STATE LAW – MINNESOTA LIBRARY – GUIDE 19
Minnesota Crash Damages & No-Fault Tort Threshold
Minnesota crash damages are shaped by no-fault benefits, a statutory threshold for noneconomic damages, collateral-source rules, comparative fault, and interest statutes. Economic and noneconomic categories must be analyzed separately.
Damages
First-party PIP and tort damages are coordinated, not duplicated
Minn. Stat. § 65B.51 requires deduction of basic/optional economic loss benefits from qualifying tort recovery and allows recovery of economic loss that is not paid or payable under the no-fault system.
Noneconomic tort threshold
Under § 65B.51, subd. 3, a claimant ordinarily may not recover noneconomic damages from a motor-vehicle negligence claim unless the statutory threshold is met. The threshold can be satisfied when qualifying medical-expense amounts exceed $4,000, after the statute’s specified exclusions/adjustments, or when the injury results in permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, death, or disability for 60 days or more. Disability means inability to engage in substantially all usual and customary daily activities.
Collateral source and interest
Minn. Stat. § 548.251 governs collateral-source reductions and contains important exceptions/preemption considerations. Minn. Stat. § 549.09 governs preverdict and postjudgment interest. These statutes should be applied to the actual recovery categories rather than used as blanket offsets.
Comparative fault still applies
Section 604.01 reduces damages according to claimant fault and can bar recovery against a particular defendant when the claimant’s fault exceeds that defendant’s fault under the person-specific rule.
Current damages authority
The Registry flags Scheurer v. Shrewsbury (Minn. 2025) as a current Supreme Court damages checkpoint. Its precise holding should be matched to the damages issue being litigated rather than generalized beyond the case.
Authorities
Primary Minnesota authority for this topic
Use the current statute, controlling decisions, and operative policy before legal reliance.