Representation for Car, Auto, Motorcycle, and Truck Accident Victims in all of Michigan
Every year, millions of car accidents occur throughout the United States. A car accident can easily lead to a number of painful and crippling injuries, including brain damage, head trauma, broken or fractured bones, internal injuries, paralysis, back & spinal cord injuries, permanent disability, and more. Not only are these injuries extremely painful, but they also require prompt medical attention, and in many cases, ongoing medical treatment. Extensive medical care is always expensive, and it can be very stressful for a person contending with painful injuries to have to deal with sky high medical bills, especially when they're unable to work because of those injuries. David M. Clark and The Clark Law Office specialize in accident law and have recovered millions for injury victims and their families receiving multi million dollar verdicts and settlements for their clients. We take pride in the fact that we are full service trial attorneys with three decades experience in Michigan alone. Regardless of the situation of your accident, we will form a personalized legal strategy for you that gives you the best chance for a fair and just compensation award. We know and utilize many trusted state experts including accident reconstruction specialists and economic experts that will strengthen your case at trial or during settlement.
Michigan No- Fault Law and Why You Need A Michigan Auto Accident Lawyer
Victims of auto accidents in Michigan are entitled to receive 85% of their wage loss for up to three years, loss of services compensation of $20 per day for up to three years, and unlimited life time medical coverage for the injuries received in an auto accident regardless of who is at fault in the accident under the current No-Fault Law. This coverage is usually provided to you by your own insurance carrier, but this is not always the case. However you must act quickly to protect these rights under your policy. The legal rules as to who's insurance carrier is responsible for payment causes confusion and is often contested. You further need to keep careful records and present proof of your claim in a timely manner to receive full compensation. Failure to make your claim properly and timely can cause you to lose all your rights to receive lost wages, your loss of service payments, attendant care, and your life time medical treatment for injuries. Further, your own insurance company in many cases will try to terminate your benefits before you have healed or can go back to work. The Insurance Company also often denies and contests the need for medical services that you and your doctor believe are needed for your treatment. The Clark Law Office are proven and experienced Lansing car accident attorneys and have protected and preserved our clients rights for thirty years to make sure your own insurance company lives up to its obligations to you.
If you can prove the accident was caused by another driver's negligence and also prove that you have sustained a serious impairment of a body function, serious disfigurement or death, you can receive Michigan third party benefits for your pain, suffering and mental anguish and lost wages beyond three years of the accident from the driver that was at fault in the accident. The legal rules as to what is a serious impairment of a body function are very complex and constantly changing. You should contact The Clark Law Office to help you. These types of damages are very difficult to receive without the aid of a dedicated, experienced, and aggressive attorney.
Explanation of Michigan No-Fault Policies - The Three Parts of a Basic No-Fault Policy
Personal Injury Protection
This is what most people think of when they hear the term Michigan no-fault insurance, and you can find greater detail in our specific no-fault law in Michigan page. Generally this is the part of an insurance policy that will pay for medical expenses, wage loss, attendant care, replacement services, and the cost of driving to and from medical treatment as mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Property Damage
One of the most common arising issues involves property damage. Michigan mini-tort law allows you recover up to $500 of your expenses related to car damage and additional collision coverage can be purchased to cover the rest, but what if you cause property damage to someone else's property such as a building, fence, or some other structure? If you do in fact have auto insurance in Michigan, you automatically have property protection up to $1 million. The minimum no-fault protection includes this property protection coverage. Anything above this threshold of $1 million, you are responsible for personally. It's important to reiterate that this coverage does not apply to any vehicles in the accident, unless you hit another person's parked car and it was parked legally.
Residual Liability Insurance – Bodily Injury and Property Damage
In all cases, the no-fault law in Michigan is in place to protect drivers, but the protection is not always good enough. In states without no-fault law, a driver is sued as a result of the crash if they are found to be the cause of the accident and were negligent. Many drivers in Michigan carry only the minimum coverage and this helps to protect you, but if it's a particularly bad accident you may not be as protected as you would think. For this reason, many drivers purchase additional coverage that offer higher ceilings of protection, but this cost is expensive and adds up over the years. The standard minimum protection provides up to $20,000 of protection if you happen to injure or kill another person involved in the accident. It also provides $40,000 of coverage if multiple people are hurt or killed. Finally, minimum no-fault insurance provides up to $10,000 for property damage in another state and $1 million in the state of Michigan. As I mentioned earlier, this coverage doesn't apply in all circumstances. The situations where this coverage doesn't apply include
If you cause an accident in Michigan in which someone is killed, seriously injured, or permanently disfigured
If you are involved in an accident in Michigan with a non-resident who is an occupant of a motor vehicle not registered in Michigan
If you are involved in an accident in another state; or
For up to $500 if you are 50% or more at fault in an accident which causes damages to another person's car which are not covered by insurance.
Different Types of Auto Accidents and The Most Common Causes of Accidents in Michigan
The type of injury and resulting medical care usually depends on the type of accident you were involved in along with the cause of the accident. Some injuries require one-time medical treatment while others may last a lifetime and include constant doctor visits and rehabilitation. Fortunately, Michigan's no-fault auto insurance system ensures that both drivers will receive the medical treatment that they require. There are many factors that can lead to a car accident in Michigan, but most could and should have been easily avoided by drivers. The most common reasons for an auto accident in Michigan include reckless driving, excessive speeding, and failing to yield. Rear-end collisions are more likely to be the result of distracted driving and is the most common type of accident that leads to serious spinal injuries because of the changing directions of forces sustained by passengers. While more rare, a head on collision accounts for the most fatalaties of any other type of accident. A head-on collision usually results in catastrophic injuries including paralysis, spinal injuries, and brain injuries. The most common cause of a head-on collision is from driving under the influence or falling alseep at the wheel. The other most common type of accident is a side impact or T-bone collision. These types of collisions can be fatal under high speeds but they usually result in broken bones, neck injuries, shoulder injuries, and other types of head injuries. Running a stop sign or red light is the main contributor of a side impact type of collsion.
