Legal Question in Personal Injury in Minnesota
My daughter was involved in a rear end collision in MN where she attends college. She is a WI resident and therefore does not carry a no-fault auto insurance policy. She does have full coverage with Progressive Auto Insurance Co under the WI auto Ins. Laws. She was hit from behind at approx. 30 mph while stopped at a stop light behind another car. The young man ( high school age) that hit her was texting on his phone and not paying attention. She in turn hit the stopped car in front of her but her airbag did not deploy. Her 2007 Saturn Ion is totaled.
She suffered severe and obvious case of whiplash and is unable to do her student teaching or work (she works in MN durring the week and in WI on weekends and therefore must have a vehicle.)
I have 2 questions: #1 - is she able to sue for pain and suffering and for rental car reimbursment? and # 2 - Can she sue Saturn for an obvious faulty airbag sensor? Had her air bag deployed she may have not been injured as severly.
Thank you for your expert opinion. Katie H Green Bay WI
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your daughter WILL qualify for MN no-fault insurance benefits. Progressive is required by MN law to conform the policy to MN coverages. She may or may not be able to bring a claim for pain and suffering. That depends on whether or not she has crossed one of MN's tort thresholds. She should get rental reimbursement regardless. In relation to the airbag issue, you'll spend $10k on an engineer just to tell you if there was even a defect, and much more than that to get through trial. If she's non-surgical the claim would not justify incurring those expenses for a claim directly against Saturn.
Chris Gonko
Martineau, Gonko & Vavreck, PLLC
Your remedy is against the driver. Moreover, your daughter is covered by Minnesota No-fault insurance since the policy maker is required to conform the policy to state law where the vehicle is used.
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