Personal injury includes physical and emotional injury as well as property damage. Work-related injuries, wrongful conviction, toxic exposure, and many other types of accidents and injuries fall under personal injury law.
You should always consult with an attorney who has personal injury experience in your state. While the basic principles are the same across the country, every state has its own laws which will affect your case and how it must be handled. Michigan is no exception.
Compensation
If you were injured in Michigan, compensation to which you may be entitled includes:
- 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
Under certain circumstances there are limits on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and loss of companionship, in Michigan.
Product liability
In Michigan, if you are injured by a defective product you will need to prove one of the following in order to establish fault:
- Negligence
- Strict liability
- Breach of warranty
A product does not have to brake or be broken in order to be defective. If it is unreasonable dangerous when used as intended, and therefore causes an injury, it is defective.
Negligence
Most personal injury cases will require that you prove negligence on the party of the responsible party in order to prove fault. To prove negligence you must prove that the responsible party failed to use ordinary care and therefore caused harm to you or your property.
Modified comparative negligence
Modified comparative negligence becomes a factor if your own negligence contributed to your injuries. You can still receive compensation, as long as you are less than 50% responsible, but your compensation will be reduced by your portion of fault.
Collecting from multiple responsible parties
In most personal injury cases, in Michigan, several liability applies when there are multiple parties responsible for your injuries. That means that each party is held responsible for their share of damages only. However, in some circumstances you can petition the court to re-allocate the unpaid portion of damages.
Statute of limitations
The statute of limitations for filing most personal injury cases in Michigan is three years. Some types of cases, including medical malpractice, have shorter time limits, and to further complicate matters, there are various exceptions which alter the time limits, such as those for the benefit of minors.
Filing within the time limit is critical to your case. If you miss the deadline, you will forever give up your right to pursue compensation.
For more in depth information about time limits in Michigan read our Michigan Statute of Limitations page.
Personal injury laws vary from state to state. If you believe you have a personal injury claim and you live in Michigan, please contact one of our Michigan personal injury lawyers for a free claim evaluation.
