After a taxi accident in St. Cloud, Minnesota, it’s important to consider your legal rights and options. As a crash victim, you may have the opportunity to file an insurance claim or lawsuit to recover compensation for your medical bills, loss of income, and emotional trauma. The experienced St. Cloud taxi accident lawyers at Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you maximize your recovery.
Since 1979, Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys has been a passionate advocate for victims of life-changing traffic accidents in St. Cloud. As leaders in personal injury litigation with more than 80 years of combined experience, our top-rated trial attorneys have successfully obtained over $90 million in settlements and jury awards.
Don’t settle for less than your taxi accident case is worth. Level the playing field by putting our award-winning team in your corner. We offer a free consultation. Contact our St. Cloud, MN, law office at (320) 255-1000 today to schedule yours.
How Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Taxicab Accident in St. Cloud, MN
Is the cab driver at fault? Did someone else contribute to the accident? Who can be held financially responsible for your injuries, costs, and suffering? What if you get blamed for the taxi accident? How much is your taxi injury claim worth?
The best way to get the answers to these questions is by enlisting the help of an experienced St. Cloud personal injury lawyer to handle your taxi accident case.
At Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we know that you have one opportunity to recover compensation after your taxicab accident. We’re here to help you make the most of it by putting our 80+ years of experience, in-depth knowledge of Minnesota personal injury law, and passion for justice behind you.
Focus on getting better, and let us handle the rest:
- Investigate your taxi accident to understand how and why it happened
- Review medical records, the accident report, vehicle maintenance and inspection records, witness statements, photographs, video footage, property damage, and other evidence obtained during discovery
- Depose parties who may have helpful insight into or information about your case
- Bring in accident reconstructionists, medical professionals, psychologists, and other expert witnesses to support our efforts
- Represent you during negotiations with the taxi service, the insurance company, and any other defendants in your case
- Bring your taxi accident lawsuit to trial in Stearns County if you don’t receive a reasonable settlement offer
You’re going through an unimaginably difficult time in your life. Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys will help you get through it. We represent our taxi accident clients on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t have to stress about the cost of asking for help. You’ll only pay if our taxi accident attorneys in St. Cloud win money for your case.
Give us a call today to set up a time for your free case evaluation. Members of our team are always here to help – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What Causes Most Taxi Accidents?
Like many other types of car accidents, taxi accidents generally happen because someone is negligent.
Some of the most common contributing factors include:
- Texting and driving
- Other types of distracted driving
- Fatigued driving
- Speeding
- Reckless driving
- Unsafe lane changes
- Unsafe left-hand turns
- Illegal turns
- Rolling stops
- Running red lights
- Failing to yield the right of way
- Drunk or drugged driving
- Vehicle malfunctions due to negligent maintenance
Other factors, such as road defects, vehicle defects, and icy road conditions, can also contribute to taxicab accidents in St. Cloud.
Who’s Liable For a Taxi Accident in St. Cloud?
Several parties can potentially bear responsibility for a taxicab accident in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Taxi Driver
Pursuant to Minnesota state law, taxi drivers are required to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) with a passenger endorsement. Additional testing should help to ensure that taxi drivers are extremely familiar with state traffic laws and have demonstrated the ability to drive a cab safely. When a taxi driver is negligent or reckless behind the wheel, they can be on the hook for injuries to passengers, pedestrians, or occupants of other vehicles.
Taxi Services
Taxi services can be liable for their own negligence and, in some cases, the negligence of their drivers. When a taxi driver is an employee of a service, the service becomes vicariously liable for the driver’s negligent or wrongful actions. A cab company can also be liable for an accident if it allowed unsafe vehicles on the road or was negligent in hiring its drivers.
Note, that since taxis are considered to be common carriers in the State of Minnesota, drivers and services are held to heightened standards of care. As a result, even minor mistakes or errors can result in liability for an accident.
Third-Party Motorists
Taxi drivers aren’t always exclusively – or even partly – responsible for taxicab accidents in St. Cloud. If another motorist – including the driver of a passenger car, a motorcyclist, a bus driver, or a truck driver – contributed to an accident, they could be responsible for resulting damages, too.
Taxi Passengers
Passengers in a taxi have to behave in a way that allows the driver to do their job safely. When a passenger acts in a way that prevents the driver from navigating the roads safely or otherwise creates a dangerous situation, they can be liable if there’s an accident.
Government Agencies
Sometimes poor road conditions or bad road designs contribute to taxi accidents in St. Cloud. When this happens, the government agency responsible for designing, inspecting, and/or maintaining those roads can be liable.
What Types of Damages Can Be Recovered in a Taxi Accident Lawsuit?
Compensatory damages, which include both economic and non-economic damages, can be awarded to a plaintiff in a successful St. Cloud taxi accident claim.
Economic damages help to make you financially whole again after your taxi accident by offsetting the costs of:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Therapy and rehabilitation
- Nursing assistance
- Property damage
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Disability
- Funeral expenses
Non-economic damages help you cope with the fallout of your taxi accident, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Reduced quality of life
- Chronic physical pain
If a settlement isn’t reached and your taxi accident lawsuit goes to trial, a jury could also potentially award punitive damages. Under Minnesota state law, punitive damages are appropriate when a jury believes that a defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent or intentional.
Can Shared Fault Affect My Taxi Accident Settlement in Minnesota?
Yes. Minnesota is one of many states to follow a system of modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar.
Essentially, this means that you can’t recover compensation from a third party if you’re mostly responsible for causing your taxi accident.
You can recover compensation if you’re partly to blame. However, your settlement or jury award will be reduced based on your role in the accident.
If you’re 10 percent to blame for the taxi accident, your damages will be reduced by 10 percent to reflect that.
Don’t be shocked when the defense points fingers and blames you for the crash. It’s a common strategy, designed to limit their liability. Our St. Cloud taxi accident attorneys will anticipate tactics like these and be ready to limit how much of an impact they have on your case.
Common Taxi Accident Injuries
Whether you were a taxi passenger or an occupant of another vehicle, Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys is here to help you seek compensation for all of your taxi accident injuries, including:
- Concussion
- Brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Back injury
- Neck injury
- Paralysis
- Whiplash
- Soft tissue injury
- Chest injury
- Crush injury
- Nerve damage
- Broken bones
- Facet joint injury
- Eye injury
- Amputation injury
- Degloving injury
- Catastrophic injury
- Wrongful death of someone you love
Report your accident to the local police and then seek prompt medical care at the closest emergency room in St. Cloud. Once your condition is stable, reach out to our award-winning Minnesota trial attorneys to discuss your legal rights.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Trusted St. Cloud Taxi Accident Lawyer
You’ll have a limited amount of time to file a taxi accident lawsuit after a crash in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Don’t miss out on the competition you need and deserve. Call Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys, and let us help you hold the negligent cab driver and/or taxi service fully accountable for your resulting injuries and suffering.
Our St. Cloud taxi accident lawyers have over 80 years of combined experience. We’ve forced powerful opponents to pay our clients well over $90 million in damages.
