White Law PLLC has represented clients in Michigan in an array of personal injury cases. We know how these cases can make it difficult to live and work and how expensive they can be. You don’t have to face your situation alone.
Let our personal injury attorneys in Michigan handle your claim for you. We have over 20 years of combined experience in personal injury in claims ranging from car accidents to police misconduct and government liability. One free consultation with us, and you’ll know your options.
What Personal Injury Claims Do You Handle?
Our law firm covers a wide range of cases beyond personal injury, as you can see from our practice area page. Some case types we’ve handled as personal injury attorneys include:
- Wrongful death
- Truck, train, car, and motorcycle accidents
- Premises liability
- Police and government misconduct
- Nursing home abuse
- Mass torts and product liability
- Workers’ compensation
- Spinal cord and brain injuries
- Amputations and other disfiguring injuries
- Dog bites
- Sexual abuse claims involving injury
Whether it was an individual, a corporation, or even the government, if someone hurt you, we can help you get compensation. We have the resources and the experience you need to challenge insurers and powerful entities.
Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit
No matter what kind of personal injury case you have, four things must be proven in order to win: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and damages. These are the elements of negligence that our attorneys are accustomed to proving.
Duty of Care
Whoever you’re suing needs to have a legal obligation to keep you safe. This is called a duty of care. Many duties of care are automatically assumed by others by law. For example, all drivers on the road have an automatic duty of care toward other drivers and pedestrians.
Duty of care is why you can sue a responsible driver in an accident but not their passenger. The passenger didn’t have a responsibility to keep you safe. There are standards for a reasonable duty of care for different situations.
Breach of Duty
The defendant must have breached their duty of care by acting unreasonably or breaking the law. Anyone breaking the road rules, like speeding or driving while distracted, is breaching their duty of care.
Whether a breach happened can depend on the context. Medical malpractice cases are notorious for fighting this point because a doctor can do everything right and still injure a patient. Those cases are extremely fact-dependent.
Causation
The breach of duty must have caused your injuries, but it does not have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt like in a criminal case. If we can prove that it happened “more likely than not” (also known as a preponderance of evidence), causation is proven.
Causation issues can become tricky if you were previously injured. If you were a disabled driver, for instance, and someone crashed into you, sorting out which injuries were pre-existing and which were new can be challenging. A personal injury attorney’s assistance is invaluable in these cases.
Damages
Finally, we have to show that you were harmed by what happened. Economic damages are the actual financial losses caused by the accident, like your medical bills and lost time from work. Non-economic damages compensate you for the intangible injuries caused by your accident, things like pain and suffering.
When you hire us as your personal injury lawyer in Michigan, everything we do revolves around proving these four things. If we can prove them, we can prove the other party was negligent and that they or their insurer owe you compensation for your injuries.
Settlement vs. Trial
Only a small percentage of cases actually end up in trial. The sides will accept a settlement offer in almost all personal injury cases. Most times, settling is preferable because it avoids the costs of litigation and it gets victims their money faster. However, cases with extreme injuries may need to go to trial.
A trial turns the matter over to a judge and jury, and it’s risky for both sides. In the worst case, you could end up with nothing. In the best case, you could be awarded compensation far beyond what the insurance company offered.
It takes lawyers with trial experience like the team at White Law PLLC to advise you on which route is best for your situation. Once you accept a settlement offer, you can’t get more money later for the same accident. You need an advisor who can make your one shot count.
What to Do After You Are Injured
After you are injured, there are some things you can do to help your case. If you can, the very first thing you should do is notify the authorities, whether that’s the police after a car accident or a manager in a workplace injury or premises liability situation.
The next is to seek immediate medical attention, even if you feel fine. The shock of the accident can hide injuries for days. If you put off an examination, that gives room for insurance companies to claim that their client didn’t harm you. Try to go on the same day if you can.
If a doctor diagnoses you with an injury, your next call should be to a personal injury attorney in Michigan for legal advice. A free consultation can tell you how to approach the insurance company with a claim and what your legal options are.
Find Out What Makes Us Different
White Law PLLC is not your average personal injury firm. We take a team approach to cases using the latest legal technology. We’re not afraid of handling high-profile cases with deep pockets and huge legal teams. Thousands of people have had successful resolutions to their claims with our firm.
Find out how we can help you with your personal injury claim. Call our Michigan personal injury lawyers at the number on your screen, or schedule an appointment through our online form or chatbot. We look forward to representing you in your personal injury matter.