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★ Minnesota · back & spine

Back & spine settlements
in Minnesota.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

A Minnesota woman who had back surgery after a car crash woke up months later unable to move her legs, and sued the clinic that handled her follow up care for missing the infection. A worker with back injuries in 2005 and 2018 won the right to pursue unpaid medical bills himself.

Facts that decide a back & spine claim in Minnesota

Malpractice deadlineAn action against a health care provider for malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure must be started within four years from when the cause of action accrued.Minn. Stat. § 541.076(b)
No-fault thresholdIn a car crash case you can recover pain and suffering only if medical expenses exceed $4,000 or the injury causes permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, death, or disability of 60 days or more.Minn. Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 3
Fault ruleYour fault “does not bar recovery … if the contributory fault was not greater than the fault of the person against whom recovery is sought,” but damages are reduced by your share.Minn. Stat. § 604.01, subd. 1
Deadline to sueSix years for negligence claims “for any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract.”Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(5)
united states · sister site
Your back & spine claim in Minnesota. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own back & spine case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ MN · reported back & spine outcomes

What Minnesota courts have awarded.

Real Minnesota decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Howard v. Svoboda
    Minnesota Supreme Court · 2017
    Appeal dismissed; case returns to trial court

    Anita Howard sought care for back pain from a car accident in 2009 and had back surgery that August. The clinic saw her for follow up care until May 2010. In June 2010 she woke from a nap unable to move her legs and was diagnosed with complete paraplegia; a bacterial infection had collapsed vertebrae at the surgery site. She sued the clinic for letting the infection go undiagnosed. The Supreme Court vacated a ruling on the defense’s informal talks with her surgeon for lack of appellate jurisdiction.

  • Johnson v. Concrete Treatments
    Minnesota Supreme Court · 2024
    Direct claim for unpaid medical bills allowed

    Daniel Johnson herniated his L5-S1 disc lifting furniture at work in 2005 and lived with pain for years. In October 2018 he hurt his low back again at a new job, and an MRI later showed a disc extrusion compressing nerve roots; he had surgery in 2021. Medical examiners split, one apportioning 40 percent to 2005 and 60 percent to 2018. The Supreme Court held he could pursue a direct claim for bills owed to providers who had not intervened, and sent that issue back.

★ MN · back & spine · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a back & spine settlement in Minnesota.

  1. 1

    Post surgical infections are a known risk that follow up care must watch for. Howard’s case turned on symptoms the clinic allegedly missed.

  2. 2

    With two work injuries, liability can be apportioned between employers or insurers, as the examiners did in Johnson.

  3. 3

    Unpaid providers do not end your claim. Johnson could pursue those bills himself.

★ MN · statute of limitations
6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpractice

Minn. Stat. § 541.05, § 541.076

★ MN · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ back & spine · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Minnesota's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for back & spine claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationBack & spine page
Minnesota · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpractice—
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · back & spine →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · back & spine →
North DakotaModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeND · back & spine →
OhioModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOH · back & spine →
South DakotaSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injurySD · back & spine →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · back & spine →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · back & spine →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · back & spine →
New HampshireModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryNH · back & spine →
New JerseyModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryNJ · back & spine →
MississippiPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryMS · back & spine →
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · back & spine →
★ MN · back & spine · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Minnesota? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of MN
Minnesota overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Minnesota as a whole.

★ national frame
Back & spine in United States

Back & spine band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Back & spine · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of back & spine bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Minnesota. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.