If another driver hit you in Minnesota, the first question is usually "who pays?" The answer here is layered. Minnesota is a no-fault state, so your own insurer covers your early medical bills and lost income no matter who caused the crash. But fault never fully disappears. It still controls who pays for serious injuries, for pain and suffering, and for the damage to your car. Knowing where that line falls tells you what you can claim and from whom.
Minnesota runs on no-fault PIP
Minnesota adopted the No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, codified at Minn. Stat. chapter 65B.1 Every vehicle registered in the state has to carry personal injury protection, which the statute calls "basic economic loss benefits."2 After a crash, you turn to your own PIP first, regardless of who was at fault.
The minimum is $40,000 per person. That splits into two separate $20,000 pools: one for medical expenses, and one for everything else economic, meaning wage loss, replacement services, and funeral costs.2 The non-medical pool has internal limits. Wage loss is paid at 85% of gross income up to $500 a week, replacement services at $200 a week, and funeral expenses are capped at $5,000.2
Your insurer is on a clock. PIP benefits are overdue if they are not paid within 30 days after the company receives reasonable proof of the loss, and overdue payments carry 15% simple interest.3 That deadline matters when the bills are piling up.
The tort threshold decides when you can sue for pain and suffering
Because PIP absorbs routine costs, Minnesota restricts when you can take the at-fault driver to court for noneconomic damages like pain and suffering. You have to clear a tort threshold set by Minn. Stat. § 65B.51.4 You meet it if any one of the following is true:
- your reasonable medical expenses top $4,000
- you have a disability that lasts 60 days or more
- you suffer a permanent injury
- you suffer permanent disfigurement
- the crash causes death
Cross any one of those and the case becomes an ordinary at-fault negligence claim, with pain and suffering back on the table.4
One point people miss: the threshold applies only to noneconomic damages. Economic losses that run past your PIP limits, like medical bills over $20,000 or long-term wage loss, can be pursued against the at-fault driver even if you never cross the threshold. Any PIP benefits you received are then deducted from that recovery, so you are not paid twice.4
Fault still sets the bill: modified comparative negligence
Once you are in an at-fault claim, Minnesota uses modified comparative fault under Minn. Stat. § 604.01.5 You can recover as long as your share of the blame is "not greater than" the other party's. In plain terms, it is a 51% bar. At a 50/50 split you still collect, though your award is cut in half. At 51% your fault is greater than the other driver's and you recover nothing.5 Any damages you do win are reduced by your own percentage of fault, so a $100,000 award with 20% fault on you pays $80,000.
This is where the "no-fault" label gets misleading. For anything beyond basic PIP, fault is the whole game, and insurers fight hard over those percentages.
What every Minnesota policy has to include
State law requires four coverages on every registered vehicle:
- Liability of 30/60/10: $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, $60,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage.6
- PIP of at least $40,000 per person, described above.2
- Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, each at a minimum of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.7
UM and UIM are not optional add-ons in Minnesota. They are mandatory, and they are what you fall back on when the driver who hit you has no insurance or not enough of it, which happens often.
Your car is a separate, fully at-fault claim
PIP pays for injuries to people, not damage to vehicles. Repairs, total-loss value, and diminished value are pure fault-based property claims. You pursue them against the at-fault driver's $10,000 property-damage liability coverage, or through your own collision coverage if you carry it. If your car lost market value even after a proper repair, that loss is recoverable in Minnesota; see our Minnesota diminished value guide for how those claims work.
Deadlines you cannot miss
You generally have six years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Minnesota, under Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(5).8 Property damage claims get the same six-year window under subd. 1(4).8 Six years is longer than in most states, but PIP claims and insurer notice requirements run on much shorter internal timelines, so do not read six years as a reason to wait.
Two exceptions are worth flagging. If a government vehicle caused your crash (a city plow, a Metro Transit bus, a squad car), your damages are capped at $500,000 per claimant and $1,500,000 per occurrence under the Municipal Tort Claims Act, Minn. Stat. § 466.04, and shorter notice deadlines apply.9 And if a bar or restaurant illegally served the drunk driver who hit you, Minnesota's dram shop law, Minn. Stat. § 340A.801, may let you recover from that seller, but a written notice has to be served within the time set by § 340A.802.1011
When the conduct is egregious
Ordinary car crash cases in Minnesota have no cap on economic or noneconomic damages against a private driver. Punitive damages are different. They are available only on clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with deliberate disregard for the safety of others, the standard in Minn. Stat. § 549.20, and courts review any award closely.12 A driver who was drunk or fleeing police is the kind of conduct that can support them.
Minnesota winters make all of this more than academic. The Department of Public Safety tracks tens of thousands of crashes a year through its annual Crash Facts reports, and snow and ice season drives a large share of them.13
Getting your report and finding help
Your official crash report is the backbone of any fault claim. You can request it from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety; our Minnesota crash report guide walks through exactly how. If your injuries cleared the tort threshold, or the other side is disputing fault, it is worth talking to a lawyer early. You can find one through our Minnesota legal directory.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 65B. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B/full
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Minn. Stat. § 65B.44 (basic economic loss benefits). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.44
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Minn. Stat. § 65B.54 (payment of benefits; overdue payments and interest). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.54
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Minn. Stat. § 65B.51 (tort threshold; deduction of basic economic loss benefits). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.51
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Minn. Stat. § 604.01 (comparative fault). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/604.01
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Minn. Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3 (residual liability coverage limits). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.49
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Minn. Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3a (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.49
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Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(4)-(5) (six-year limitations period). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/541.05
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Minn. Stat. § 466.04 (municipal tort liability limits). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/466.04
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Minn. Stat. § 340A.801 (civil liability; dram shop). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/340A.801
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Minn. Stat. § 340A.802 (dram shop notice requirement). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/340A.802
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Minn. Stat. § 549.20 (punitive damages standard). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/549.20
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Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, Crash Facts reports. https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/reports-statistics-and-data/crash-facts-reports