What Kind of Cases Do Personal Injury Lawyers Handle in Michigan?
Personal injury lawyers help people in a lot of situations, usually related to injuries that were somehow caused by other people or groups.
This could mean dozens of types of cases for auto crashes, falls, dog bites, wrongful death, product liability, workplace injuries or other serious injury claims. The facts of the case, type of injury, insurance companies involved and legal deadlines can complicate these cases, making it hard if not impossible to do this without a lawyer.
What is personal injury and what are the most common cases?
Personal injury is when a person comes to harm and is separate from property damage. For a broader discussion of what a personal injury lawyer can do for you, see the Michigan Legal Center guide to personal injury lawyers.
The types of cases they handle can vary greatly depending on how someone got hurt including:
- car crashes
- truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and bus accidents
- slip and fall or dangerous property claims
- wrongful death claims
- serious injury and catastrophic injury claims
- workplace-related third-party injury claims
- intentional harm or assault-related civil claims in some cases
- dog bite and animal attack injuries
- product-related injuries
The correct category matters because each type of case revolves around different types of evidence, defendants, insurance questions and deadlines.
Do personal injury lawyers handle car and truck accidents?
Yes. Vehicle accidents are one of the main types of cases that a personal injury lawyer handles. In Michigan, motor vehicle crashes can involve both insurance-benefit issues and claims against one or more at-fault parties.
For auto crash cases, personal injury lawyers can help victims claim no-fault benefits for things like lost income, medical and care expenses and help with household tasks under MCL 500.3107.
Michigan law MCL 500.3135 generally permits a claim against an at-fault party for noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering only when the crash causes death, permanent serious disfigurement or a serious impairment of body function. A serious impairment must be observable or perceivable by someone other than the injured person, affect a body function important to that person and affect their general ability to lead their normal life.
The outcome of these cases can depend on crash reports, photos, video, medical records, insurance documents, witness information, vehicle damage and fast evidence preservation.
Do personal injury lawyers handle slip and fall cases?
Yes. Many personal injury lawyers handle slip and fall, trip and fall and other property cases involving stores, landlords, apartment complexes, restaurants, parking lots, sidewalks, stairs, job sites or public property.
You don’t automatically have a claim because you fell and got hurt. The injured person generally needs to show that someone responsible for the property failed to use reasonable care and that this caused the fall and injury.
In many cases, if an injured person is found to be partially at fault, they can share some responsibility, affecting the outcome of the claim. Comparative fault under MCL 600.2959 can be proved using photos, reports, witness names, video, maintenance records and medical documentation.
If the injured person is more than 50% at fault, they cannot recover noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income, are reduced by their percentage of fault.
In Michigan, dangerous-property cases may also involve arguments about whether a condition was open and obvious. After the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision in Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc., the open-and-obvious nature of a hazard is generally considered as part of breach and comparative fault. An open and obvious hazard does not automatically eliminate a claim, but it can affect whether the person controlling the property failed to use reasonable care and how much fault is assigned to the injured person.
Do personal injury lawyers handle dog bites?
Yes, dog bites are a common type of personal injury case. There are a large number of issues that can affect the outcome of these cases, which is why these claims should be reviewed carefully. Claims may involve statutory liability, lawful presence, provocation issues, homeowner insurance, medical records, scarring, infection, nerve injury and psychological harm.
Michigan’s dog bite statute, MCL 287.351, generally makes the owner liable when a dog bites someone without provocation while the person is on public property or lawfully on private property. The injured person does not have to show that the dog had bitten anyone before or that the owner knew it was dangerous.
Animal-related injuries that don’t involve dogs may require a different legal analysis depending on the facts, as the statute in question only applies to dog bites.
Do personal injury lawyers handle wrongful death cases?
Yes. Some personal injury lawyers handle wrongful death claims, which arise when negligence or other wrongful conduct causes someone’s death.
The claim must be brought by the personal representative, the person appointed to act for the deceased person’s estate. These cases may seek compensation for medical costs, funeral expenses, lost financial support and lost companionship.
Wrongful death deadlines can depend on the type of claim, the responsible party and whether an estate or personal representative must be involved. Families should get legal review early instead of assuming one general deadline applies.
What about workplace injuries?
Workplace injuries can involve more than one type of claim. One type of claim is workers’ compensation, which can provide medical care and wage loss benefits for qualifying injuries arising out of and in the course of employment. A separate personal injury claim may exist if someone other than the employer or a coworker acting in the course of employment caused or contributed to the injury.
Examples of third-party claims can include a negligent driver hitting a worker, a subcontractor causing a jobsite injury, defective equipment, unsafe property controlled by someone other than the employer or another responsible party outside the employer relationship. Whether a claim qualifies as a third-party claim depends on the responsible party’s relationship to the employer and the injured worker.
Because employment status, work duties, insurance, contracts and the facts of the accident can all matter, these claims should be reviewed before anyone assumes there is only one claim available to them.
Do personal injury lawyers handle product liability cases?
Yes. Some personal injury lawyers handle product-related injury claims.
These cases may involve:
- defective vehicles
- unsafe machinery
- dangerous consumer products
- missing warnings
- design issues
- manufacturing issues
- failure to give adequate safety information
In cases like these, a lawyer will look at the product, instructions, warnings, maintenance history, prior incidents, expert issues and whether the product can be preserved for inspection.
The product itself should not be repaired, discarded, altered or returned since it could be evidence. A product liability claim can involve injuries caused by a product’s design, manufacture, warnings or instructions under Michigan’s definitions in MCL 600.2945.
What cases need special review?
Some issues may appear to be personal injury claims but need special handling. That does not mean the claims are invalid. It means they should not be treated like ordinary accident claims.
Special-review situations may include:
- medical malpractice or nursing-home negligence
- defamation or reputation-harm claims
- assault, battery or other intentional harm
- government property, public vehicles, schools or public agencies
- workplace injuries with workers' compensation issues
- civil rights or police misconduct claims
- claims involving minors, estates or wrongful death
For example, an assault can create both a criminal case and a civil claim. The criminal case does not automatically compensate the injured person, and civil deadlines can still matter. Government-related injuries can also create strict notice requirements.
What is the personal injury claim process?
The personal injury claim process usually starts with a consultation and fact review. A lawyer will ask what happened, what injuries were diagnosed, what medical care occurred, what evidence exists and whether insurance or deadline issues need immediate attention.
After that, a lawyer may:
- preserve evidence
- request records
- gather medical documentation
- identify responsible parties
- review insurance issues
- communicate with insurers
- calculate damages supported by records
- negotiate settlement
- file a lawsuit if needed
The Michigan civil case process can include filing the claim in court, a response from the defendant, an exchange of evidence, settlement efforts and a trial if the case does not resolve earlier. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is only one possible step in personal injury litigation. Many cases require investigation and negotiation before a lawsuit is filed.
What evidence should you save?
Save any evidence you have or can obtain including:
- photos
- videos
- documents
- messages
- witness names
- medical papers
- insurance letters
- other records you already have
Important evidence can quickly be erased or lost, including video, records, social media posts, damaged property, vehicle evidence and witness memories.
Do not worry if you do not have everything. The point is to preserve what you can and let an attorney identify what else should be requested.
Missing evidence can make it harder to prove a claim. Michigan Legal Center can help protect your claim by identifying evidence to preserve and reviewing which legal rules and deadlines apply.
FAQ
Does every injury lead to a personal injury claim?
No. A claim depends on the applicable law, what caused the injury and whether the requirements for that type of claim are met.
Can you have more than one claim after the same injury?
Yes. Depending on the facts, a workplace injury may involve workers’ compensation and a separate claim against a responsible third party.
Does a personal injury case have to go to trial?
No. A case may settle, though a trial may be needed if the dispute cannot be resolved.