PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN

People get hurt when other people are negligent. In 2020, nearly 61,000 people were injured in Michigan automobile accidents alone. Thousands of other people were victims of circumstances involving hazardous premises, dangerous products, medical errors, and more.

Negligence causes more than physical and emotional injuries. The cost of medical treatment and wages lost while unable to work can be staggering. Pain and suffering can be exhausting. There is a way you can try to recover some of the damages you have incurred.

At Detroit Legal Group PLLC, we help clients injured by someone else’s negligence pursue personal injury claims. Often, no amount of money can truly compensate you for what you have suffered, but it can help you recover some of what you have lost. If you live in Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield, or Warren, or have been injured anywhere in Michigan, we can help.

How Do Personal Injury Claims Work in Michigan?

Michigan law establishes a no-fault system for auto insurance. In general, this means that your insurance pays for the medical treatment, rehabilitative care, and lost income after a crash, no matter who was at fault. Michigan auto owners are required by law to carry personal injury protection (PIP), property protection for your own vehicle, and bodily injury liability coverage should you seriously injure or kill someone else.

The state also follows a modified comparative fault rule which can assign fault to injury victims and reduces settlements by their percentage of fault. The settlement sum for a victim found to be 10% at fault would be reduced by 10%. A victim 50% at fault or more is prohibited from pursuing a claim.

Personal injury claims must be settled, or a lawsuit filed within three years of the date of the incident that caused the injuries, or three years from the date the injury was discovered if not immediately obvious. If a state government agency is the negligent party, the statute of limitations is only six months.

What Is Involved in Filing a Personal Injury Claim?

Because Michigan is a no-fault state for auto insurance, you will first file a claim against your own policy’s PIP coverage to pay for medical expenses and lost wages. You can file a claim against the insurance policy of the driver who was negligent, reckless, or injured you with malicious intent if you were seriously injured or permanently disfigured, or your loved one was killed. If the person who injured you in a Michigan accident is not a Michigan resident and their vehicle is not registered in Michigan, you can file a claim against their insurance policy as well.

Especially in a no-fault state, insurance companies will work diligently to deny third-party bodily injury claims. That is why medical documentation of your injuries, diagnoses regarding such things as disfigurement and disability, and the cost of current and future medical treatment is so important.

If the negligent driver’s insurance company denies your claim or is unwilling to settle your claim for fair compensation for your damages, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent driver and litigate your claim with the help of an attorney.

What Damages Might I Recover?

You can recover economic damages such as the cost of medical treatment and for income lost while you are unable to work. You can also recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and loss of companionship.

How Can an Attorney Help?

In a no-fault state such as Michigan, the standards required to file a third-party claim against a negligent party are high and specific. You will be well served by an experienced personal injury attorney who can fully investigate the circumstances of the crash, guide you in acquiring the proper medical documentation and evidence of expenses and lost wages, and establish a value for your noneconomic damages.

Once you have retained a personal injury attorney, all communication will go through them, and they will use their knowledge to keep your claim or case moving forward. This allows you time to focus on healing.