Car Accidents

Few accidents are as costly and time-consuming to resolve as a car accident. The bureaucracies of two insurance companies, local law enforcement, and automotive repair businesses are always involved in the back-and-forth between both responsible parties, and finding a resolution receiving adequate compensation to cover the cost of recovery feels like it takes forever.

Worse still if you are injured and need medical care the process can get even messier. You may experience wage loss or loss, loss of leave paid leave time and potentially the loss of your job if your injury prevents you from returning to work. In those cases, you may need more compensation from your insurance company or the company of the other responsible party involved in the accident to recover financially as well as physically. You may be feeling powerless, but you can take action by consulting a personal injury attorney.

What Are My Options?

As a Michigan resident, there are strict laws that apply to you and your rights regarding litigation and personal injuries resulting from a car accident. Michigan requires all licensed drivers to carry no-fault insurance on their vehicle, but that doesn’t necessarily limit your ability to seek additional compensation in the event of a debilitating injury caused by a car accident. No-fault insurance has more restrictions on what type of compensation and the minimum amount of compensation an injured party can seek to recoup their losses from a car accident.

Furthermore, Michigan also imposes a three-year statute of limitations on car accident-related litigation, so if you intend to use for the compensation you must doe so within that 36-month period or your case can be dismissed. Should you meet both no-fault car insurance criteria and the statute of limitations, you would need to seek a personal injury lawyer’s services to move forward with your case. Most personal injury car accident cases run through the following process:

What To Expect In Your Car Accident Personal Injury Case

• Your attorney files a complaint with the local court with a civil complaint or petition and summons are issued for a preliminary motion hearing.

• Defendants make preliminary motions on the appointed day, including motions for a change of judge, venue, removal to Federal court, or to dismiss the case.

• If there is no motion to dismiss or delay your case, the judge assigns your case a court date as far as a year from that day. Additionally, judges often order all parties into court-mandated mediation at this point. Mediation requires that all parties involved meet with a mediator to try and resolve the complaint or petition between themselves without taking the case to trial.

• Should mediation fail, the discovery phase of your case begins. Witnesses are interviewed, documents are examined, and all information obtained during discovery must be shared with defendants and plaintiffs alike.

• Once discovery has concluded, your attorney and move to file a motion for summary judgment from the evidence collected should that be the best course of action. Generally, a judge will only make a summary judgment if there are no key facts under dispute.

If there is no summary judgment post-discovery, then your case goes to trial and the court hears testimony and reviews the evidence presented by both sides. If your case is heard in a bench trial without a jury, the judge has sole discretion in deciding your case. In a jury trial, the jury has the final say in deciding your case.

Sound like a long and difficult process? It is! You want an expert personal injury attorney with you every step of the way to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. If you’re a Michigan resident who has been injured in a car accident, contact the law office of Remond Atie today. The team at Atie can help you determine the merits of your personal injury case and help you see it through mediation or trial to a resolution that helps you make a full recovery from your car accident injury. Call or visit our website today to learn more.