Injury · Minnesota
the short answer
You have six years from the day of the crash to file, and no amount of talking to an insurer extends it. Being partly to blame reduces what you collect, and being more than half to blame ends the claim. Your own insurer pays the medical bills first, and there is a threshold to clear before you can sue the other driver for pain and suffering at all.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
who pays first
Minnesota is a no-fault state. Your own policy pays the medical bills whoever caused the crash, and you may sue the other driver for pain and suffering only if medical expenses come to more than $4,000, or the injury causes 60 days of disability, permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, or death. Under that line the claim against them is barred however plainly they were at fault. (Minn. Stat. § 65B.51)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 9 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Minnesota. Compare every state →
your share of the fault
You recover unless your share of the fault is greater than everyone else's put together. Fifty percent still recovers, fifty-one recovers nothing, and below the bar the award is cut by your percentage. (Minn. Stat. § 604.01)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 24 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Minnesota. Compare every state →
limit
6 years
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 3 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Minnesota. The shortest is 1 year, as in Tennessee; the longest is 6 years, as in Maine. Compare every state →
which court
Conciliation court
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$20,000
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
exceptions: $4,000 where the claim arises from a consumer credit transaction.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
also
Six years, which is unusually long, and it sits beside a no-fault threshold that is not. The clock to sue is generous; the question of whether you may sue at all is decided by the row above it.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Minnesota. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Written by an AI model, which can be wrong. Not a lawyer, and not a prediction about your case. Terms · Privacy
a car accident — state by state →other claims in this state →
sponsors