Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our attorneys are always willing to answer any questions you may have about your case. Here are the answers to common questions about personal injury lawsuits in Michigan:
- What should I do if I have been injured?
- How do I figure out who is at fault?
- What is my claim worth?
- How long do I have to file a claim?
If you have a specific question that you would like answered, contact us today. We can help you make the critical legal decisions about your personal injury case.
What should I do if I have been injured?
When you have been injured by someone else's carelessness, it is important to take some initial steps toward making sure your injury claim can be settled fairly and as quickly as possible.
Talk to a Michigan personal injury lawyer before making any statements, written or verbal, to insurance company adjusters or representatives.
Protect any evidence you may need to prove your injury, including your totaled car, photographs of an accident or injury scene, clothing you were wearing, damaged personal belongings, and so forth.
Write down everything you can remember about how the injury occurred, including the names, addresses and phone numbers of potential witnesses, police officers, insurance company representatives, or workers compensation representatives if it was a work injury.
Ask for copies of any reports filed, including police reports, medical records, and insurance claim forms.
Keep your receipts and prescription bottles to help you document any out-of-pocket expenses and medical treatments that you receive.
How do I figure out who is at fault?
In most cases, in order to collect on an injury claim in Michigan, you must prove the person who caused the injury was "negligent" - the person's actions created an unreasonable risk of harm. In Michigan, you must prove:
- The person who caused your injury owed you a "duty of care" - a legal obligation that the law imposes on us to protect and respect the safety of others around us
- The person did not exhibit the amount of care necessary to avoid an injury in the circumstances
- There was a connection between the other person's conduct and your injury
- You suffered "damages" - financial, emotional or physical losses that can readily be proven to have occurred as a result of the injury
Michigan "comparative negligence" law allows you to recover against another person, even if you were also negligent, as long as the other person was more negligent than you. The amount of your recovery will be reduced by a percentage of the amount you were found to be at fault for your own injury. If more than one person was negligent towards you, they are each proportionally responsible to you for their share of the damage that they caused.
What is my claim worth?
Under Michigan law, the person who injured you is responsible for:
- Past, current and future estimated medical expenses
- Time lost from work, including time spent going to medical appointments or therapy
- Any property that was damaged, such as your vehicle
- The cost of hiring someone to do household chores when you could not do them
- Any permanent disfigurement or disability
- Your emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, fright, shock, and any interference with your family relationships
- Physical pain and suffering
- Change in future earning ability due to the injury that you suffered
- Any other costs that were a direct result of your injury
Our lawyers will know what type of expert witness to hire to best prove your damages. Contact us to schedule a free face-to-face consultation.
How long do I have to file a legal claim?
In Michigan, you only have between 1 to 3 years, depending on the type of injury, from the date you were injured or from the date in which you should have reasonably discovered the injury, to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you hope to recover damages, you will definitely want to contact us and file a claim before this time period runs out.
