Our experienced personal injury lawyers regularly represent clients suffering from minor, serious, and catastrophic injuries. We have extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies and litigating personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout Minnesota. Whether you were injured in an auto or truck accident, in a collision with an insured or underinsured driver, from a fall on dangerous or neglected property, as a result of medical malpractice, from a dog bite, or in a car accident involving alcohol, we will go to work for you immediately to seek the financial compensation you need and deserve.

Born in 1953, Timothy W. Nelson was raised on a farm near Redwood Falls, Minnesota. He attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in physical education and health in 1975. He also started on the 1974 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion football team. Following college, Tim taught physical education and health in a small South Dakota town before returning to Minnesota where he was Assistant Principal at New London-Spicer High School for five years. While at New London-Spicer, he coached football, wrestling, and track, and obtained a master’s degree from St. Cloud State University in 1981. He received his law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1984, where he was a sterling honor graduate. Tim was admitted to the Minnesota bar in 1984 and the South Dakota bar in 1985. His first job as an attorney was with the firm of Gislason, Dosland, Hunter & Milecki in New Ulm. There, he not only represented personal injury victims, and also gained experience in the areas of insurance defense, criminal defense and the general practice of law. In 1986, Tim moved to St. Cloud to work for three years as an associate with Donohue, Rajkowski, Hansmeier, Grunke and Jovanovich. While continuing to gain experience in the field of personal injury, he also did criminal prosecution for the cities of Waite Park, St. Joseph and St. Stephen, and legal work for their corporate client, the Monsanto Chemical Company. In 1989, Tim joined a solo-practitioner, Geoff Gempeler, and helped him build his firm into a successful personal injury practice. In 1991, Tim and Geoff tried a defective products claim against a swimming pool manufacturer, obtaining a $983,000 verdict for a woman injured while diving into a pool. The verdict was believed to be one of the largest in Sherburne County history at the time. In 1992, Tim earned his certification by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a “Civil Trial Specialist”. This honor is reserved only for those attorneys who have been able to meet the rigorous requirements of certification, including demonstrated knowledge and substantial experience as a civil trial lawyer. In 1993, Tim became a partner in Nelson Hanson Personal Injury Attorneys and in 1995, the firm became known as NELSON PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS. Since then, he has committed his practice to helping victims obtain fair compensation for their injures. In October of 2016, Tim was designated Senior Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Law by the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is a member of the American Trial Lawyer’s Association, the Minnesota Trial Lawyer’s Association and the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is also a former member of the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Trial Lawyer’s Association. He has taught continuing legal education classes to other attorneys and is an adjunct professor of Trial Practice at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Christopher A. LaNave is a practicing attorney. He received his J.D. from the National University School of Law.

Born in South Dakota, raised in Iowa, and now practicing law in Minnesota, Blake is the very definition of a Midwestern lawyer. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 2004 and received a bachelor's degree in English literature and philosophy. After college, he went to Drake Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated law school in 2010 and was admitted to the Iowa bar in the same year. Blake founded Lubinus Law Firm, PLLC in 2011, which became Lubinus & Merrill, P.L.C. in 2019, and practiced in the Des Moines metro area and surrounding rural counties for nearly ten years. His primary areas of focus were criminal defense, juvenile welfare, and family law. After the uncertainty and chaos brought on by the pandemic in 2020, Blake moved to Minnesota this past September to be closer to his family. He was hired on at Ed Shaw Law in April of 2021 and will be practicing primarily in the areas of probate, family law, and general civil litigation. In his free time, Blake plays live music at local venues, enjoys backpacking and kayaking, cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes and Chicago Cubs, and spending time with his family. He is excited to join the Brainerd legal community and looks forward to getting to know his fellow colleagues.