Minneapolis Slip And Fall Accident Lawyer

Slip And Fall Accident Lawyer Minneapolis, MN

For those who’ve been hurt in slip and fall accidents, it’s common to feel dismissed by property owners, insurance adjusters, and even the people who witnessed it. Many often assume that falls are minor, or that the injured person should have just been more careful. Neither is necessarily true.

A serious fall can cause broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, and months of recovery. And when it happened because a property owner failed to address a hazard they knew about or should have known about, you have the right to seek compensation. At Bennerotte & Associates, P.A., our Minneapolis, MN slip and fall accident lawyer represents injured people throughout Minneapolis and across Minnesota. We have 19 years of experience as a firm and a combined 161 years of legal practice amongst our attorneys. Contact us today to set up a free consultation and learn about your options for recovery.

Why Choose Bennerotte & Associates, P.A. For Slip And Fall Claims In Minneapolis, MN?

Experience With Minnesota Premises Liability Cases

Thomas R. Bennerotte has been handling personal injury cases in Minnesota since 1991, including slip and fall and premises liability claims against property owners, businesses, and municipalities. Admitted in Minnesota and North Dakota, he graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law and has spent his entire career representing injured people. He knows how property owners and their insurers defend these cases, and what it takes to establish liability when they’d rather point the finger at the person who fell.

Attorney Jeffrey R. Murray focuses his practice on personal injury litigation, including premises liability and slip and fall claims. Attorney Michael Phoenix represents injured clients across motor vehicle crashes, premises liability, and other personal injury matters. Between them, the firm’s attorneys have handled these cases at every stage, from initial investigation through trial.

Tom is a member of the Minnesota Association for Justice and lectures regularly at legal and medical seminars across Minnesota. As a personal injury lawyer in Minneapolis, MN, he has helped thousands of injury victims hold negligent parties accountable and recover the compensation they deserved.

Results That Come From Doing The Work

Our attorneys have helped clients recover millions of dollars across premises liability, slip and fall, and other serious injury cases. Slip and fall claims require evidence, and that evidence has to be gathered quickly before surveillance footage gets overwritten, incident reports disappear, and witnesses move on. We know what to look for and how to preserve it.

Thomas Bennerotte is a Life Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, reserved for trial attorneys with multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements. He’s been selected for Super Lawyers multiple times and named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100. Attorney Wade Rabenhorst holds the AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest available for legal ability and ethics.

No Fees Unless We Win

Slip and fall cases at Bennerotte & Associates are handled on a contingency fee basis. Nothing to pay upfront. No retainer. No hourly billing. You owe us nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

What Clients Say

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“Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of Danielle Puttkammer and the staff at Bennerotte & Associates, I was able to receive fair compensation for the injury I suffered.” — David Park

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types Of Slip And Fall Cases We Handle In Minneapolis

Slip and fall accidents happen in a wide variety of locations and circumstances. What matters legally is whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to address it. Here’s what we handle.

• Wet floor and liquid spill accidents. Grocery stores, restaurants, retail shops, and other commercial properties have an obligation to clean up spills and wet floors promptly and to warn customers when they don’t. When they fail and someone falls, that failure is the basis of the claim. 
• Ice and snow hazards. Minnesota winters create real dangers on sidewalks, parking lots, and building entrances. Property owners have a responsibility to address snow and ice hazards within a reasonable time. When they don’t, and someone is hurt on an unsalted walkway or icy entryway, there may be a viable premises liability claim.
• Uneven surfaces and trip hazards. Cracked sidewalks, raised pavement, broken flooring, and poorly maintained thresholds are common causes of serious trip and fall injuries. These defects are often visible for months or years before someone gets hurt, which makes the property owner’s awareness of the hazard a central issue in the claim.
• Inadequate lighting. Poorly lit stairwells, parking garages, and common areas create conditions where a fall becomes much more likely. When insufficient lighting contributed to a slip or trip, the property owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions is part of the liability analysis.
• Staircase and railing failures. Broken handrails, slippery stairs, and improperly designed stairways cause serious falls. These accidents frequently result in significant injuries, and the property owner’s maintenance records and knowledge of the defect are key to building the claim.
• Retail and grocery store falls. Stores owe customers a duty of care. Injuries in stores and public places are something we handle regularly, from large retailers to smaller commercial properties throughout Minneapolis.
• Construction zone hazards. Active job sites and properties under renovation create hazards for visitors, passersby, and workers alike. When inadequate barriers, debris, or unsafe conditions cause a fall, there may be claims against the contractor, property owner, or both.
• Collisions and knockdowns. Not every premises liability case involves a trip or slip. Being knocked down by a cart, display, or another person in a commercial space can be just as serious. When the property owner’s negligence created the condition that led to the knockdown, the claim follows the same legal framework.

Minnesota Legal Requirements For Slip And Fall Claims

Several specific legal principles govern how slip and fall cases are evaluated in Minnesota. Before making any decisions about your claim, it’s important to understand the following.

Property Owner Duty Of Care

Under Minnesota premises liability law, property owners and occupiers owe a duty of reasonable care to people who enter their property. The standard applied depends on the visitor’s status. Invitees, meaning customers, guests, and others invited onto the property for a business purpose, are owed the highest duty of care. That duty requires property owners to inspect for hazards, address them in a reasonable time, and warn visitors of known dangers. When they fail to meet that standard and someone is injured as a result, they can be held liable. The Minnesota Court System’s civil resources provide additional context on how these claims are handled in court.

Statute Of Limitations

Under Minnesota Statutes Section 541.05, most slip and fall injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of the accident. That deadline doesn’t pause while you’re recovering or waiting to see how your injuries develop. Missing it almost certainly means losing the right to recover anything. If a government entity, such as a city or public agency, owns or maintains the property where you fell, a shorter notice deadline may apply under Minnesota Statutes Section 466.05. Acting quickly matters in either scenario.

Comparative Fault And Slip And Fall Cases

Insurance companies defending slip and fall claims almost always argue that the injured person shares fault. You should have been watching where you were going. You were wearing the wrong shoes. You ignored a warning sign. Some of these arguments have merit. Many don’t. Under Minnesota Statutes Section 604.01, shared fault reduces recovery proportionally but doesn’t eliminate it as long as the injured person’s share doesn’t exceed 50%. Understanding how comparative negligence applies to your specific facts is one of the first things we assess.

Notice Requirements For Snow And Ice Claims

Minnesota courts have historically applied specific rules to slip and fall claims involving snow and ice on commercial property. Property owners are generally not liable for naturally accumulating ice and snow unless they took steps to address it and created a more dangerous condition in the process, or unless the accumulation resulted from an unnatural condition on the property. These distinctions matter significantly for how a winter slip and fall claim is built and presented.

What Damages Are Recoverable In A Minneapolis Slip And Fall Case?

Economic Damages

The financial losses from a serious slip and fall can be significant and lasting. Medical expenses are the primary component, including emergency treatment, imaging, surgeries, physical therapy, and any ongoing care required by the injuries. Lost wages cover the income you couldn’t earn while recovering. If your injuries affect your ability to work going forward, lost earning capacity becomes part of the claim as well. Older adults and people with prior health conditions sometimes sustain more serious injuries from falls. The value of any slip and fall claim depends on a careful accounting of both current and future losses. Every element requires documentation, and we handle that process from the start.

Non-Economic Damages

Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life are all recoverable in Minnesota premises liability cases. A serious fall injury changes daily life in ways that go beyond the medical bills. Mobility limitations, fear of falling again, chronic pain, and the loss of activities that mattered before the accident are all legitimate components of non-economic damages. Minnesota doesn’t cap these damages in most personal injury cases, which means there’s no artificial ceiling on what an injured person can pursue. Insurance companies minimize this piece of a claim whenever they can. We don’t let them.

Punitive Damages

When a property owner’s failure to address a known hazard was particularly egregious, such as ignoring repeated complaints or deliberately concealing a dangerous condition, Minnesota law allows for punitive damages under Minnesota Statutes Section 549.20. They’re not available in every slip and fall case, but when the facts support them, they increase total recovery and send a message to property owners who treat safety as optional.

Contact Bennerotte & Associates, P.A.

Slip and fall claims are harder to win than most people expect going in. Property owners have insurance companies and defense attorneys on their side from day one. The evidence that proves what they knew and when they knew it can disappear fast. If you were hurt in a fall in Minneapolis or anywhere in Minnesota, don’t wait to get legal advice. Bennerotte & Associates handles these cases on contingency, so there are no fees unless we win. Contact us to get started with a free consultation.