Michigan Personal Injury Law Overview

Personal injury law is a broad area of law that encompasses injuries and deaths that are the result of someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. Some of the most common personal injuries claims in Michigan are medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents and defective product accidents.

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Permanent disability or disfigurement
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress including fright, shock, anxiety, and depression
• Loss of companionship
• Property damage
• Expenses incurred as a direct result of your injuries

Negligence

In order to prove fault in a personal injury claim, you must first prove negligence. This means that you must prove that the responsible party failed to use reasonable care and thereby caused you injuries.

Michigan follows the doctrine of "modified comparative negligence," which means that you can still receive compensation if you were less than 50% responsible for your injuries. However, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of the blame. If you were 30% responsible for your injuries, your award will be reduced by 30%.

Liability

Michigan law follows the doctrine of "several liability," which means that if there are multiple responsible parties, they each must pay their share of the award. No party can be asked to pay for another party's share.

Statute of limitations

Each state has certain time limits, or statutes of limitations, to file a personal injury claim. In Michigan the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is three years; however, there are exceptions to this law that your lawyer can explain to you.

If you live in Michigan and think you may have a valid personal injury claim, please contact an experienced Michigan personal injury attorney in your area today.