Practice Areas
At the Brosnahan Law Firm, we focus on personal injury cases. We are experienced in investigation, photography and medicine. We are committed to protecting clients’ rights, and we will not hesitate to file suit.
We handle a variety of cases for our clients:
We handle cases in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Car Accidents
The majority of our injured families have been involved in car accidents. There are subtle but important differences between how these cases are handled in Minnesota or Wisconsin. We carefully help our clients injured in Minnesota apply for and receive their Minnesota No-Fault Benefits. In Minnesota, a person injured in a car wreck receives up to $20,000.00 of medical benefits and up to $20,000.00 in wage loss benefits. Give us a call and we’ll send you a free brochure explaining these and other important no-fault benefits.
We assist our Wisconsin accident clients by coordinating any medical payment or “med pay benefits” they may have purchased from their automobile carrier. Unfortunately, these benefits won’t always cover accident-related bills, so we assist our clients with applications for private or public health insurance benefits which may include state funds for the victims of a crime.
While helping get the medical bills paid, our team investigates the cause of the accident. We find and speak with witnesses, obtain police reports, photographs, and measurements that may be the difference between winning and losing your case at trial.
As our families heal from their injuries, we review their medical charts and speak with their doctors to better understand the scope of their injuries. Only after we have fully prepared the case, do we sit down with our clients to discuss the value of their case and begin negotiating with the insurance companies.
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Cycle Accidents
 Many of our clients are injured in motorcycle crashes. We have developed a reputation for excellence in this area. Lawyers from as far away as California and Florida have asked us to represent their clients who were injured while riding in Minnesota or Wisconsin.
Our biker clients often suffer horrific injuries when they are hit or are forced to lay down their bike because of another driver’s negligence. Our frequent representation of cycle accident victims has familiarized us with the orthopedic injuries and “road rash” scarring that almost always results from a crash. We regularly work with cosmetic surgeons who help evaluate our cycle injury client’s scars.
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Injured Children
 Several members of our team have had their own children severely injured in car wrecks. We understand how important an injured child is to their family, and we know how to best maximize the child’s economic recovery. We work with the child’s doctors, family, teachers and coaches to better understand the impact the injury has had on the child.
Importantly, we work with the family to carefully comply with the Minor Settlement Rules which exist in both Minnesota and Wisconsin to ensure that any payment made to the child is both adequate and appropriate under the circumstances. This often involves working with a Guardian ad Litem whose job is to look out for the child’s best interests. We help the family and Guardian either choose an appropriate annuity or financial institution for the child’s settlement money so that the funds will be there for any future medical care until the child reaches adulthood.
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Train Accidents
 Our firm is located in the beautiful Mississippi River Valley. Unfortunately, most of the river towns in both Minnesota and Wisconsin have railroad tracks carrying from 25 to 50 trains a day through their communities. While various Federal laws attempt to limit an injured family’s rights to pursue claims against the railroads, we are able to help explain a family’s options in cases involving either car/train or pedestrian/train injuries. While cases against the railroads are difficult and rarely successful, a careful analysis of the case is important. Often, a car passenger injured by a train is able to recover from the negligent driver of the car they were in. Occasionally, in Minnesota Cases the person injured by the train can recover from a bar or liquor store if an illegal sale of alcohol caused the driver of their car to collide with a train. Illegal sales of alcohol include
1) sales to minors, 2) after-hours sales, 3) sales to a non-member of a club and/or 4) the sale of alcohol to a person who is already intoxicated. These “dram shop” cases are difficult and require prompt and thorough investigation.
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Death Cases
Death cases require a thorough investigation and the careful preservation of evidence. The deceased family member is no longer able to give us their version of how the crash, fall or other event causing their death happened. This requires us to work with the family to gather as much information as possible – as soon as possible. We gather police reports and accident reconstruction reports. Our Investigators take statements from witnesses and photograph the scene and vehicles to help us better understand how the family member was killed. When necessary, we hire experts to analyze the evidence.
In our Minnesota cases, we help the family select a trusted family member to serve as trustee for the deceased’s family. In all of our cases we help the family gather and present evidence to the insurance companies that proves the value of the family’s loss. By working with the family and the deceased’s former employer and accountant or tax preparer we help establish the economic loss suffered by the family. Through interviews with the family, friends and co-workers, we help the family describe and quantify the true value of having lost a loved one.
Through it all we are available 24/7 to answer questions and help identify resources that can assist the family as they try to cope with their unexpected loss.
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Passenger Cases
 Over the years we have handled cases involving many injured car and cycle passengers. The insurance coverage available to an injured passenger is often different from that available to an injured driver – particularly when the passenger is a child driven by a friend or babysitter or when the passenger is on a motorcycle. A careful analysis of available insurance coverage is just as important in passenger cases as are the facts surrounding the crash. For example, injured passengers who are Minnesota residents are entitled to Minnesota’s No-Fault insurance coverage even if they are hurt while traveling in another state. Similarly, a badly hurt passenger is not always limited to the amount of insurance carried by the car they were in. They may be entitled to special insurance from their family’s own insurance policy known as Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage.
We are happy to help our families sort through these often tricky legalities.
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Pedestrian Cases
 Pedestrians include walkers, joggers, roller-bladers and those on a bicycle. Usually, they enjoy fresh air and exercise, but occasionally they are horribly injured by negligent drivers.
These cases present special problems, since the pedestrian is often too badly hurt to tell the police and emergency medical personnel how the collision happened. Pedestrians are often young children walking to school or playing in the neighborhood, who are not able to articulate the facts of the collision very well. Working with the family, our investigators and photographers find the witnesses and take the photos and necessary measurements that lead to a fair monetary recovery.
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Scar Cases
 Over the years we have helped horribly scarred people who were:
- cut when they hit the windshield in a car wreck
- mauled by a dog
- scratched by a cat
- scalded by boiling hot tap water
- scarred with road rash when their cycle went down.
In all of these cases we have learned a great deal about the significant injury known as “scarring.” Cosmetic surgeons and members of burn units have taught us that sensitive scar tissue is susceptible to windburn, sunburn, cracking and peeling. Scarred skin itches and causes deep psychological wounds. Our photographer can accurately capture the scar and preserve it for use with the insurance company adjuster.
We have worked with veterinarians to help prove the ferocity of various dog breeds, and to establish the unsuitability of the breed for daycare providers.
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