Michigan Personal Injury Attorney

When a Person Might Need a Michigan Personal Injury Attorney

There are many different situations that a personal injury case can develop from. These include some of the following:

• A business owner failed to keep the sidewalk leading up to his store free from cracks. A consumer tripped and fell while she was walking up to the store and broke her arm. As a result, the consumer can claim the business owner was being negligent.
• A doctor did not double check the medications her patient was currently taking before prescribing an additional one. When the patient took the new medication, he experienced an adverse reaction that caused him considerable harm.
• An airbag manufacturer did not perform proper safety procedures to confirm its product was safe to use. As a result, many drivers were unnecessarily injured when they were involved in an accident.
• An elderly person is abused while she is residing in a nursing home. Due to this abuse, she experiences severe emotional and physical harm.

In addition to these cases, one of the most common types of personal injury law involves car accidents. These cases develop when one driver does not exercise proper caution and causes an accident that harms other drivers, passengers, cyclists or pedestrians. For example, if a driver runs a red light and hits another vehicle, he or she may be held liable for any injuries the other driver incurs.

Tort and Personal Injury

Although many different kinds of personal injury cases exist, torts can fall into one of three general categories – negligent torts, strict liability and intentional torts – according to Cornell University Law School. In cases involving negligent torts, the defendant commits an action that is considered to be reasonably unsafe. In cases having to do with strict liability, the degree of carefulness exercised by the defendant does not matter. Rather, these cases develop on the basis that a specific action resulted in harm to another person. Finally, cases involving intentional torts occur when the defendant knowingly commits an action he or she knows would cause another person to experience harm.

Personal Injury Compensation

Those who file a personal injury case may be eligible to receive several different types of damages for their injuries. For example, the American Bar Association states that the amount awarded can include compensation for lost wages, medical bills and future wage losses. Those who are involved in a personal injury case may also receive compensation for physical pain and suffering as well as damages for any disability or disfigurement that is a result of the injury.

However, compensation is not just available to those who survive injuries incurred in an accident and file a personal injury case. When another person’s negligence causes someone to die, the family members of the deceased may be able to receive damages on behalf of their loved one. Usually, these family members must be close relatives, such as a parent, spouse, sibling or grandparent.

Damages available to family members involved in a wrongful death case may include medical expenses their loved one incurred before death as well as the cost of the funeral. Other damages can include compensation for conscious pain and suffering that occurred prior to the person’s death, loss of compensation and loss of economic support.