Car accident injuries span minor cuts and bruises to catastrophic life-changing bodily damage and even death. Automobile accidents, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, semi-truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, and hit-and-run accidents can result in permanent injury and financial hardship for the accident injury victims.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Dearborn, in Wayne County, Michigan, you need to know your legal options for fair compensation under Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws.
Your auto insurance company may not have your best interests in mind because they aren’t focused on the needs of you and your loved ones. That is why it is critical to hire an experienced accident lawyer from the personal injury law firm of Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C.
Our talented legal team of personal injury attorneys has years of experience fighting for accident victims in Wayne County, Michigan. We can help you determine the liable parties and sort through the legal issues of your injury claim to get you a fair settlement covering your accident-related medical treatment, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.
Contact our car crash lawyers today for a free case evaluation and discover how we can protect your rights and maximize the compensation you are owed.
Michigan no-fault benefits include medical coverage, wage loss benefits, and damage to other people’s property. Michigan no-fault insurance benefits can extend to members of your household if they are passengers in a car or pedestrian accident.
PIP insurance laws protect covered individuals from being sued in a car accident suit unless:
PIP insurance allows up to $1,000 in coverage for drivers who are more than 50% at fault for property damages to another’s car that aren’t covered by the victim’s insurance policy. Insurance minimums include:
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance plans can cover up to 85% of lost wages for three years. Michigan no-fault benefits also include attendant care benefits, which provide some compensation for certain household services and chores that an injured party cannot do while injured, such as yard work and housekeeping. The law limits compensation to $20 per day.
If an injured person suffers physical harm that exceeds their PIP coverage, they may be able to seek damages under the state’s serious injury threshold.
Automobile accidents may involve negligent drivers, poor weather conditions, dangerous roads, faulty vehicles, or a combination of these factors. A drowsy, distracted, or reckless driver is a danger to other vehicles on the road. Speeding and breaking other driving laws can lead to devastating collisions.
Poor vehicle maintenance may warrant accident claims against another at-fault party other than the primary at-fault driver. A car mechanic or a company that owns the other vehicle in the collision might be liable if they did not properly maintain the vehicle.
Thousands of people suffer physical injuries in automobile accidents that require medical care. Some of the most common injuries caused by car accidents are:
Physical injuries you suffered as a result of your car accident can form the foundation of your Michigan car accident claim. However, a more comprehensive case will include the impact of your injuries on your quality of life. This means your claim can request compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.
While you may be eligible for exemplary compensation, Michigan does not award punitive damages that financially punish the liable party for malicious or reckless negligence.
Michigan no-fault PIP benefits generally don’t allow for non-economic damages like emotional trauma, pain and suffering after car accidents. However, the state’s serious injury threshold allows a few exceptions for individuals who suffer a life-altering loss of their body’s full function.
The Michigan bodily injury threshold is a criterion that determines whether an accident victim can sue a negligent driver to receive a settlement for pain and suffering. As the injured party in a car accident, you must show that you have serious impairment of your body’s function that:
The determination of whether the loss of a function impairs the victim’s life occurs on a case-by-case examination where the victim’s life before and after the accident are compared.
For example, a traumatic brain injury resulting in serious cognitive impairment may meet the serious bodily injury threshold. A dismemberment or spinal cord injury that requires a surgical procedure and continued physical therapy to regain minimal function may also qualify you for additional damages.
Proving your need for pain and suffering compensation requires significant medical documentation. An accident lawyer in Wayne County can help you determine if your injuries enable you to pursue non-economic damages.
When you hire Dearborn personal injury lawyers at Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C., you work with senior partner Eileen Kroll, an experienced personal injury lawyer with a background in nursing. Eileen uses her medical knowledge to help you pursue compensation benefits.
Her legal team of auto accident attorneys may visit the actual accident scene, look at accident scene photos and images of your injuries and your medical treatment records, and talk to accident experts and medical or financial expert witnesses to help build your compensation case. They will also ask to see the Michigan state police report prepared by the Dearborn Police Department at the accident scene.
Eileen and her team have won millions of dollars for accident victims in Michigan, including:
A traffic death is tragic and can be particularly devastating when it involves a family member who is the breadwinner in a household. A deceased auto accident victim’s family members are left with a financial burden as well as emotional trauma following their relative’s death.
Wrongful death claims help a victim’s family recover the compensation necessary for meeting obligations after a loved one’s untimely death.
The first step in the process is your recovery. Once you have reached maximum medical recovery, we can push your claim forward. We need complete information about your injuries, medical treatment, bills, and recovery, so ensure you keep all your records.
Once we have that information and you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), and you are not expected to improve with generally accepted medical treatment, we typically send a demand letter to the insurance company to start negotiations.
If we cannot come to an agreement with the insurance company, the next step is to file a lawsuit in court.
Despite the extent of your injuries, your time to file a claim is not unlimited. Michigan courts will only hear a bodily injury and wrongful death claim if it is filed within three years of your accident.
Determining the negligent parties after a car accident is essential for recovering damages. If the party that struck you is a drunk driver, for example, they are the responsible party and will have to pay restitution.
Michigan law requires the injured claimant’s damages to be reduced if they are proven to be partially at fault for their injuries. This is called modified comparative negligence.
In effect, negligence on the victim’s part does not bar them from recovering against the other driver unless the victim’s negligence is more than 50%. If, as the victim, your negligence is 50% or less, the exact percentage will determine how much your recovery for non-economic damages will be reduced.
The law’s complexity and the many factors that make up an auto accident make hiring an attorney vital for determining fault and receiving maximum compensation in your personal injury claim.
If you or a loved one are in a hit-and-run accident where a drunk driver or other negligent party flees the scene, an auto accident law firm can help the injured person recover compensation for the physical harm they sustain through Michigan’s no-fault insurance.
Despite the benefits of Michigan auto insurance laws, individuals can be left without fair compensation. Pedestrians and passengers without insurance and even insured drivers may need legal help recovering damages.
You need an experienced law office that specializes in auto accidents and personal injury. At Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C., we have a team of qualified accident attorneys who can handle your case and help fight for compensation for accident victims.
Our auto accident attorneys help auto accident victims, truck accident victims, motorcycle crash victims, and hit-and-run victims file a claim with their insurance company in Dearborn, Michigan, and the greater Wayne County area.
If your loved one died in the accident we can address all your motor vehicle accident and pedestrian accident questions and help you get the settlement you need to rebuild your life.
We’ve recovered millions of dollars in compensation for accident victims and can help you get a fair settlement for your personal injury and alleviate your financial burden.
Our contingency fee basis means we only get paid if we win your case, so there is no financial risk to you to get started. Call our law firm today at and schedule your no-obligation, free case evaluation.