If you or a loved one are suffering after a Michigan car accident, a Flint car accident attorney can help. At The Lee Steinberg Law Firm, we understand how devastating the results of a car accident can be. Our team of lawyers specialize in helping our clients who have been injured in a car accident. For over 45 years, we have made sure they receive the best possible outcome to help them recover and move on with their lives.
Car accidents in Flint, whether minor or severe, cause thousands of injuries every year. In fact, in 2021, there were 10,061 car accidents in Genesee County resulting in 3,233 injuries. This leads to costly medical expenses, lost wages and vehicle damage. And beyond the physical injuries, car accident victims suffer from non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, anxiety and emotional distress. This makes the situation even more traumatic. Our Flint car accident lawyers are here to help.
Why Do I Need a Flint Car Accident Attorney?
Car accidents in Michigan, even those involving minor injuries and damages, can still be challenging. There is no guarantee that your insurance company will value your claim and treat you right. This includes providing you with the full no-fault benefits you deserve. Whether you were injured in a crash in downtown Flint or a surrounding community like Burton, Davison, Mt. Morris, Clio or Flushing, your case requires experienced legal guidance.
The main object for most insurance carriers is to pay out as little as possible after a Flint car accident. By hiring Flint car accident attorneys who have helped recover hundreds of millions for our clients, the Lee Steinberg Law Firm makes sure our clients receive every last benefit and money for pain and suffering.
Hiring an attorney is the best way to ensure you get the full and fair compensation you deserve. You need a Flint car accident attorney to protect your legal rights, gather evidence and witness statements, hire experts and handle negotiations with the insurance companies. And we guarantee that our law firm will win your case – or you won’t pay a cent.
Flint Car Accidents and the Michigan No-Fault Law
Every state has varying fault and negligence laws regarding car accidents. These laws dictate the insurance claims process and the recovery of compensation for injuries or wrongful death.
Michigan is a no-fault state. This means that all drivers are required to carry no-fault auto insurance. So, even if you are at fault for the accident, you can still recover compensation through your insurance for potential damages you have suffered.
As of 2020, the Michigan no-fault policy requires drivers to buy the following types of insurance protection:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses, and you have the choice of purchasing unlimited benefits, or you can cap coverage at $50,000, $250,000, or $500,000 depending on eligibility.
- Property Protection (PPI): This covers up to $1 million for damage caused by your car to other people’s property.
- Residual Liability Insurance: This covers bodily injury and property damage, but the amount of coverage depends on the specific policy you choose to buy. All drivers must carry at least the minimum coverage, which is:
- $50,000 for bodily injury for one person per accident
- $100,000 for bodily injury for multiple people per accident
- $10,000 for property damage in another state
It is important to note that though Michigan’s no-fault laws allow drivers to recover compensation no matter who is at fault, no-fault benefits might not cover all losses.
In this case, you may be entitled to file a third-party lawsuit against the at-fault driver who caused the crash. This type of lawsuit is a claim for pain and suffering, as well as medical bills and lost wages not covered by PIP benefits. When filing a negligence lawsuit in Michigan, you must be able to prove that another party acted negligently and that you suffered a serious impairment or disability as a result of the crash.
Genesee County’s Most Dangerous Intersections
Car accidents occur all across Michigan, but some areas are more notorious for dangerous roads and intersections than others. Genesee County, for example, has some of the state’s most dangerous intersections.
In 2021, the list of the most dangerous intersections in this area included:
- Hill Rd and Fenton Rd – 40 accidents
- Lapeer and South Dort Hwy – 37 accidents
- Linden Rd and West Pierson Rd – 36 accidents
- Corunna Rd and South Linden Rd – 30 accidents
- Court St and South Center Rd – 29 accidents
- Dort Hwy and Longway Blvd – 27 accidents
- Corunna Rd and South Ballenger Hwy – 25 accidents
- Owen Rd and Silver Pkwy – 25 accidents
- Lennon Rd and South Linden Rd – 24 accidents
- Lapeer Rd and South State Rd – 24 accidents
Who you call immediately following a car accident in Michigan can play a significant role in how your accident case plays out.
In all cases, no matter how minor the accident may be, you should always call 911 after a crash. Your health and well-being should always be a priority, so it’s important to call 911 in case emergency medical or fire services are needed.
You will also want the police to arrive so an official report can be filed. Even in minor accident cases, you never know what the other person(s) involved may do after the accident. Some may try to claim that you were at fault. Having an official police report can help ensure the right party is held accountable and there is no confusion about what happened.
After contacting 911, the next person you should contact following the accident is a doctor. If you did not require emergency medical attention, it is still important to follow up with your general doctor after the accident. If you don’t have a doctor, go to a local urgent care. Some injuries and symptoms can take a couple of days to become apparent, but if you wait too long to see your doctor, it could negatively affect your personal injury case.
Finally, the third person you should call after a Flint car accident in Michigan is an attorney. It’s important to speak to a lawyer right away because anything you tell the insurance company can be used against you. A Flint car accident attorney can review your situation, answer your questions and handle the claim with the insurance company for you.
Under the Michigan no-fault law, an auto insurance company is supposed to pay your medical expenses while the case is pending. If you had auto insurance at the time of the accident, then your own car insurance pays these bills. Even if you did not have car insurance, in most situations a car insurance company must still pay up to $250,000 in medical bills. These claims can be confusing and a Flint car accident lawyer who specializes in no-fault cases can make sure the right carrier is paying.
In addition, if the insurance carrier refuses to pay medical bills because they sent you to an independent medical exam (IME), allege misrepresentation, or have some other excuse, our team of Flint car accident attorneys will fight to get your bills paid.
If you have health insurance, your plan may be responsible for the paying medical bills first. In this situation, the auto insurance company must pick up any copayments and out-of-pocket costs. If the health plan is secondary, then the car insurance carrier is primary for the payment of all car wreck related medical expenses.
In some situations, the person who caused the crash may also be responsible for paying the medical bills. This will depend on how much PIP coverage is applicable and if the medical bills exceed the PIP coverage.
No matter the situation, our Flint car accident lawyers can help you decide the best course of action to make sure medical expenses are paid and treatment continues as needed.
Multiple injury car accident cases can be even more challenging and complex than an accident that simply involves just one or two drivers. For example, if there is a pile-up situation, it can be more difficult to determine who was originally the one responsible for what happened.
As Michigan is a no-fault state, each injured person involved in the accident can file a claim with their own auto insurance company to recover PIP benefits. However, if those benefits are not enough, there could be multiple people filing a third-party lawsuit against one person who was at fault for the accident.
If this is the case, that person’s insurance policy may not be enough to cover all of the damages for all of the other parties involved. When this happens, the insurance company may try to get all the parties to settle on a reduced amount. This can leave those who have severe injuries without enough money to pay their medical bills or compensate them for their pain and suffering.
In these situations, it is essential to have a great Flint car accident lawyer on your side. An experienced attorney will negotiate on your behalf and also search for other insurance policies that may be applicable to the crash. For example, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may be appropriate when multiple people are injured from the same car accident.
If you are injured in a multi-vehicle car accident in Michigan, a Flint auto accident attorney can protect your rights and ensure you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.
After car accidents in Michigan, it is common for auto insurance adjusters to call the parties involved to get as much information as possible. Insurance adjusters are required to get information to help them set reserves on each claim. The amount of the reserve is the amount set aside to pay a claim. The reserve amount often determines the amount of money a car insurance company will pay.
It is important to understand that insurance adjusters are hired to pay claims, but they are also trained to save the insurance company money.
So before you speak to an insurance adjuster, it’s important to contact an attorney. A Flint car accident attorney can offer you guidance and help you handle interactions with insurance companies to ensure nothing you say can be used against you.
Common questions to expect from an insurance adjuster include:
- Questions about personal information, such as your name and address, and your occupation.
- Questions about the car accident, such as where and when it occurred, how many cars were involved, if there was damage, and if there were any injuries.
- Specific questions about your injuries, such as what your injuries are, if you have received medical attention, how much pain you are in, and how you are feeling.
Again, while many of these questions will seem innocent and the insurance adjuster cares about you, the questions are designed to get information to potentially reduce the value of your case. Always speak with a Flint car accident lawyer first to make sure you highlight the correct things to ensure you get the full benefits or settlement you deserve.
Flint is not different than other communities in Michigan in that there are a number of different reasons for car accidents. However, due to the multiple expressways and multi-lane streets that go through the city, Flint gets its fair share of horrible car wrecks. Some of the more common causes of these crashes include:
- Running a traffic signal such as a red light
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Driving while texting or driving while on a cell phone
- Drinking and driving
- Making an illegal turn
- Trying to beat traffic
Determining whether or not a car accident witness is a credible source or not typically requires the help of an attorney. There are very specific questions you and your Flint auto accident attorney will need to ask to decide whether a witness will be valuable to the case. These questions may include:
- Can you tell me how the accident occurred?
- What was the first thing you noticed that made you realize an accident was about to happen?
- From your perspective, how exactly did the crash happen?
- Can you go into detail about the accident and how it occurred?
- Where were you when the accident happened?
- Was anyone else with you when the crash happened, and did they also see the crash?
- What did you do after the accident?
- Did you notice if anyone else nearby might have seen what happened?
- What was the weather like when the accident occurred?
- What did the people involved in the accident do right after the crash happened?
- Did you notice who got out of their car first?
- Do you personally know anyone involved in the accident?
- Did you hear the drivers say anything that might be relevant to what happened?
- What were you doing right before you noticed the accident?
- Did you see the entire accident or only the beginning or the end?
- Did you have a clear, unobstructed view of the accident?
- Are you willing to write this information down and sign it for official records?
The best way to prove negligence after a car crash is to immediately call the police. Make sure you get everybody’s information while at the scene, including their names and license plate information. When the police arrive, clearly and accurately describe to the officer what happened and why the other driver caused the wreck.
In addition, if there were witnesses to the crash get their information, in particular their name and telephone number. Tell the police about the witness and make sure the responding officer talks to him or her. While at the accident scene, you should also take photographs on your cell phone of the vehicle damage, license plates, the accident scene anything else you believe is important.
Then contact a winning Flint car accident lawyer who can take these pieces of evidence and weave them into a winning case. An experienced Genesee County car accident attorney will also interview witnesses, retain accident reconstruction experts, download and analyze vehicle data and take depositions to make sure the judge, jury and insurance company understands the other driver caused the crash.
To get pain and suffering compensation following a car collision in Flint, the injured party must first prove the other car was at-fault for causing the crash. Under Michigan automobile law, the other motorist must be at least 50% at-fault for causing the crash.
Next, the injured person must prove he or she was injured and the injuries are from the crash. This is known as causation. Aggravation of pre-existing conditions count as much as new injuries from the collision. Insurance companies and their lawyers try to argue the injuries are not from the crash, so it is important your doctors relate symptoms and injuries to the underlying auto accident. It is also important to have a winning Flint car accident law firm on your side who can help prove causation.
Last, under Michigan law to receive pain and suffering compensation, which includes anxiety and emotional distress, the injured person must show he or she has a “threshold” injury. The main threshold injury is called a “serious impairment of body function.” The Flint car accident lawyers at the Lee Steinberg Law Firm, P.C. are experts in demonstrating our clients meet this threshold so they can obtain money for pain and suffering.
Top Rated Flint Car Accident Attorney
For over 45 years, The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has helped injured victims win their cases to collect the compensation they need and deserve. We care about the health and well-being of our clients. The results of a car accident in Michigan can be traumatic—let us help you get the compensation you need to recover and move on as comfortably as possible.
Please call The Lee Steinberg Flint Auto Accident Attorneys at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-800-533-3733) or fill out the Free Case Evaluation Form so we can answer any questions you may have about your accident. You pay nothing until we settle your Flint car accident case.
