Detroit, MI Car Accident Lawyer

Every year, the State of Michigan records around 300,000 traffic accidents and an average of around 73,500 injuries. That’s a lot of car crashes and car accident victims for a state that has about 3 million vehicles. 

Whether you only had a mild scratch on your vehicle, suffered serious injuries in a coma-inducing car wreck, or anything in between while driving in the Detroit area, you need to speak to a highly experienced car accident lawyer to learn what your options are.

Mike Morse Law Firm is a top-rated law firm in Michigan serving injured victims of car accidents like you for over 25 years. If you have been involved in a motor vehicle crash, we can help you get the financial compensation you deserve by law. Get in touch with one of our Detroit car accident lawyers to discuss your potential personal injury claim, free of charge. Our personal injury law firm operates on a contingency basis, meaning that you’ll only owe us attorney fees when we win your case.

Call us toll-free at (855) 645-3946 for a free consultation with a personal injury attorney.

What Are the Major Steps to Take After a Detroit Car Accident?

 

At Mike Morse Law Firm, our car accident attorneys pride themselves on their compassion and ability to get great settlement offers for our injured clients every week. To do the same for you and serve your best interests to the fullest extent, our experienced attorneys must ask the right questions, so we can give you your best chance at securing the best possible settlement for your situation.

For one thing, we will ask you what steps you took right after you were injured in the auto accident. Ideally, you should take the following steps after an accident with another motorist (in no particular order):

• Collect the other driver’s insurance information and contact information if you are able, as well as their license plates. These details will be important when you file a car accident claim with your insurance provider or the other party’s insurance company.
• Get medical treatment as soon as possible if you were badly injured or a general checkup if you were in a mild accident. Make sure you do this right after the accident. This is both for your own safety and to establish the cause of your injuries in your medical records. It’s also important to make sure you haven’t suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that may show late symptoms and to check to see if you’ve suffered common injuries like bruising, whiplash, or even a spinal cord injury. Accident victims who seek medical care as quickly as possible stand a better chance of securing a fair settlement and achieving a good recovery.
• Report the case at the police station, and make sure they file a police report. Do this as soon as possible. Simply dialing 911 and reporting the incident is fine.
• Take photos of any injuries or property damage at the accident scene, and record videos of the accident scene if you can. These pictures and videos will serve as crucial evidence if you ever need to go to court in a lawsuit.
• Ask for any witnesses’ contact details, and see if you can collect witness statements. Most people will provide these to you because it’s the right thing to do.
• Contact your insurance provider to report the accident, and ask to apply for no-fault insurance. Michigan is one of 12 no-fault states in the U.S., meaning that an insurance company will be responsible for covering property damage, medical expenses, and non-economic damages. The trick is determining which company will be responsible for the insurance claim and filing the personal injury claim correctly.
• Talk to an auto accident lawyer with years of experience in Detroit about your case.

Remember that this is a guideline, and not everyone will follow these steps to the letter. Still, it’s important to establish that you took the right steps first. It will serve as a foundation for your car accident case and help us develop a legal strategy that works for you. Personal injury law stipulates that you’ll need to complete these steps and begin the claims process with the right insurance policy before the statute of limitations runs out. In the state of Michigan, the deadline is three years after the injuries are suffered in a car accident.

Call Mike Morse Law Firm toll-free at (855) 645-3946 to speak to one of our experienced motor vehicle accident lawyers about your legal rights.

Are Police Reports Important?

 

Yes, police reports are crucial to your car accident case. These reports are an unbiased representation of the accident by a law enforcement agent, and they often include information about the at-fault party. Michigan law mandates all vehicle drivers to report every vehicle accident resulting in significant injury, wrongful death, or property damage, so make sure to file one within 24 hours or as soon as possible to avoid difficulties during the legal process.

You must file a police report even if law enforcement agents weren’t present at the scene of the accident. We understand that you may be indisposed at this time, which is why our motor vehicle accident lawyers will file these claims on your behalf when we take on your case.

A police report gives your case legitimacy in the eyes of the law. The report proves that you’re not lying about the amount of damages or fabricating stories to make the car accident seem more serious. It verifies that you were involved in an auto accident and were injured.

Insurance companies within the state of Michigan also require a police report before they can process car accident claims. This is because insurance adjusters know that law enforcement agents are likely to be unbiased in their reports of the case.

Think of a police report as a documented “official notice” that proves you were in an auto accident. If you have filed a police report and you are not at fault, you will be able to shorten the time it takes for the insurance companies to process your benefits. 

Who is Liable in a Detroit Car Accident Case?

 

Michigan is a no-fault car insurance state. If you’ve been involved in a car accident within the state, you must file your claim with your own insurance company, even if you weren’t at fault.

A car accident claim is usually filed under personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage. PIP covers economic damages like lost wages and medical bills necessitated by the injuries sustained from the car accident. However, you may be able to bring a third-party claim against an at-fault driver for non-economic losses if the following conditions are met:

• The auto accident caused severe injuries, permanent disfigurement, impairment, or wrongful death.
• The at-fault driver is responsible for 51 percent or more.

This option provides you with an avenue to secure maximum compensation that will cover your medical bills, property damage, and car damage up to policy limits. But that’s not all. Detroit, MI also applies the “modified comparative negligence” rule in state law. This means that your compensation may be affected to the degree that you’re at fault. For instance, if you have been injured in an auto accident and decide to sue the at-fault party, the court will examine the extent to which you and other parties were at fault. 

For example, if it is determined that your car accident incurred damages of $150,000, but you were 10 percent responsible for the accident, you may only get $135,000 and forfeit the other $15,000.

On the other hand, if you were 50 percent responsible or more, then you will not be awarded any damages. To be clear, Detroit, MI liability laws can be quite complicated and confusing for many people. This is why you need a highly skilled and experienced car accident attorney who can explain how each type of injury law works and the conditions attached to properly securing a successful settlement or verdict. If you want to learn more about liabilities and how they may affect your amount of compensation, get in touch with the auto accident attorneys with Mike Morse Law Firm at (855) 645-3946 for a free initial consultation.

Pain and Suffering Damages in Detroit

Unlike economic damages that can be quantified and nailed down to a dollar amount, pain and suffering damages can’t be quantified. The jurors will determine these based on each physical injury case or wrongful death case that goes to court.

For example, one injured victim might be awarded the sum of $35,000 for a loss of quality of life claim, while another injured claimant may get $85,000 in damages for the same loss of quality of life claim. The difference in settlement amounts often lies in the facts of the case as well as your auto accident lawyer’s ability to plead your case. 

At Mike Morse Law Firm, our attorneys with decades of experience will use a combination of videos, photos, testimonies, medical records, and expert witnesses to show how you have been negatively affected by your pain and suffering. Our accident attorneys are determined and committed to getting you the best possible outcomes with fair compensation for your hospital bills, emotional trauma, and lasting injuries.

Factors Influencing Your Auto Accident Settlement in Detroit

Each auto accident case is unique, and there’s no set formula to determine how much compensation you’ll get as settlement. There are no fixed rates or settlement ranges. Each auto accident claim or lawsuit is determined by its own merit.

That being said, some circumstances can determine the size of your settlement. Whenever insurance companies and the law examine auto accident cases in Michigan, they tend to consider the following factors:

• Loss of wages or income – This income or wage loss includes present and future losses in the aftermath of a serious crash.
• Psychological or emotional trauma – This can be in the form of PTSD, emotional trauma during recovery, or depression during or after the recovery process.
• Pain and suffering – The courts will compensate you accordingly if there’s clear evidence of pain and suffering in the present and the possibility of dealing with that in the future, such as cases where the injured party suffers long-term effects or needs physical therapy.
• Temporary or permanent disability – If the courts determine that your disability was caused by the accident, the courts will award you a sizable settlement to the degree that you are affected
• Temporary or permanent disfigurement – Whether it’s in the form of scars or injury to the face, neck, or arms, the courts will consider the possible present and future implications on your income-earning ability and compensate you accordingly.
• Shock and fright – The court checks if you were frightened or went into a state of shock before or after the auto accident.
• Claims by bystanders – If a friend or loved one witnessed the accident, the friend or loved one may be able to file a claim against the at-fault party.
• Death – Wrongful death cases can be brought against the at-fault driver or party by family members or loved ones if the deceased relative died from accident-related injuries. A jury will determine appropriate wrongful death damages.

If you have experienced one or more of these factors, we may be able to help with your Michigan no-fault benefits claim. Mike Morse Law Firm is a top-rated car accident law firm in Detroit. 

We’re the legal firm to contact when you need results. We serve clients and residents throughout the entire state and have won over a billion dollars on their behalf. What’s more, our experienced auto accident lawyers are always on hand to help you achieve the best possible result.

Call Mike Morse Law Firm toll-free at (855) 645-3946 to speak to one of our Detroit car accident lawyers today.

Common  Causes of Car Accidents in Detroit

 

Understanding the various hazards that contribute to auto crashes is a very important part of proving your case. A key aspect of our legal team’s process at Mike Morse Law Firm is investigating the actual cause of your vehicle accident and determining who was at fault. This is vital because, sometimes, the real cause of the accident isn’t obvious until you look deeper.

For example, a brake failure may lead to a motor vehicle accident. At first, the case looks like an ordinary failed brake problem. But that brake failure may be the symptom of negligence. The actual fault may lie with the owner, who failed to perform regular maintenance. If the owner had carried out the necessary maintenance or repairs, the brakes likely wouldn’t have failed.

Some of the more common causes of car crashes or collisions include:

• Distracted driving
• Drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs
• Failure to yield – This is particularly dangerous if the injured victim had the right of way.
• Inability to stop on time – This occurs more in snowy weather, causing vehicles to skid farther than they should.
• Excessive speeding – This has caused almost one-third of all fatalities in the last two decades; it’s connected to reckless driving and often impairs a driver’s ability to control all types of vehicles during unexpected events.
• Improper lane usage – When a motor vehicle driver decides to swerve from one lane to the other, instead of maintaining one lane, it puts that driver and other road users at risk.
• Tailgating – Driving too close to another driver increases the chance of a rear-end collision if the driver in front suddenly brakes.
• Road rage – Road rage is now a major cause of road incidents and can cause significant injury or harm to both the victim and the perpetrator.
• Failing to back up properly – When drivers don’t pay attention to their rear views, they may end up rear-ending another vehicle or running someone down.
• Traffic violations – A reckless driver running a red light, for instance, can easily result in an auto crash.

These actions can lead to severe injuries like broken bones, deep cuts, lacerations, severe bruising, and even death. If you have been injured in a car crash or involved in an accident caused by any of the above causes, you’ll need the help of a highly experienced lawyer to prove liability, file for damages, and secure full compensation and punitive damages.