1. Both Sides of the Bridge. One Attorney Who's Seen It All.

Both Sides of the Bridge.

One Attorney Who's Seen It All.


Garbow Law Office is a workers' compensation firm in Duluth, Minnesota — built around the cases insurers fight hardest and the clients who need an attorney who actually shows up for them.

Mike Garbow, Workers' Compensation Attorney

In 2011, Minnesota Lawyer named Mike Garbow Attorney of the Year for his work representing injured workers with PTSD claims — a category most firms still won't touch. That recognition wasn't for volume. It was for the kind of case that requires an attorney to understand what a worker actually went through, not just what's documented in the file.



Mike has represented injured workers exclusively since 2008. Before that, he served in the U.S. Navy — an experience that shaped how he approaches advocacy: direct, no-nonsense, and focused on the person in front of him rather than the paperwork around them.


His practice covers the full range of workers' compensation claims in Minnesota and Wisconsin, with deep experience in the two categories insurers dispute most aggressively: PTSD claims and Gillette cumulative trauma injuries. If an insurer has denied a claim, questioned the diagnosis, or simply stopped communicating, that's where this firm does its best work.


Mike takes every case on contingency. If you don't recover, we don't recover. And when you call, you talk to Mike — not a paralegal, not an intake coordinator, not an associate who will pass notes along. Every client works directly with him from the first conversation to the last.

Black-and-white headshot of a smiling man in a suit and tie.

Licensed in Minnesota and Wisconsin — and Why That Matters Here

Workers in the Twin Ports often don't know which state's law governs their claim. Your employer might be incorporated in Minnesota while your job site is in Superior. The answer isn't always obvious, and getting it wrong early can cost you.



Mike is licensed to practice workers' compensation law in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. That means we can evaluate your situation under both state frameworks, identify where your claim is strongest, and move forward without sending you to a different firm. One call covers both sides of the bridge.

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What We're Built to Handle

This is not a general practice firm that adds workers' comp to a menu of services. Garbow Law exists specifically to represent injured workers — people whose claims have been denied, whose injuries developed over years instead of in a single incident, and whose PTSD from a workplace trauma has been minimized or ignored by an insurer.

We serve clients across the Twin Ports and Iron Range, including workers in construction, mining, manufacturing, and the trades. If you've been told your claim doesn't qualify, or if you're not sure whether it does, we'd rather you call than wonder.


  • Denied workers' compensation claims — Minnesota and Wisconsin
  • Gillette cumulative trauma injuries
  • PTSD and psychological injury claims
  • Union workers in construction, mining, and trades
  • Social Security Disability applications and appeals
  • Workers' comp and Social Security Disability coordination

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is the workers' comp attorney at Garbow Law in Duluth?

    Mike Garbow is the attorney at Garbow Law Office. He has represented injured workers in Minnesota and Wisconsin since 2008 and works directly with every client — no associates, no handoffs. Mike was named Minnesota Lawyer Attorney of the Year in 2011 for his PTSD workers' compensation work.

  • Is Garbow Law a good workers' comp attorney in Duluth?

    We'll let the record speak. Mike has recovered benefits for injured workers across the Twin Ports and Iron Range for 18 years, with particular depth in the claims insurers fight hardest — PTSD, cumulative trauma, and denied claims. The 2011 Minnesota Lawyer Attorney of the Year recognition for PTSD workers' comp representation is one data point. Case results are another. You can review both and decide.

  • Does Garbow Law handle workers' comp cases in Wisconsin?

    Yes. Mike is licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. If your injury occurred in Superior or elsewhere in Wisconsin, we can evaluate and handle your claim without a referral to another firm.

  • What if I'm not sure I have a case?

    That's what the free case review is for. You tell us what happened, we tell you what we think. No pressure, no commitment. Call (218) 800-8020 or use the contact form and we'll take it from there.

If You're Still Deciding, Here's What We'd Say

Eighteen years of watching insurance companies deny valid claims gives you a clear picture of their playbook. We know which arguments they make, which denials are worth fighting, and what it takes to recover benefits when an insurer has already said no. That knowledge doesn't cost you anything upfront — and if we don't recover, neither do we.