Fighting for Your Fair and Full Compensation
Being involved in a car accident is stressful and traumatic enough. After an accident, you might be saddled with huge medical bills, missed time at work, and other expenses and effects that can be crushing financially. In such cases, it’s critical to speak with a Clinton Township car accident lawyer who can help you to recover compensation and make sure that you’re not held financially responsible for an accident you did not cause.
While there are many car accident lawyers in Clinton Township and in Michigan, finding a law firm with a reputation for success and a team of compassionate, experienced attorneys is not always easy. At Goodman Acker, our Clinton Township car accident lawyers have a record of standing up for their clients, pursuing justice, and accepting only maximum settlements for clients.
The team at Goodman Acker has a 99 percent success rate.
Time is of the essence if you’ve been in an automobile accident. So, contact our car accident lawyers in Clinton Township for immediate assistance with managing your claim and obtaining damages that you’re owed. Call Goodman Acker at 248-286-8100 and ask for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help.
Here’s what you should know about the Clinton Township car accident lawyers at Goodman Acker:
- 150+ years of combined legal experience
- A success rate of 99% for cases we conclude
- Routinely featured by newsgroups, like Fox 2 News and Local 4 Detroit,
- Available 24/7 for client emergencies
- A growing group of completely satisfied clients we’ve served
- Won millions of dollars for our clients
- Free initial consultations to get you started.
Damages that Our Car Accident Lawyers in Clinton Township Can Help You Recover
Car accidents result in injuries and numerous expenses for accident victims. By filing a claim or lawsuit, our Clinton Township car accident lawyers can help you to recover damages resulting from your accident. Damages are the expenses incurred as a result of an accident. The damages that our attorneys can help you recover include economic damages, which are quantifiable, calculable expenses, such as:
- Medical bills, therapy costs, and future medical expenses
- Loss if income if you missed work while recovering
- Loss of future earning capacity if your accident affected your ability to perform your job.
Our Clinton Township car accident lawyers can also obtain non-economic damages for losses that do not have a specific dollar value but negatively impact your life. Non-economic damages following a car accident frequently include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Permanent disability and scarring
- Loss of consortium and companionship for married victims.
Every car accident case is unique, and you may have additional damages that your case qualifies for. Consulting with our car accident lawyers in Clinton Township can help to determine what types of compensation your case involves. As knowledgeable truck accident attorneys and motorcycle accident attorneys, we can handle accident cases involving these vehicles as well.
I’ve Been in a Car Accident in Clinton Township. What Should I Do Next?
Advice from Our Clinton Township Car Accident Attorney to Keep You and Your Case Safe
Car wrecks kill or seriously injure millions of Americans every year. While substantial compensation is available in these cases, many of these victims unintentionally do, or don’t do, things which derail their claims for compensation before they even get started. The more victims help themselves after car accidents, the more a Clinton Township car accident lawyer can help them in court later. Here are a few quick dos and don’ts to remember:
- DO Stop and Give Aid: Under Michigan law, all parties to an accident, regardless of fault and extent of injury, have a legal responsibility to stop, wait for emergency responders to arrive if someone was injured, and assist injured victims if they can. If you leave earlier, the police accident report will not contain your side of the story, and you could be arrested for hit-and-run.
- DON’T Apologize: This advice might not make much sense to many people. In the everyday world, people typically say “I’m sorry” to express their sympathy. But after a car accident, an apology could be construed as an admission of liability. So, it’s better to say something like “I’m sorry this happened to you.” It’s even better to not say anything at all.
- DO See a Doctor: If victims don’t immediately see doctors, insurance company lawyers often argue in court that their injuries must not have been as severe as they claim they were. Furthermore, only a fully qualified doctor can determine how badly a victim is hurt. Many car crash injuries are not immediately apparent, mostly because adrenaline masks pain.
- DON’T Talk to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company: Insurance telephone adjusters are trained to sound friendly and subtly trap people into making damaging statements. Adjusters usually succeed in both areas, especially since many car crash victims sustain head injuries and they aren’t thinking clearly.
- DO Gather Evidence: Emergency responders usually arrive at injury accidents, but these responders aren’t there to collect evidence for a future negligence claim. It’s usually up to victims, or their Clinton Township car accident lawyers, to get witness contact information, take pictures, and otherwise document the scene.
Do not fret too much if you are unable to do these things because of your injuries. Experienced lawyers are more than capable of winning games, even if they must play from behind.
After you’ve been hurt in a car accident, don’t burden yourself with insurance and case negotiations. Instead, let our Clinton Township car accident attorneys handle your case.
Understanding Michigan’s No-Fault Insurance Law
As a no-fault car accident state, car owners must purchase insurance that covers at least some expenses in the event of an accident. This way, insurance will pay for some expenses and damages no matter who caused an accident.
No-fault insurance is designed to get car accident victims compensation more quickly. Instead of having to file a claim against or sue another driver, some victims can turn to their own insurance coverage. However, it may not be the case that your insurance covers all expenses and damages. If you still have costs resulting from your accident that insurance does not cover, it’s best to speak with our Clinton Township car accident lawyers about filing a claim against the responsible party.
Car Accident FAQs
Common Questions for Our Clinton Township Car Accident Lawyers
If you’ve been in a car accident, you probably have more than just a few questions for our Clinton Township car accident lawyer. Below are several common questions that can help you find answers to your inquiries.
If you need to find out more about the claims process and resolving your car accident case, schedule a free consultation with our team by calling 248-286-8100. When you choose Goodman Acker, it’s a good decision.
Working with a Clinton Township personal injury attorney and pursuing a claim does not necessarily mean that you will have to go court. Injury cases are taken to trial only if there’s no other way for a plaintiff to obtain a fair settlement and get their deserved compensation. Going to trial is typically a last resort, not a go-to option.
Even for experienced personal injury lawyers in Clinton Township, it’s just not possible to know a case’s worth without reviewing the particulars. After consulting with an injury victim, it’s possible to have a clearer estimate of a case’s worth. If the expenses associated with an accident are higher, that means the case value will almost always be higher, too. Injury severity also affects case value.
Many people are not thinking clearly in the immediate wake of an accident, mostly because their injuries cloud their cognitive abilities. So, victims often unintentionally do, or don’t do, things which hurt their claims later. Here are a few quick dos and don’ts:
- DO Collect Evidence: Victims have the burden of proof in negligence cases. Things like taking pictures and getting the names of witnesses gives your Clinton Township personal injury lawyer a head start on your claim.
- DON’T Say “I’m Sorry”: Many people apologize to express their sympathy. But in court, insurance company lawyers could twist one of these apologies into an admission of liability. So, don’t apologize, or better yet, don’t say anything, if possible.
- DO See a Doctor: Since many victims do not feel hurt after an accident, they refuse medical treatment. That’s bad from a medical and legal perspective. Only a doctor can determine if you are truly injured. Furthermore, refusal to seek immediate medical treatment complicates your claim for damages.
- DON’T Talk to the Other Insurance Company: This advice goes along with the “remain silent” advice given above. Victims have no legal obligation to give a statement to another auto or property insurance company. Granted, these adjusters need to hear your side of the story — but they don’t need to hear it immediately.
Speaking with a Clinton Township personal injury attorney as soon as possible is the best way to preserve your legal rights.
Comparative fault, or contributory negligence, is one of the most common insurance company defenses in personal injury claims. Fall claims are a good illustration. Insurance company lawyers often argue that fall victims did not watch where they are going, so they are legally responsible for their own injuries.
If jurors believe both parties were partially at fault, they must divide fault on a percentage basis, such as 80-20, between them.
Michigan is a comparative fault state with a 51 percent recovery bar. Victims are entitled to a proportionate share of damages as long as they are no more than 50 percent responsible for the incident.
From both a legal and practical standpoint, victims have a limited amount of time to act. People eventually lose their legal right to obtain compensation for their injuries in court. Furthermore, the longer you wait, the more the evidence in a case degrades. And victim/plaintiffs have the burden of proof in negligence cases.
Fortunately, Michigan has one of the longest statutes of limitations in the country. Victims have a minimum of three years to present legal claims.
We say “a minimum of three years” because the Wolverine State also has a very liberal discovery rule. This legal doctrine protects victims who do not immediately recognize their injuries. This issue frequently comes up in toxic exposure personal injury claims. Cancer and other illnesses often take years, or even decades, to develop. If these victims miss the aforementioned three-year deadline, a Clinton Township personal injury lawyer may still be able to file a claim. The case is simply more complex.
Get Help from Our Clinton Township Car Accident Lawyer
By teaming up with our car accident attorneys in Clinton Township, you’ll give yourself and your case the best chances at full compensation. The experienced legal team at Goodman Acker will answer all of your questions, handle insurance negotiations for you, review evidence to build a strong case, and, in short, help you obtain the damages that you deserve.
With a success rate of 99 percent for the cases that we conclude, we’re confident that we can help you and your situation. We’d be glad to take the opportunity to learn more about you. Please feel free to give our Clinton Township car accident attorneys a call at 248-286-8100 and ask for a free consultation today.
LEGALLY REVIEWED BY BARRY J. GOODMAN
Barry J. Goodman has devoted his professional life to keeping courthouse doors open for victims seeking justice. Always a tireless advocate for his own clients, Goodman sees his responsibility as a Detroit personal injury attorney in a broader sense as well. [ Attorney Bio ]
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