Successful Jury Verdict for First Responder Who Suffered Career Ending Injuries
Attorneys Ron Meuser and Mary Beth Boyce obtained a successful jury verdict on behalf of their clients in Wright County. Ron and Mary Beth brought a civil claim on behalf of their client who was seriously injured while working as a deputy sheriff. The deputy sheriff was struck by another vehicle while performing law enforcement duties and suffered career ending injuries to the officer’s neck, […]
I Have PTSD, What Are My Treatment Options?
We represent dozens of police officers, firefighters and other first responders who have developed PTSD due to work-related traumatic exposures. PTSD is a serious, sometimes debilitating disorder, that can wreak havoc on a person’s family, social and work life. Fortunately, things can get better with time and treatment. The “best” type of treatment for PTSD varies from person to person and […]
Minn. Stat. § 299A.465 Health Insurance Coverage: Summary Judgment in Favor of Three First Responders in District Court
If you are a police officer or firefighter injured in the line of duty, you and your family may be entitled to health insurance coverage through your employer through the age of 65. The legislature through Minnesota Statutes § 299A.465 sets forth that if a police officer or firefighter cannot perform the normal duties of […]
New PTSD Law in Effect January 1, 2019 for Police Officers, Firefighters and First Responders
As of January 1, 2019, a new law has gone into effect that may drastically change the way work-related PTSD claims are handled in Minnesota. For PTSD injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2019, there is now a presumption for first responders that their PTSD is work-related. A first responder’s PTSD still must meet the criteria set […]
Evidence of PERA Duty Disability Payments Are Inadmissible at Trial
In cases where Minnesota police officers or firefighters are injured in the line of duty through the fault of a third-party, typically a suspect or the driver of another vehicle, then he or she has a separate cause of action against the negligent person, outside of PERA/MSRS benefits and workers’ compensation benefits. In those cases, sometimes defendants try […]
Meuser Law Attorneys Invited to Present at the Annual MSCIC Conference
Ron Meuser and the attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. were honored to be invited to present at the Minnesota South Central Investigator’s Coalition (MSCIC) annual winter conference in Mankato, MN. Held at the Verizon Wireless Conference Center, over 500 people attended the 2-day conference in early January, which included an agenda filled with professionals speaking on […]
Are PERA and MSRS Duty Disability Benefits Collateral Sources?
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 […]
Third-Party Claims and Workers’ Compensation Subrogation
In certain limited circumstances, injured workers may bring a civil claim arising out of the incident that caused his or her work injury. These civil claims may include pain and suffering and other types of monetary damages not available under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation system. The employee may not sue his or her employer for causing his or her […]
Am I a Candidate for Retraining?
Clients frequently contact us and wonder if he or she is a candidate for retraining. Under Minnesota Statute §176.011, subdivision 17a, retraining is a workers’ compensation benefit that provides formal training in a school setting to injured workers in an effort to return injured workers back to suitable gainful employment. While available under the statute, retraining is rarely awarded in […]
Independent Medical Exams in PTSD Workers’ Compensation Claims
When injured employees bring a Minnesota worker’s compensation claim, insurers and employers have a right to send the employee to an independent medical exam (IME). Doctors paid by the insurance company perform the exam and therefore are not independent and very rarely find the employee is injured. If on the rare occasion the doctor finds the employee is […]