Tips on what to do after a car or truck accident in Michigan to protect your rights, your medical benefits, and ensure recovery for serious injury.

Scene of the accident:

When a car or truck accident occurs, it seems surreal to the victim. The adrenalin is flowing and many things run through your mind. However, it is important to consider some basic facts to help you deal with the consequences. If you can move and walk after the accident that does not mean you are not injured. Many clients suffer pain and confusion at the scene of the accident and are not aware of the extent of their injuries. Thus, it is always best to be checked out at the hospital. The hospital will take x-rays, inspect your body thoroughly and ensure that you have not suffered a concussion or brain injury.

Since you do not have the benefit of legal counsel at this point, there are a few other tips that you should keep in mind. The police should normally take pictures of vehicles at the scene. If for some reason that does not happen, you can take some photos or have a friend do it if possible. Please note this is not critical, so do not feel bad if you do not do this before you consult a lawyer. It is helping to preserve evidence. Also, if you suffered injuries that require immediate hospitalization, you should consider taking photos at the hospital. Again, an acute injury, such as a broken leg with a cast, you will have ample opportunity for photos in the future. Thus, if you forget to take photos at the hospital, then it does not hurt your case. It is simply to document pain and suffering.

You should also try to obtain the crash report from the police agency as soon as possible. This will give you the information that the police deemed relevant as well as the details about the other driver. The report will also show whether the police assigned fault to the other driver as a result of their investigation.  

Medical Treatment:

I always tell clients that after an auto accident you are married to your medical records. The injured victim must have threshold injuries under Michigan No Fault to recover for pain and suffering. This is called threshold injuries.  Threshold injuries are a serious impairment of an important body function or permanent disfigurement, or death. In the case of claiming serious injuries under Michigan No Fault, the other requirement is that the injury affects the victim’s ability to lead his or her normal life. The only compelling way to prove the seriousness of the injuries is through medical documentation. So, if you are having pain problems or problems walking because of the accident, they should be well documented as part of the medical treatment and condition of the patient. If the medical records contain this information, it is more compelling to the insurance company during treatment. Thus, it is more likely to enhance your settlement. Furthermore, do not take your treatment lightly. Do not miss therapy or other appointments. It shows you are dedicated to your health and recovery.

Injuries can surface weeks or months after the accident. For instance, I recently had a client that was injured in a motorcycle accident in Ottawa County, Michigan. The accident was not his fault. He suffered a broken leg and spent several weeks in a long cast on his right leg. Since he could not put weight on that leg during recovery, he was not aware of the fact that he sustained a serious fracture to his heal. He later had to have an additional surgery on his heal after the cast was removed. I had another client that was struck by a car causing his car to roll over in Holland, Michigan. He had symptoms of chronic neck pain after the accident. While dealing with the neck pain for several weeks, he later developed numbness in his upper limbs. Subsequently, he required neck surgery. The doctors concluded that this surgery was related to the injuries caused by the roll over crash. These are some common examples of why continued treatment is important.  The bottom line is to tell your doctors all your symptoms from your injuries no matter how small you may perceive them at the time. 

Contact Experienced Auto Accident Attorney:

An injured victim should have an experienced auto accident lawyer to prove their claim and maximize their recovery under Michigan No Fault. There are 2 main prongs to begin the road to financial compensation. The first prong is for attorney’s job to prove that the accident was caused by the other driver’s negligence. The second prong is for the attorney to establish the client’s injuries meet the Michigan no fault threshold standard.

The first prong is that the accident must be the fault of the other driver by at least 50%. This means that the other party’s actions while driving have caused or mostly caused the accident. Examples of bad driving include failing to yield at a stop sign, turning in front of another car, driving while intoxicated, crossing the center line, speeding, and being distracted by technology, cell phone, or other circumstances.

The second prong is defined under the Michigan No Fault Act. Threshold injuries are a serious impairment of an important body function or permanent disfigurement, or death. The Supreme Court noted that there are 3 prongs necessary to establish serious impairment of a body function: (1) an objectively manifested impairment (2) an important bodily function that (3) affects the person’s general ability to live his or her normal life. Impairment need not be permanent to be serious under the Michigan Jury Instructions.

If you have been seriously injured in a car crash then you establish your case by emergency records, hospital records, surgery records, and doctors’ reports and office notes. Many serious injuries are not obvious to the naked eye. One of the requirements is that the injury be objectively manifested.  In other words, the injury is evidenced by actual symptoms or conditions that someone other than the injured person would observe as impairing a body function.

The other factors that can help establish the severity of the injury include your inability to perform your regular employment or a change in your ability to live your normal life. For instance, I recently represented a General Motors employee that worked in the Grand Rapids factory. He suffered a severe torn Bicep requiring surgery with a long-term recovery. Consequently, he was unable to perform his duties at his job. Every accident is going to have a different cause for liability. Additionally, every injury will have a different effect on the victim’s life depending on their age and life circumstances.  

Attorney negotiation with the insurance company:

The attorney will work with the client to determine whether the case has reached an appropriate time for negotiating and trying to settle with the insurance company. The client also may have injuries that will be treated for the rest of their life. If the insurance company agrees that the client meets the threshold, the client is entitled to compensation for past, present, and future pain and suffering. However, the insurance company does not have to settle your case. They can fight it.  However, a well-prepared case by the attorney will motivate the insurance company to resolve the case in a fair settlement. The insurance company starts on the premise that they want to pay as little as possible. However, if the adjuster has been working with a well-prepared attorney, then they will not play games. They will realize the attorney is prepared to take the case to court. 

The big question during settlement negotiations is how much bodily injury coverage the at-fault driver possesses on their insurance policy. For instance, if the at-fault driver only had $100, 000 of bodily injury coverage that means that his insurance company will not pay you more than $100,000, no matter how serious your injury is or how it affects your life. The insurance company has only contracted to pay the amount up to the policy limit. In the case of low insurance limits by the defendant, the client may have additional uninsured or underinsured coverage on their policy that could offer additional settlement money for bodily injuries. 

In other words, if you have an extremely serious injury and the at-fault drivers company offers the policy limits of $100, 000 and you have $250,000 of underinsured motorist you could possibly get another $150,000 from your company for a total of $250.000. These negotiations are extremely complex, and you should always have an attorney when negotiating with an insurance company.

Advertisements by attorneys claiming recovery of millions for one client is a result of high insurance coverage. This would normally be a common carrier or commercial vehicle. For instance, I once worked in a semi tractor trailer accident in Holland, Michigan where the semi-truck had 21 million dollars of coverage. The semi had a series of policies that were stacked on top of each other as umbrella policies. In any case, the client had a serious brain injury, and we were able to achieve a settlement of more than a million dollars.

Experience Counts in Negotiations:

These negotiations are extremely complex, and the victim should always have an experienced attorney when negotiating with an insurance company. It takes years of experience and training to negotiate a serious injury case with significant injuries and policy limits.  It is beneficial to hire the best personal injury in your location. Gerald R. Stahl has represented hundreds of victims of car and truck accidents in Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, and all surrounding Western Michigan Counties and several other States for over 40 years. He is Licensed in Michigan, Illinois, Colorado and Arizona. Gerald R. Stahl is recognized as a Diplomate of Trial Advocacy by The American Association for Justice and the National College of Advocacy. His office is in Holland, Michigan.

This Blog is intended to discuss the issues of No-Fault Bodily Injury claims in Michigan and is not intended to give of be construed as legal advice.

If you or someone you know has been seriously injured in an auto accident in Michigan, call Gerald R. Stahl or consult Geraldrstahl.com.

Gerald R. Stahl, Personal Injury Lawyer
Holland MI
217 East 24th Street, Suite 102
Holland, MI 49423
616-456-7372