Tarshish ILR Minnesota No Fault Insurance: Tort claims and limits imposed upon them by the No-Fault Act
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Tort Thresholds
The tort threshold limitation applies only to injuries arising from use of a motor vehicle. Minn. Stat. 65B.46, subd. 3 indicates that injuries suffered by a person on a motorcycle do not arise out of the maintenance and use of a motor vehicle. As a result, the occupant of a motorcycle would not have to reach any tort threshold to bring a claim for non-economic losses. Further, a plaintiff does NOT have to meet any tort threshold in order to recover economic or out-of-pocket losses. Minn. Stat. 65B.51, subd. 3 explicitly states that tort thresholds apply only with respect to claims for "noneconomic detriment".
If an action is commenced before a threshold is met, the plaintiff is subject to having the case dismissed with prejudice. See Marose v. Hennameyer, 347 N.W.2d 509 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984).
No person shall recover damages for noneconomic detriment unless:
Death
The injury results in death.
Permanent/serious injury
The injury results in permanent injury.
Disfigurement
The injury results in permanent disfigurement.
60 days disability
The injury results in disability for 60 days or more. The court in Lindner v. Lund, 352 N.W.2d 68 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984) stated that the sixty-day requirement is cumulative. It does not require sixty consecutive days of disability.
$4,000 medical bills
Future medical expenses cannot be used to meet the $4,000 threshold requirement for medical expenses, even though the statute refers to the medical expenses paid or payable. See Coughlin v. LaBounty, 354 N.W.2d 48 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984).