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You can be out and about to do some shopping or visit friends, and someone could cut in front of you, causing your vehicle to crash into theirs. You’ve suffered an injury, and your car is damaged. How do you cover your medical and other expenses, including lost wages, if you are unable to work?
The first answer is that you have to start with your own insurance company and report the incident. This is what Michigan law requires, but in cases where your insurance doesn’t cover all your injury-related expenses and damages, you have the option of suing the at-fault driver.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident in or around Detroit, contact Ratton Law Group PC. We have been fighting for the rights of the injured for over thirty years and will fight for you. Call us today at (313) 631-0502 for a free consultation.
Michigan No-Fault Auto Insurance Laws
Michigan is a no-fault auto insurance state. Significant changes were legislated and took effect in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Vehicle operators now have more choices in the coverage they wish to purchase under their personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, which covers their injuries and related medical and other expenses.
Michigan was always known as having some of the highest PIP premium rates in the nation since it required drivers to purchase unlimited protection. The recent changes are aimed at reducing PIP premiums, but not without a cost to the consumer. Now, though unlimited coverage is still available, drivers can choose among optional PIP coverage levels:
- $50,000 – If you’re enrolled in Medicaid
- $250,000 or $500,000 – If not enrolled in Medicaid
- $0 – Drivers already on Medicare can opt out of PIP entirely
The new laws also cap the charges that hospitals and medical care providers can charge for medical services. This can result in inadequate protection and some providers refusing to treat victims of automobile accidents
Who Pays for Your Injuries?
Since Michigan is a no-fault insurance state, if you’re injured in an auto accident, you must report it to your insurance company, where your PIP coverage may be responsible for your medical expenses, lost wages due to your injuries, and even pay for home health care (with some limitations).
If your expenses exceed your PIP coverage level, you have the option of suing the at-fault driver to recover the excess charges, which may be for completed medical care or even for continuing treatment and rehabilitative services long into the future.
Suing the other driver also opens up the possibility of recovering damages for non-economic factors such as pain and suffering, which no-fault insurance policies may not cover.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Car Accidents?
With so many drivers on the road, there are dozens of reasons why a car accident could happen. A split-second mistake or an error in judgment could lead to severe injuries for you and anyone else in the car. Understanding why your accident happened helps you assign negligence in a personal injury claim.
The most common causes of car accidents include:
Driver Fatigue
Tired drivers make mistakes on the road and can even fall asleep at the wheel. Drivers on long road trips or anyone who hasn’t slept in a while are a danger to the cars around them. Driver fatigue is a real issue and can be as dangerous as drunk driving.
Distracted Driving
Almost everyone has a cell phone in the car with them. Texting, talking on the phone, or otherwise not paying attention to the road can lead to car accidents. Distracted drivers are at fault for the car crashes they cause.
Drunk Driving
Drunk and drugged driving is against the law, and for good reason. Drivers under the influence tend to cause catastrophic accidents and even fatal injuries. Drunk and drugged driving can lead to criminal charges as well as civil lawsuits.
Poor Road Conditions
The city or county you are in is responsible for maintaining the roads and street signs. Potholes, badly marked roads, and other hazards can cause car accidents.
Poor Weather Conditions
It’s much harder to drive when it’s raining, snowing, or windy. Drivers are expected to maintain control of their vehicles under any conditions, but the weather can sometimes make that difficult.
Speeding
The faster a car is going, the harder it is for them to slow down. Drivers who are speeding are much more likely to cause accidents, especially if the car in front of them brakes suddenly.
Disobeying Traffic Laws
Failing to stop at stop signs, failing to stop at red lights, and failing to yield can all cause car accidents. All drivers have a duty to follow the rules of the road to avoid injuring themselves and others.
What Are the Most Common Types of Car Accidents?
Just like there are many causes of car accidents, there are also many types of car accidents. The type of accident you’re in will impact your injuries and how damaged your car is.
The most common types of car accidents include:
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end wrecks happen when one car slams into the back of another car. In most cases, rear-ends happen when the back car is going too fast, and the front car stops suddenly. Rear-end collisions are almost always the fault of the back car.
T-Bone Collisions
When one car crashes into the broad side of another car and creates a T shape, it’s a T-bone accident. These accidents often happen in intersections when one car fails to stop or yield properly.
Head-On Collisions
A head-on collision is one of the most dangerous types of car accidents. In a head-on collision, the front ends of two cars hit each other. This type of accident can lead to catastrophic and even fatal injuries.
Rollover Crashes
When a car is hit on its side, it has the potential to roll over. Rollover accidents are especially common at high speeds, like on freeways and highways, and they can be deadly.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
Hit-and-run accidents occur when one driver flees the scene of an accident without exchanging information with the other driver. Hit-and-runs are against the law and can lead to criminal penalties.
Parking Lot Collisions
Parking lot accidents often occur at slow speeds, but they can cause extensive property damage. Many people disregard traffic rules in parking lots and parking structures, leading to more accidents.
What Are the Most Common Car Accident Injuries?
Motor vehicle accidents cause some of the most catastrophic injuries of all personal injury claims. Depending on the severity of your accident, you could be dealing with symptoms for years after the accident happens. It’s essential to seek medical attention to get the treatment you need after an accident.
The most common injuries car accident victims experience include:
Brain Injuries
Many victims hit their heads during the initial impact of a car accident. Concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and closed head injuries are all possibilities after a car accident. Brain injuries are difficult to treat, and victims may experience long-term symptoms like slurred speech, blurred vision, confusion, and memory loss.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Your spinal cord is responsible for sending information from your brain to the rest of your body. If you are hurt in the back or neck, your spinal cord could become damaged. This damage can disrupt the signals from your brain, leading to temporary or permanent paralysis. Victims with spinal cord injuries may require extensive physical therapy or surgery.
Back and Neck Injuries
The violent impact of a car crash can injure the back and neck. Herniated discs and bulging discs are difficult to treat and can cause long-term pain and nerve damage.
Broken Bones
Broken bones are very common after car accidents. Victims often break their hands, legs, arms, and ankles on impact. While some fractures heal well with just a cast, complex breaks can require surgery and physical therapy.
Nerve Damage
Intense collisions can damage the nerves in your body. Many victims with nerve damage suffer from long-term symptoms like tingling, numbness, and pain, which are difficult to treat.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Bruising and swelling are common after car accidents, especially in the areas where your seat belt catches you or your airbag is deployed against you. Soft tissue injuries take time to heal, and you may have to take time off work if you’re in pain.
Emotional Distress
Getting into a car accident is scary. Many car accident victims develop emotional issues like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an accident. Mental health issues can make it difficult to resume your life as normal.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident?
No one expects to get into a car accident on their way home or heading to work. Being prepared for an accident can help you keep yourself safe and bolster your personal injury claim immediately to avoid delays.
If you’ve been in a car accident, be sure to do the following:
Contact the Police
It’s a good idea to call the police for any accident that involves extensive property damage or bodily injury. Ask the police to come to the scene and get a copy of the police report before they leave. A police report will help assign liability to the other driver and add credibility to your statement.
Exchange Information
It is illegal to leave the scene of an accident without exchanging information with the other driver. Get their name, number, insurance company name, driver’s license number, and license plate number. You’ll need all of this information when you file a claim for damages.
Talk to Witnesses
Witness statements back up your statement and can help prove liability. If there were any witnesses to the crash, get their names and contact information so you can talk to them later.
Take Photos
Photos and videos are beneficial when making a personal injury claim. Take pictures of both cars, the area around the accident scene, and any injuries you have suffered from.
Seek Medical Attention
All of your medical bills can be paid for through a personal injury claim. Always seek medical attention from a medical professional as soon as possible after an accident. Even if you don’t feel hurt now, you likely have underlying injuries that are masked by shock and adrenaline.
Report the Accident to Your Insurance Company
Your auto insurance company will want to know about the accident right away. Call your insurance company to give a statement about what happened.
Contact a Detroit Car Accident Lawyer
The sooner you reach out to our Detroit car accident lawyers, the sooner we can begin building your case. You have a limited amount of time to seek compensation for your injuries. We are prepared to start building your personal injury case immediately after you contact us.
What Damages Can You Recover in a Car Accident Lawsuit?
After an auto accident, you’re likely experiencing many financial losses. You can recover compensation for any losses you sustained as a direct result of the accident. In most cases, your damages are split into economic damages and non-economic damages.
Our Detroit car accident attorneys can help you recover compensation for the following:
Economic Damages
Economic damages are financial losses that you can prove with bills or receipts. They have specific dollar amounts attached and are likely things you have paid for out of pocket. Economic damages include:
- Medical bills, both past and future
- Lost wages
- Loss of future income
- Property damage repairs or replacement
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages have to do with your emotional and mental well-being after the accident. Your injuries can impact you for a long time, and that disruption to your life can weigh heavily on your mind. Non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Mental health issues
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability
- Loss of companionship (for wrongful death cases)
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are less common than other damages, but they may be relevant to your case. These additional damages are awarded when a defendant is found to have acted negligently or recklessly without regard for human safety. In car accident cases, these damages are often awarded when the defendant was driving drunk or while on drugs. Our car accident lawyers can tell you more about these damages and whether or not they are relevant to you.
When to File a Car Accident Lawsuit
Michigan imposes two important time limitations in a PIP case. First, a notice of the accident must be provided within one year of the accident. Second, any no-fault benefit sought must be submitted within one year from the date it is incurred. There is a three-year time limit for filing a claim for pain and suffering against the person responsible for your injury. If the time limits are missed, you cannot receive compensation for no fault or pain and suffering benefits.
Working with a car accident lawyer in Detroit is the best way to ensure you don’t miss deadlines. The guidelines for personal injury claims are strict, and missing a deadline could mean the difference between receiving rightful compensation and not getting anything you are entitled to. When you call our team, we will immediately begin building your case so you can focus on resting and healing from your injuries.
Mini-Tort Lawsuits for Damage to Your Vehicle
The revised Michigan auto insurance laws raised the amount you can recover for damages to your vehicle from $1,000 to $3,000. This can be done by filing what is known as a mini-tort lawsuit, but several limitations and conditions apply, including:
- Your vehicle must have sustained damage (mini-torts don’t cover personal injuries)
- You have insurance for your vehicle, and your insurer doesn’t cover all the repair costs or waive your deductible
- The other driver is known and has insurance
- You will be subject to Michigan’s comparative fault standard (see below)
Mini-tort lawsuits do not apply if the at-fault driver is uninsured. In that case, you can sue for the full amount of repair costs.
Michigan’s Standard for Assigning Fault
If you do file a mini-tort or car accident lawsuit, Michigan uses a modified comparative negligence rule that assigns a percentage of fault to each driver in a car accident.
Say you’re involved in an auto accident. If it is determined that you are partially at fault (< 50%), your recovery could be reduced by that percentage. If your share of fault rises above 50 percent, you will be barred from recovering anything from the other driver.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits
What if a loved one dies in an auto accident? Michigan law defines wrongful death as a death caused by a “wrongful act, neglect, or fault of another” that would have allowed the victim to file a personal injury lawsuit had they survived.
While many states allow family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit directly, Michigan requires a personal representative appointed by the probate court to file the lawsuit on behalf of the family members.
Damages recoverable include:
- Reasonable hospital, medical, funeral, and burial expenses
- Pain and suffering endured by the deceased
- Loss of financial support the person would have provided the surviving family
- Loss of the deceased’s care, companionship, and other intangible benefits
<h2> What Does a Car Accident Attorney Do? </h2>
After a car accident, there are so many things you need to keep track of, like reporting to insurance companies, talking to witnesses, gathering documents, and more. All of this is compounded when you are still recovering from severe injuries. By working with our team of car accident attorneys, you can let our team of professionals take over the legal side of things while you focus on yourself and your health.
As your legal team, we’ll take the following steps:
Investigate Your Case
Before we start your personal injury claim, we will take the time to investigate all the evidence and circumstances surrounding your accident. Our experienced car accident attorneys know who to talk to and where to find documentation to support your claim.
Gather Evidence on Your Behalf
Photos, videos, and witness statements are key pieces of evidence that help with your claim. Our team will gather these and other documents to prove negligence.
Negotiate With Insurance Agents
Many insurance companies fail to give you the compensation you deserve. If an insurance company refuses to provide full damages, we can use negotiation tactics to get maximum compensation.
Take Your Case to Court
Not all personal injury cases go to trial. However, there’s a chance that the best way to recover compensation is by going before a judge. If that’s the case, we will represent you in court and present all your evidence on your behalf.
Choose a Team of Experienced Attorneys
The principal attorneys at Ratton Law Group PC have a strong medical background, including degrees in nursing. This medical knowledge enables them to maximize the value of your claim and fight for the best possible settlement.
If you need to file a lawsuit to obtain the full compensation you deserve, we are trial-experienced and will represent you vigorously in court. Contact us today for a consultation about your case by calling (313) 631-0502.