Police officers or firefighters who sustain injuries in the line of duty with a third-party civil claim component to their claims, may be faced with the question if PERA and MSRS Duty Disability benefits should be offset from their wage loss recovery. Typically, workers who sustain injuries arising out of the course and scope of his or her employment may not bring a claim for negligence, meaning he or she may only have a claim for limited benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act paid by the entity’s insurer or the entity itself if the City is self-insured for the purposes of workers’ compensation. If an injured worker is a police officer or a firefighter, and the injury is sustained while performing inherently dangerous duties specific to the public service position then he or she may also have a PERA or MSRS Duty Disability claim for benefits. If someone can demonstrate that a person or business other than the employer is the cause of the injury, then the claimant may bring a claim as against that the person responsible who acted carelessly or unreasonably. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we have brought claims on behalf of firefighters who have been injured by negligent construction of buildings, police officers who have been injured in motor vehicle collisions, and police officers injured by suspects resisting arrest.

1. Arrive on the correct date and time. Wandering in late does not endear you to the attorneys and plants a healthy fear in us as well as a hope in the defense counsel that you will decide not to show up on time for court hearings.

Do not let the cost of an attorney prohibit you from obtaining counsel. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. there is absolutely no fee to retain an attorney nor will you be responsible for hourly fees. At Meuser Law Office, depending on the type of case, we charge fees on a contingency fee or a flat rate.

We also front the costs of litigation, including the costs of medical records, court reports, and doctor depositions and reports.

Report, report, report your injury!

Let’s say you have been a St. Paul firefighter for 18+ years and you have lived through numerous explosions or a Minneapolis police officer who has wrestled numerous suspects or kicked in doors, that does not mean the lingering ache in your low back or sharp pop in your shoulder will go away. You must report your injury, even if you think your injury will heal with some rest and ice, the injury may become more serious. Trying to save yourself some paperwork might actually cost you thousands of dollars in the end.

Don’t lie to your attorney.

Holding back or editing out important details just makes the attorney’s job harder. We take the facts as we have them and it’s my job to take the facts and make a legal case. It’s not your job to massage the facts for me. If I know that you’ve treated with a chiropractor for the last 8 years before your low back injury, I can work with that! If you have a pre-existing condition, that doesn’t mean your injury is not compensable under Minnesota work comp, PERA or MSRS. What hurts your case is when you don’t disclose that to me or the court and I find out about it 8 months into your case from the defense attorney.