Dan Swenson, Minnesota workers' comp attorney

Who you are calling

Before law school I spent seven years as a union steward and negotiator. That is where the habit of checking the employer's math comes from, and it is why this site exists. I graduated magna cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in 2014, clerked at Robert Wilson & Associates during law school, and joined the firm after graduation. I was selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2024. I live in Nowthen, where I serve on the city council.

Results

I have handled every type of work comp claim you can imagine. Run of the mill physical injuries, TBIs, PTSD cases, repetitive stress injuries, chemical exposures, a career-ending thumb injury for a professional video game player, assaults, deaths, and any other kind of work injury you could think of. I have settled many, many cases for clients, and those settlements add up to tens of millions of dollars that I moved from insurance companies into my clients' pockets. I have also taken many cases to hearing and to the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals when the insurer would not offer enough to settle. I know how to handle your work comp case. Your situation is nothing I have not seen before, and nothing I cannot bring to a satisfactory conclusion.

Minneapolis office, statewide practice

Robert Wilson & Associates is at 404 3rd Ave N, Suite 201, Minneapolis, MN 55401, in the North Loop of Minneapolis. I take clients from all over Minnesota though. I live in Nowthen, north of the Cities, and I will travel anywhere in the state to meet with you and represent you. You very likely will not need to travel to the Twin Cities even if you hire a Twin Cities attorney. The only reason you might is court. Work comp court is in St. Paul, and it is a different court system from the district court in your county. Minnesota attorney license #0396275. More about Dan.

How a Minnesota comp attorney gets paid

Fees are set by Minn. Stat. § 176.081, not by the lawyer. There is no retainer and no hourly bill that will be sent to you to pay. The fee is 20% of the benefits that were in dispute and were recovered because of the lawyer's work, and the total is capped per injury. If nothing is recovered, there is no fee.

• Only disputed benefits count. Checks the insurer was already paying are not touched by the fee.
• The fee rules in detail.
• Run your own numbers with the attorney fee calculator.

When the fee is paid

At the end, not along the way. When disputed benefits are awarded or settled, the insurer withholds the fee from those benefits and sends it to the attorney. You never write a check, and nothing is owed while the case is pending. Before any of that, you sign a retainer agreement that prints the statutory maximum, and without that signed agreement no fee can be awarded at all. On a settlement, the fee is spelled out in the stipulation before you sign it.

What a comp attorney can do that is hard to do alone

You can do a lot yourself, and this site is built so you can. These are the parts where a lawyer changes the outcome.

What an attorney cannot do

• Change the facts or the medical records, or force your doctor to change their opinion.
• Get a higher permanency rating without a doctor who supports it.
• Make the Office of Administrative Hearings move faster, or make the insurer pay sooner than the statute requires. Late payment does carry interest and penalties, and a lawyer can pursue those.
• Promise a result. Anyone who does is guessing.

When you do not need me

If your claim is admitted, the checks arrive on time at the right rate, your medical bills are being paid, you chose your own doctor and your own QRC and they are doing their jobs, and all signs point to you returning to the job you were injured at and that is the outcome you want, you probably do not need a lawyer. You could still benefit from one in that scenario, to make sure things keep going well and you keep getting paid fairly, but you do not actually need one yet.

Even in the perfect no-conflict claim described above, you might still want an attorney on your claim for reassurance, support, and to be there in case things go south. You can hire an attorney on a claim like that, and it is possible you will never pay that attorney a single dollar in fees, because the fee only attaches when there is a dispute or a settlement. If you recover, return to work, and never settle, there is nothing to pay. You can also wait to hire an attorney until a dispute arises. But why make your attorney scramble to catch up to the insurance company after a dispute has already started, when you can have one sitting in the wings for free, ready to move the day the insurer disputes something?

When to call

Each of these comes with a deadline or a decision that is hard to undo.

• •A NOID or any letter saying your checks will stop. Read more
• •A denied claim. Read more
• •An exam scheduled with a doctor the insurer chose. Read more
• •Surgery or treatment denied or stuck in review. Read more
• •A settlement offer, or a settlement conference you would attend alone. Read more
• •Fired, demoted, or threatened after reporting the injury. Read more
• •Told you were an independent contractor, or the employer had no insurance. Read more
• •A permanency rating that seems low, or two doctors who disagree. Read more
• •Checks that are late or do not match the calculator. Read more

What happens when you call or text

You reach me, not an intake service. Most calls take ten to fifteen minutes. I will ask when you were hurt, how you were injured, who the employer and insurer are, what has been paid, what is denied, and what the most recent letters from the insurer or the state say. As explained above, I only get paid when something is disputed or the claim settles, so if you do not need an attorney I am not going to waste your time with a sales pitch. We will get right to the facts of your case, and I will tell you where I think your claim is headed and whether you need an attorney now or will need one soon. If your case does not need an attorney yet, I will tell you that too and leave it to you whether you want one in the wings. I will also give you my read on your QRC, your doctors, the adjuster, or your employer, because chances are I have handled claims just like yours, maybe even with your employer.

Questions to ask any work comp lawyer

Ask these of anyone you are thinking of hiring, including me.

1. Who will actually handle my file, and how do I reach that person?
2. How is the fee calculated, and what would it be on the benefits that are actually in dispute?
3. How many administrative conferences and OAH hearings have you handled in the last year?
4. If I do not want to take a settlement and want to go to a hearing instead, will you drop my case?
5. What do you think the insurer’s strongest argument is?
6. What will you need from me, and how often will I hear from you?
7. If my claim is fine, will you tell me not to hire you?

Frequently asked questions

How much does a workers’ comp lawyer cost in Minnesota?

The fee is set by Minn. Stat. § 176.081, not by the lawyer. It is 20% of the disputed benefits recovered, capped at $55,000 for injuries on or after October 1, 2024 and $26,000 for injuries from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2024. Nothing is owed up front, and no recovery means no fee.

Do I pay anything if I lose?

No. The fee is contingent on recovering disputed benefits. There is no retainer and no hourly bill.

When is the fee paid?

At the end, out of the disputed benefits that are awarded or settled. The insurer withholds the fee from those benefits and sends it to the attorney. A fee inside the statutory formula needs no judge's approval. You do not write a check.

Does the lawyer take a cut of the checks I am already getting?

No. Fees attach to benefits that were disputed and recovered because of the lawyer’s work. Benefits the insurer was already paying voluntarily are not touched.

Will hiring a lawyer make the insurer retaliate?

Retaliation for asserting workers’ comp rights is illegal in Minnesota under Minn. Stat. § 176.82. In practice, represented claims tend to be handled more carefully, not less.

Can I switch lawyers?

Yes. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.081, all fees for the same injury are cumulative and capped together, so changing lawyers does not double the fee. The attorneys sort out the split.

Do you take cases outside Minneapolis?

Yes. Dan takes Minnesota workers’ compensation claims statewide. Conferences and many hearings are held by phone or video, so you do not need to come to the Twin Cities.

Do I have to hire you to use the calculators?

No. Every tool on this site is free, has no login, and keeps what you type on your own device. Calling or texting is free too, and you do not have to be ready to hire anyone.