Detroit Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents can prove devastating for survivors. Parties hit by a negligent driver can find themselves dealing with severe injuries that transform into short- and long-term disabilities.

What is more, survivors have to contend with unexpected bills for vehicular repair and medical treatments, all while forced to stay home from work.

White Law PLLC recognizes that fully recovering from a car accident can feel impossible. However, Michigan provides its residents with the means to take legal action against negligent drivers.

That action gets easier to enact when you have a Detroit personal injury lawyer on your side. You can contact a Detroit car accident lawyer from our firm 24/7 to begin your fight for post-accident compensation in earnest.

How a Detroit Car Accident Attorney Can Help You With Your Case

Our personal injury team brings over 60 years of experience to your car accident case. We truly care about helping you recover the compensation you need. We can help you with the following tasks:

Gathering Evidence

We possess the necessary resources and legal experience to conduct a thorough investigation into your case. This will include obtaining all evidence related to the crash, including photo and video surveillance, accident reports, and eyewitness statements. Other viable forms of evidence relevant to your car accident can include:

• Medical records
• Police reports
• Physical debris from the accident scene
• Expert witness statements, including statements from accident reconstructionists

We can also collaborate with trusted medical professionals to accurately assess your injuries and determine the total expected costs. We can give you a free case consultation where we can estimate the true value of your case.

Your car accident lawyer in Detroit can guide you through the legal process and hold the negligent parties accountable for their actions. 

How Much Will a Detroit Car Accident Law Firm Cost?

We understand that car accident victims in Detroit are often in difficult financial situations due to the accident. It is with that in mind that we take all Detroit car accident cases on a contingency fee basis.

A “contingency fee basis” means you don’t pay any upfront or out-of-pocket costs. You will only pay legal fees after your Detroit car accident attorney secures the compensation you deserve through a favorable settlement or verdict.

Benefits of Choosing White Law PLLC

After sustaining a serious car accident injury, you need to turn to a team with a record of success to obtain maximum compensation, and our team can help. 

With more than six decades of combined legal experience, we know what it takes to win in Detroit car accident cases. We utilize cutting-edge technology to ensure the best possible outcome for you. Our legal advocates and staff stay connected at all times inside and outside the courtroom and with our clients.

The needs of our clients are our top priority, and we have no hesitation in taking a case to trial if that is what is necessary to secure the maximum compensation.

You Can File a Personal Injury Claim After an Auto Accident

If you want to take up a legal claim against a negligent party, you must prove the following points:

• A party owed you a duty of care at the time of your car accident.
• That party violated the duty of care owed to you via negligent or reckless behavior.
• That negligence resulted in your economic losses or stress.
• Your economic losses have impacted your quality of life.

Moreover, you need to present the aforementioned arguments in a format approved by Michigan’s civil courts. Fortunately, we can walk you through the filing process. Our law firm ensures that your complaint is as comprehensive as possible before it goes before a judge. The more accurate your initial complaint is, the easier it can be to secure a fair settlement.

The Duty of Care and How It Affects Negligence

A duty of care is an obligation that all users of the road must follow. Motorists must exercise a reasonable amount of care to ensure that they do not harm others. This principle relates to negligence because you must prove this to hold the negligent driver accountable.

Distracted drivers, drunk drivers, reckless truck drivers, and motorcyclists can all violate the duty of care owed to other drivers on the road and cause dangerous auto accidents. Those drivers’ oversights can see you to sustain catastrophic injuries that can take months to heal.

Your Detroit car accident lawyer is ready to help you recover fair compensation for your pain. Contact us today to discuss the role an at-fault driver had in your recent accident.

The Average Auto Accident Settlement

While we wish that we could tell you an exact auto accident settlement amount, because every case is different, we cannot. However, we can inform you of the factors that determine the value of a settlement. The first factor is the severity of the injured person’s injuries. The more severe your injuries are, the higher your settlement can be.

If you only have minor injuries, your settlement may not be as high. But if your injuries resulted in paralysis, you may be eligible for more compensation due to the long-term medical recovery you will have to go through. Another factor that can determine an auto accident settlement is the number of negligent parties involved.

If there are multiple at-fault drivers involved, your experienced car accident attorney in Detroit can help you recover damages from all of them if you qualify for a case.

Certain Car Crash Injuries Qualify for Compensation

Car accident victims can sustain a wide variety of injuries. While most car accident injuries are relatively minor, we can help you if you have sustained the following:

• Paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Internal bleeding or internal organ damage
• Broken or dislocated bones
• Amputation or crush injuries
• Other neck and back injuries
• Open head wounds

If you have sustained any of these injuries, you may qualify for an auto accident case. The first thing you should do after you get injured is to seek medical care. You can then get in touch with one of our legal advocates.

What Damages You Could Receive in a Detroit Car Accident Claim

If you suffered injuries in a car accident, you may be entitled to various types of financial compensation. We are regularly able to help our clients recover the following non-economic and economic damages:

• Medical expenses
• Loss of income
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Property damage
• Wrongful death
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of companionship

Depending on the details of your automobile accident and how severe your injuries are, you can recover additional damages.

Exemplary Damages in Your Car Accident Case

Exemplary damages are a special form of compensation that may be awarded in cases involving especially reckless or malicious behavior. In Michigan, these damages are intended to compensate for emotional harm like humiliation, indignity, or a sense of outrage rather than to punish the defendant. While exemplary damages are allowed under certain circumstances, they are not commonly awarded in car accident cases.

You cannot request exemplary damages in your initial complaint or include them when estimating the value of your case. Instead, it is entirely up to the judge to decide whether the facts of your case justify this additional compensation. These damages are typically only awarded when the at-fault driver’s conduct goes far beyond ordinary negligence.

How Long You Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Detroit

We recommend getting started on your car accident case immediately. You should file your insurance claim as soon as possible after the accident occurs.

Michigan’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims states that you have three years to file your claim. This means that you will generally have a three-year window to file. You can learn more about this statute of limitations under Michigan Compiled Laws section 600.5805.

It is also important to note that no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims must typically be filed within 1 year under MCL § 500.3145(1). This also allows late-filed claims only if notice of injury was given within 1 year of the accident.

What to Expect After Filing a Car Crash Claim

Once we submit your completed complaint to a civil court, it is up to the court to determine whether or not your case moves forward. If the court approves your case, how you proceed is up to you. You have the right to request that a judge oversee your case. From there, you can move into:

• Opening statements
• Examination and cross-examination
• Closing statements
• Deliberation and verdict

You can alternatively request that we reach out to the liable party and negotiate a settlement. Settlement negotiations tend to resolve more quickly than car accident trials and put you in close contact with an at-fault party. You may also have to compromise or forgo some of the damages you might otherwise be entitled to.

You Can Still File a Claim If You Did Not Go to the Emergency Room

Not all car accident injuries show up right away. If you felt okay after your crash but started noticing pain in the hours or days that followed, you are not alone. Many clients come to us with delayed symptoms and are still fully eligible to pursue compensation.

Delayed Injuries Can Still Qualify You for a Claim

You may not have gone to the hospital right away, but that does not mean your injuries are not serious. These injuries can still support a valid claim, especially if they have affected your ability to work, drive, or care for yourself. 

You only have a limited time to file, but it does not require emergency room treatment to qualify for benefits. Signs you may still have a viable claim include:

• You sought medical care within days of the crash.
• Your job, hobbies, or daily life have been affected.
• You have growing out-of-pocket expenses for care.
• Your pain or mobility has gotten worse over time.

We help clients connect delayed symptoms to their accidents by using medical records, expert testimony, and documentation of how life has changed since the crash.

Even if you waited to seek treatment, you may still be entitled to full compensation. Do not assume your case is over just because you did not go to the emergency room.

How to Work With Insurance Companies After an Auto Accident

Your car accident attorney in Detroit from our firm can handle all communication and negotiations with aggressive insurance carriers or at-fault parties to secure the compensation you need.

If you meet with the insurance adjuster alone, they may take advantage of you by using their tactics. However, when you have a qualified legal representative by your side, they can defend against the adjuster’s malicious tactics.

Insurance companies are notorious for offering extremely low insurance settlements that do not even come close to matching the cost your injuries have had on your life and finances. This is due to the nature of the insurance industry, which wants to keep as much money for itself as possible. However, we can fight for you and your rights to compensation.

What does Michigan’s “No-Fault” Insurance Mean?

Michigan is a no-fault state. This means that those involved in a car accident can turn to their own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage to secure compensation for the accident, regardless of which party caused the incident.

Unfortunately, this means that car accident victims are often unable to recover non-economic compensation, such as pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life damages, through an insurance claim alone.

However, in the event that you sustain a severe injury (permanent impairment of a body part or bodily function, or significant scarring or disfigurement) caused by another driver, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover the compensation you need. It is important to read over your insurance policy and understand what it means for your situation.

Let a Reputable Car Accident Attorney in Detroit Secure the Compensation You Deserve

If you or somebody you love has sustained a car accident injury caused by the negligence of another person, a car accident lawyer in Detroit at White Law PLLC can assist you.

We can use our extensive resources to conduct a full investigation into your claim. You can count on us to accurately value your economic and non-economic damages before taking your case to court or accepting a settlement from the liable party.

Car accident victims like you deserve comprehensive representation after a severe accident. For a free case consultation, call us or fill out the contact form on our website to get in touch as soon as today.