Serious Personal Injury

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 Introduction

Perhaps the most disruptive and unsettling event you can encounter is when you are injured in some type of accident.  Most commonly, these include automobile accidents, injuries from mishaps that take place on the land of another such as slip and falls in stores you shop at or at a friend's house, or injuries on the job.  It is hard to plan for these events, and, when confronted with them your life is disrupted by the sudden loss of transportation, the need for hospitalization or medical care and recovery, and the inability to work and earn an income.  Depending on the setting of the injury, you may have recourse against another person or business if the other person or business, because of some action or failure to do something caused your injury.  This is what is known in the legal community as a "tort" or personal injury action.

Whenever you are injured by the misdeeds of another, there are several different types of damages or losses that you can encounter.  Exemplary damages are those that are given to a victim in order to punish the person responsible.  In Michigan, with some very rare exeptions, you cannot recover these types of damages and therefore they will not be discussed here.  Compensatory damages fall into basically two sub categories.   The first are "economic" damages.  Those include the actual costs one encounters for an injury such as the cost of medical care, treatment and rehabilitation for the injury itself, the loss of wages for not being able to work during recovery, the cost of hiring people to do things for you that you can no longer do for yourself because of the injury, damages to fix cars or other property damaged by the accident, and others.  Non-economic damages or losses include the pain and suffering you have due to the injury, mental anguish, fright, loss of companionship and similar types of losses.  These later types of damages are much harder to assess and are dependant upon the nature and severity of the injury.

Who you collect damages from depends upon the setting in which the injury occurs.

 Automobiles and No-Fault

The most prevalent time that you might be injured is probably in an automobile.  Since 1973, Michigan, like a number of states, has been what is called a No-Fault state.  What this means is that there are some types of damages that you receive regardless of who was at fault, others that you might be able to collect from someone, and others that you might not get at all.

To begin with, as an owner of a car, (truck, or the like) you must have basic No-Fault insurance.  This is what is commonly referred to as PL-PD in the days before No-Fault.   This insurance pays you for your own medical bills for treatment and rehabilitation from your injuries, loss of wages for up to three years for the work you miss due to your injuries, and up to $20.00 per day for up to three years for having to have someone, even a relative that you live with, doing things that you did before the accident that you no longer can do because of your injuries.  Again, these "economic" damages come from your own insurance company.  They are often referred to as 1st party or PIP (Personal Injury Protection) benefits.

Some insurance policies offer what is called "coordinated" coverage.  This means that if, for example, you have a medical insurance policy (say, Blue Cross), separate and apart from your auto insurance, you get your medical bills paid by the health insurer first and the auto insurer only pays what the health insurer does not pay.  Coordinated auto insurance saves you money as the premiums for the policy are reduced.

While you are required by Michigan Law to have Medical/wage loss coverage described above, damages to your car will be paid for, if by anybody, by your own insurance company, if you also obtain collision coverage with your insurance policy.  These come in a variety of forms with deductibles in varying amounts and may not pay for damages to your car if you are at fault in the accident.  The reason why there are a variety of forms that collision or comprehensive coverage take is to reduce insurance costs to you, similar to the PIP benefits explained above.  For example, if the your coverage only pays when the other person is at fault, and you have a high deductible, your insurance cost when you get the policy is less than when it pays no matter who causes the accident and you have a low deductible.  And, the type and age of your car will have a big impact on the insurance cost as well.  Collision insurance is entirely optional when you buy your auto insurance.

Michigan Law does allow you to sue the other owner and/or driver of an automobile for up to $500.00 in damage done to your car.  This is what is called a "mini-tort" and you file the lawsuit, without a lawyer, in one of Michigan's District Courts, usually where the defendant (the person you sue) lives.  This $500.00 can be for your deductible, if it applies, or if you do not have collision coverage in your insurance policy.  And, you must be less than 50% at fault.

Your auto insurance policy does require insurance for damages you cause with your automobile to other property, such as running into a parked car or a building.  Your policy also requires insurance protection from being sued by someone else for their pain and suffering type damages that will be explained in a little bit.

An optional benefit you can buy from your insurance company is called uninsured motorist coverage which may pay you for pain and suffering type damages caused by another person who is operating a motor vehicle that does not have the legally required automobile insurance on it.

If you are injured because of someone else's fault, you may be entitled to seek damages from him or her for your non-economic losses or for things such as pain and suffering.  In Michigan, your injuries have to be serious, at least for some appreciable period of time.  Under the law, death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function has to be suffered before recovery can be had.  Death, is obvious.  Disfigurement means scars, usually to the face or other normally exposed part of the body, or loss of body parts.  Serious Impairment means that the injury has to be such that, first, a doctor or other medical practitioner can see the injury through some type of objective testing such as xrays, ultrasounds, electrical testing a so forth.   Secondly, the injury has to interfere with your ability to lead a normal life.  The injury does not have to be permanent, as in the case of scars, but has to be of a significant period of time.   What is a significant period of time varies from case to case.

 What You Should Do If You're in an Automobile Accident

Normally, you collect from your own insurance company the PIP (economic losses) that result from an accident.  If you have pain and suffering damages, those will come later in a lawsuit or claim against the other person at fault in the accident.  There are time limitations though, that will be discussed momentarily.  You must first prepare for both from the time of the accident itself.  This will, of course, be dependant upon how bad you are injured and may require you to rely on the help of friends or family the more seriously you are injured.

At the scene, you need to begin gathering as much information as possible.  You should report the accident to the police who, to some extent, will perform an investigation.  To be safe, however, get as much information (names, addresses, phone numbers, driver's license, registration, insurance) of the other driver or driver's involved, occupants of the other cars, as well as bystanders and witnesses to the accident.

Get the medical care and treatment you need to fix your injuries.  Doctors, not lawyers, need to be listened to and followed.

Get pictures of not only your car, but the others involved and where the accident happened.  This may be done in the days following the accident.

Report the accident to your insurance company.  Many people don't like to do this, particularly with minor accidents as it may affect their insurance rates.  But, if you are injured, in order for the insurance company to be responsible, you must notify them of the details of the accident, your injuries employment information, and make your claim within 1 year of the accident.

If your injuries turn out to be serious, often only time will tell, you must file a lawsuit or make your claim against the other person within 3 years of the accident.

There are many things going on when your in an accident, and you may not be able to remember or know exactly what to do and when to do it.  It is a good idea to contact a lawyer as soon as practical, say within a week or two, for some guidance. Our firm can help you out in that regard.

 Work-Related Injuries

Work injuries are a lot like auto related injuries.  Usually, but not always, you get your costs for medical care and wage loss from your employer's "worker's compensation" insurer.  Federal and some State employers may be exempt from the requirement to have this type of insurance.

In a typical work injury, you cannot sue your own employer for pain and suffering type damages, even if it is caused by the neglect of another individual who you work with.  There are exceptions, however.  You may be able to sue an employer or fellow employee if the act that caused the injury was done intentionally, such as being assaulted by another.  Or, if you are injured by the neglect of another who is not employed by your employer.  An example is where your driving in your car delivering something as part of your employment and some other driver causes your accident.  Other examples are being injured due to product failure of some type that may be the responsibility of the product manufacturer.

Again, the rules on what you should do is similar to those discussed regarding auto accidents apply.  To sort things out, getting a free consultation with an attorney, such as our firm, is well worth the few minuets that it takes.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

 Slips and Falls, Product Hazards, Medical Malpractice

When you go to a store and fall down because of some hazard, the store owner may be responsible for your injury.  The same holds true, to differing degrees, when you are visiting the house of a friend or relative.  The circumstances become very important, any you should get as much information as possible to be able to discuss this with us when you call for a free consultation.

To discuss the wide range of circumstances here would not serve you well as there are just too many to do a fair job of explaining the legal variations that may apply.  These include everything from foreign substances, like water on a floor, to hidden hazards like loose floor boards on stairs.

The same can be said for product hazards.  These type of accidents can occur even in your own home.   Getting an electrical shock from an improperly designed or manufactured piece of household equipment may be justification for suing the manufacturer, seller, or person who repaired that item.  This is just an example, and there are many others.

Finally, medial malpractice that causes injury or death should be looked at carefully.  Whenever something goes wrong, and an injury results, it is fair and proper to present the facts and circumstances to an attorney to see if there is a meritorious claim that can be made.  Again, we are here to help.

Personal Injury Resource Links

Torts and Personal Injury
Damages
United States National Library of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicinev
Medscape (WebMD)
Martindale’s Health Science Guide
The Journal of the American Medical Association