’ compensation benefits and made sure Ken found a job in emergency management so he can continue to work and support his family.

Meuser Law Office, P.A. has represented hundreds of police officers, firefighters, state troopers, and paramedics and we understand the dangers they face each day they put on their uniform. The courage that is demonstrated by these men and women who have chosen to risk their lives in order to serve and protect our citizens can never be fully appreciated. If you have been injured while in the line of duty and want to ensure you receive the benefits you are due, call Meuser Law Office, P.A. today for a free no-obligation consultation.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty every 60 hours. In 2014, 18 officers died as the result of being shot, while 48 officers died because of a car or motorcycle crash or being struck by a vehicle outside their squad cars. Unfortunately, police officers, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers are at an increased risk of being involved in motor vehicle collisions. Because police officers, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers have an increased risk, law enforcement officers should ensure they have adequate insurance coverage if tragedy should strike.

If an officer’s patrol car is struck by a civilian vehicle, the injured officer has a variety of legal claims and options for recovery. First, if the accident occurs while the Minnesota officer is on duty, the officer has a workers’ compensation claim. Work comp is the primary payor and is responsible for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment designed to cure or relieve the effects of the officer’s injury. Work comp covers certain wage loss benefits, but does not cover all the injured officer’s monetary losses nor does it provide for pain and suffering.