Quick Questions about Car Crashes in Michigan
The rising costs of car repairs and medical care create extra stress and hardships for those who rely on insurance payouts to cover their bills. If you’re involved in a car accident, you may also be facing a series of questions about whether you should pursue pressing charges to cover damages.
We are committed to offering you peace of mind and providing valuable insights into the available options based on your individual circumstances. Here’s what to know about some of the questions and issues that people commonly face after being involved in an auto accident.
1.) How common are personal injury cases that involve underinsured drivers?
Uninsured and underinsured motorist cases are common. Michigan’s car insurance set-up is divided into first your own insurance or lack thereof is responsible for damages to a certain point and third party whoever is at fault is responsible once injuries and economic damages reach a certain threshold. Sometimes our clients are the ones who were under or not uninsured.
2.) How often do these cases end in lawsuits/settlements?
It depends on the severity of the injuries. While Michigan does have a safety net of sorts to cover some medical, very costly crashes that involve serious injury, paralysis, or death, can be difficult navigate when the at fault driver is uninsured. The availability of first party benefits (your own insurance covers your injuries to a certain point) is helpful – you can protect yourself by having good PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in your auto policy. You do not need to rely on suing the other driver to obtain these benefits. In Michigan, a ‘first party’ auto case is where a client sues his own insurance company because they are not paying a fair amount under the PIP policy. A ‘third party’ auto case is where there are severe injuries and we do sue the at fault driver and collect from their insurance company.
3.) What is the average cost in your city/state for a car accident-related injury lawsuit?
Personal injury lawyers in Michigan normally work on a contingent basis, not being paid anything until the claim resolves, at which time the lawyer is paid one third of the net recovery. Our office and many others will often float the cost of the litigation, which can be anywhere from $500.00 to tens of thousands depending on the needs and scope of the case. As far as how much money clients are paid, it varies from the perspective of what the injuries are and whether they are permanent. If there are back, shoulder, neck or head injuries, there are higher values as there are often lasting impacts from those injuries. In an ‘average’ case wherein a broken arm is set and expected to heal, and all other injuries are also temporary, it is common for settlement to occur in the $100,000 to $200,000.00 range.
If you’ve been the victim of an auto accident, schedule a consultation with us today. Call us at 248.825.4554 or submit our online contact form.
