Know Your Auto Rights!

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In the State of Michigan, there are 3 potential cases an auto accident victim can bring:

1. First Party (No-Fault PIP Benefits)
An auto accident victim pursues a Michigan No-Fault/PIP case with his or her own insurance company.  Under the Michigan No-Fault Insurance Act, accident victims are entitled to benefits that include coverage of accident-related medical expenses, wage loss for up to three years following the accident, household care, reimbursement for medical mileage and prescription costs, as well as attendant care (personal medical/hygiene care).
To protect your rights to your No-Fault claim, you MUST SUBMIT a NO-FAULT APPLICATION to your insurance carrier within ONE YEAR OF THE DATE OF THE ACCIDENT or you will lose any benefits.  Also, claims submitted to your insurance company will not be paid until they have a No-Fault Application on file.

2. Third Party (Pain and Suffering)
Third party cases arise when someone becomes injured as a result of a negligent driver.  In these cases, the injured party sues the at-fault driver for pain and suffering as well as any excess economic loss.  The injured party has up to three years to sue the at-fault driver before the Statute of Limitations runs.

3.  Mini-Tort (Property Damage)
Under Michigan law, auto accident victims can only recover up to $500.00 in damage to their vehicles.  This means that even if your car is wrecked in the accident, the maximum award you can expect to receive is $500.00 from the at-fault driver or his/her insurance.
To make a claim for a mini-tort payment, you first need to identify the at-fault driver’s insurance company (this can be found on the police report).  You’re then going to need to submit a copy of the police report, an estimate of repairs on your vehicle, any pictures of the car that you may have, and a copy of your auto insurance’s declarations page.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

How Do Cases Settle? (Or When Will I Get My Money?)

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In every personal injury or tort case, there are two parties, the Plaintiff, or injured party, and the Defendant, the individual or entity accused of negligence and damages.

When an attorney takes on a personal injury/tort case, the claim usually takes one of three routes before the client gets paid:

1. Negotiation

Negotiation is basically a back-and-forth process between the injured party’s attorney and the Defendant, his/her attorney, or an insurance adjuster. Your attorney will typically compile your medical records, bills, and documents such as wage loss information to give the Defendant an idea of your damages. The attorney may also provide a verbal or written summary of your pain and suffering.

2. Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR, is when both the Plaintiff and Defendant’s representatives agree to submit the facts of the case to a third party (or uninvolved individual) for an objective evaluation of the Plaintiff’s claim against the Defendant. ADR’s take on many forms in many states, from a Court-sanctioned Case Evaluation, a mediation organized by opposing counsel, or Case Arbitration, where the results are binding, or permanent.

3. Litigation

Litigation is probably the most long-term and costly option. If Plaintiff and Defendant aren’t seeing eye to eye, chances are your claim will end up in litigation. The litigation process begins with your attorney filing a complaint, which must be submitted before the state’s Statute of Limitations expire (see previous article for more info on this). From this point, a Plaintiff can expect a long period of Discovery, when attorneys seek information from the other side about the accident, their clients’ backgrounds, and the materials and witnesses the other side is expecting to use at trial. Depositions are commonly taken, where individuals with information about the incident or Plaintiff’s medical treaters may be interviewed under oath to gather more information regarding the case. If ongoing negotiations or alternative dispute resolution fails, the Plaintiff may find himself in a jury trial. The longer the litigation lasts, the higher the case’s costs can go.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of personal injury cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

King of Pop’s Doctor Death Convicted- A Victory for Medical Malpractice

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After only 9 hours of deliberation, a jury found Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Pop legend Michael Jackson, guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as a result of overdosing on propofol, a powerful intravenous anesthetic that Dr. Murray had been using to treat Michael’s insomnia.

Prosecutors were able to secure the guilty verdict through carefully explaining the medical malpractice concept, “Standard of Care”.  Through testimony given by various medical experts, it was determined that Dr. Murray had been negligent in his decision to administer the highly potent drug in a private home without livesaving equipment on standby.  Additionally, Dr. Murray fialed to keep a vigilant watch of the patient while under the anesthesia, resulting in his death.  Experts declared these acts “Grossly Negligent”.

When a doctor fails to meet the Standard of Care outlined by his/her education and professional standards, they put their patients at risk.  Goren, Goren & Harris has handled countless cases where even a well-intentioned doctor had a slip in judgment or simply decided not to double-check their patient’s condition.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Caution! No-Fault Benefits At Risk!

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If you are a Michigan resident and get into a car accident, the chances are that you are entitled to have all your car accident related medical bills paid for by Michigan No-Fault insurance, for as long as you continue to require accident related treatment. This includes medical expenses like surgeries, physical therapy, drug prescriptions and medical devices — for the rest of your life, if necessary. Depending on the severity of your car accident injuries, millions of dollars might be at stake.

One of the first steps to getting your car accident related medical expenses paid is to complete a Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits, and to submit the application to the correct insurance company. The problem is that the Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits is complex, and it is easy to make mistakes when filling it out. In fact, it contains traps that are well known to our team of experienced Michigan car accident lawyers.

For example, it’s important to describe in detail the injuries you suffered as a result of the car accident. If you don’t, a No-Fault insurance company can deny you benefits, claiming that you didn’t provide it with proper notice of all of your injuries. This is why we spend time with our clients to ensure that their injuries are fully described, using the language that our experienced car accident lawyers know will help get your medical bills paid.

Another danger is submitting the application to the wrong insurance company. Michigan car accident laws govern which car insurance company is responsible for paying your bills. It may be yours, a family member’s, the other driver’s, or someone else’s. The choice is not always obvious, and it depends on the circumstances. The sad truth is that if your application is submitted to the wrong Michigan No-Fault insurance carrier, your application may be denied costing you thousands or even millions of dollars in No-Fault car accident benefits.

Again, if your Application for Michigan No-Fault Benefits is filled out incorrectly, or if you submit it to the wrong Michigan auto insurance company, you may lose some or all of your benefits. At Goren, Goren & Harris, we help car accident victims get the No-Fault benefits they deserve every day. Let our Michigan car accident lawyers help you with your Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits so that your claim will be error free.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Statutes of Limitation- A Ticking Time Bomb

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Did you know that for every claim, there is a Statute of Limitations? This means that if you are injured, you only have a limited period of time to file a lawsuit against the person that harmed you. If you run out of time, your claim will be forever barred.

The Statute of Limitations depends on the type of lawsuit you want to bring, and where you want to bring it. For instance, the Statute of Limitations for a dog bite lawsuit may be different than the Statute of Limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Likewise, the Statute of Limitations for a Michigan car accident may be different than the Statute of Limitations for an Ohio car accident.

Keeping track of when your lawsuit has to be filed requires knowledge about the law in your area. That’s why it’s important to speak to a personal injury lawyer right away. Any delay may cause you to lose whatever claims you have.

Call us today for a Free Consultation and to check your Statute. If we’re unable to help, we may know of an attorney near you that can.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of personal injury cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Proving that You Have a Serious Impairment of Bodily Function

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As we discussed in a previous post, a Michigan car accident victim is only entitled to money for pain and suffering if he or she has experienced death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement.

While the first and third points are pretty self- explanatory, “serious impairment of body function” might seem a little less clear.

So what is “serious impairment of body function”?

In 2004, the State Supreme Court addressed this very issue.  It explained, that for an injury to rise to the level of “serious impairment of body function,” the injury must be:

  1. Objectively manifested
  2. Involved in important body function
  3. Affect the person’s general ability to lead his or her normal life

So, what does this mean to car accident victims in the state of Michigan?  Stay tuned and we’ll discuss it in more detail in future posts.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Dog Bite Injuries On the Rise

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Every year, over 4.5 million Americans are victim to dog bites. According to the US Center for Disease Control, total number of dog bite victims sent to the ER has increased by 86% over the past 16 years.

The overwhelming majority of dog bites are against children, half of which involve bites to the face. These attacks often involve lifelong physical and emotional scars. But adults, too, suffer at the hands of uncontrolled dog attacks.

Michigan Dog Bite Law, like most states in the union, centers on a number of factors to determine the validity of a dog bite claim:

1. Did the dog bite take place in public or on private property?
2. If the dog bite was on private property, was the victim an “invitee,” someone that had permission of the owner to be on the property? Did the victim have a “duty” to be on the property (were they in the course of their employment either to the homeowner or a utilities provider?
3. Was there any evidence of provocation on the part of the victim? That is, did the victim somehow aggravate the attacking dog?

Our Michigan dog bite attorneys have represented numerous dog bite victims to help them achieve the recoveries they deserve. We have attorneys licensed in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and co-counsel nationwide that may be able to help you with your dog bite case. Contact our Dog Bite Lawyers today for a free dog attack consultation.

We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Are You Entitled to Money for Pain and Suffering?

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As we’ve discussed, Michigan No-Fault insurance has certain benefits including the payment of lifetime medical expenses regardless of who was at fault. Unfortunately, however, it is difficult in Michigan for a car accident victim to get money for pain and suffering caused by the auto accident. In this post, we’ll explain why.

Under Michigan law, a person can receive non-economic damages like pain and suffering only if the person has suffered:

• Death
• Serious impairment of body function
• Permanent serious disfigurement

Without one of these types of injuries, a Michigan car accident victim cannot receive money for pain and suffering.

Our Michigan car accident attorneys are experienced at proving that our clients’ injuries meet these thresholds, and that they are entitled to money for the pain, anguish and suffering that they have endured. Let us help you. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

A Brief Explanation Of No-Fault Insurance

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If you own a car in Michigan, you are required by law to obtain No-Fault insurance.  If you have an auto accident, your no-fault insurance will pay your medical bills and wage loss claims, as well as the damage you do to other people’s property, regardless of who caused the accident.  No-fault insurance, however, will not pay for the repairs that you need to your car.

There are three basic components to no-fault insurance. The first is personal injury protection, which is also known as PIP.  After an accident, PIP will cover all of your medical costs.  PIP benefits also include up to 85% of the income that you would have earned, limited to three years and are capped at a rate that is revised every year.  If you are killed in an accident, it will pay your wage benefits to your family.  Finally, PIP will pay $20 per day for replacement services such as housekeeping and yard work that you are no longer able to perform as a result of your injuries.

The second component of no-fault insurance is property protection.  The property protection component of no-fault insurance will pay up to $1 million in damage that your car causes in the state of Michigan to other people’s property.  However, property protection will not pay for the damage your vehicle causes to another person’s car unless that car was property parked.

The third component of no-fault insurance is known as residual liability insurance.  Residual liability insurance protects you in the event that you are sued and found legally responsible.  The state minimum provides coverage in the following amounts:

  • Up to $20,000 for a person who is hurt or killed in an accident.
  • Up to $40,000 for each accident if several people are hurt or killed.
  • Up to $10,000 for property damage in another state.

Michigan auto accident laws are some of the most complex in the country. Let us help you obtain all of the benefits to which you are entitled.  Our experienced attorneys have been handling these types of claims for more than 40 years and have helped thousands of injured people obtain all of the money that they deserve.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Tragedy on Lodge Freeway Kills Five

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We are saddened to hear that 5 people lost their lives in a car accident yesterday, October 23, on Michigan’s M-10 Highway, also known as The Lodge Freeway.  One of the vehicles was traveling the wrong direction and slammed into the other vehicle head on, causing both cars to burst into flames.  Although the accident occurred at 4 a.m., officials do not yet know whether alcohol played a factor.

Tragedies like these serve as terrible reminders of how dangerous car accidents can be.  In Michigan, there are over 282,000 reported car accidents each year that cause serious injuries or death.  Many of these accidents are caused by alcohol.  If you have been drinking and may be drunk, please don’t drive.  Our hearts go out to those who lost friends and loved ones.

Legal compensation is available for auto accidents in Michigan and other states.  Our attorneys are always available to offer a Free, Confidential Consultation.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.