In the final blog in my series of tips for lawyers handling traumatic brain injury cases, I want to stress that the crucial question every lawyer must answer before any jury in a brain injury case is: “Why does TBI matter?”

It is not enough to show that your client has an injury. You have to show how his or her life is being impaired by the injury.

Auto Accident Attorney Says No, But Crashes Can be Prevented

As the U.S. population ages, the number of licensed drivers over 54 is projected to double to nearly 57 million by 2030, according a recent article by the Wall Street Journal. Also as the population ages, we as car accident lawyers in Michigan are certainly seeing older drivers causing more serious car crashes and truck accidents.

As a no-fault insurance lawyer in Michigan, I constantly see victims of car accidents and truck accidents have their legitimate no-fault claims denied and delayed, forcing them to hire a lawyer for claims that should have been paid immediately. Behind every wrongfully delayed or denied claim is a family whose lives have been turned upside down, because an insurance company refused to do what it promised.

To make matters worse, Michigan is one of only four states that doesn’t protect its consumers from wrongful denial of no-fault insurance benefits. The insurance lawyers of Michigan Auto Law and the Michigan Association for Justice are asking that you join us in holding Michigan insurance companies accountable by signing this petition.

Michigan Auto Accident Lawyer Says Don’t Eat and Drive!

The auto accident lawyers of Michigan Auto Law frequently tell our clients and friends to avoid driving while distracted. That means stop changing CDs, applying makeup, gabbing on the phone, checking e-mail, texting friends — and the worst culprit in some opinions — eating and drinking in the car.

I’ve received a heartfelt response to my recent blog, Michigan’s Auto Accident Law Protects Drunk Drivers, Not Accident Victims, from the mother of the actual car accident victim in the Michigan Court of  Appeals case Wayne Cottrill v. Craig Kenneth Senter (No. 285216).

In Cottrill v. Senter, a drunk driver with a .30 blood alcohol level slammed head-on into a car carrying an 11-year-old boy named Anthony. Anthony sustained multiple personal injuries, including fractures to his foot, wrist, hand and ribs. He missed months from school and had to drop out of the many activities he participated in before the car crash, like football. But thanks to Michigan’s car accident law Kreiner v. Fischer, Senter didn’t face any civil consequences for his actions. Unfortunately, as a personal injury lawyer, I’ve seen many legitimate auto accident cases thrown out of court because of Kreiner. Meanwhile, many honest accident victims continue to suffer.

Truck accident lawyer Steven M. Gursten will be speaking at the American Association for Justice 2009 Annual Convention this week in San Francisco.

On Friday, during the Belli Seminar, he will lecture on using fatigue in car accident cases to recover economic damages and prove disability. During the AAJ convention, he will speak on traumatic brain injuries in trucking cases.

The American Association for Justice is a national organization of personal injury lawyers aiming to promote a fair, effective justice system and to protect the rights of personal injury victims.

A package of house bills that would nix insurance practices that deny coverage and punish dishonest insurance companies was filed Tuesday. As our lawyers specialize in Michigan no-fault insurance law, we know first-hand how badly many, many people are treated by their insurance companies.

Our clients, who are victims of car accidents and truck accidents, have routinely had legitimate no-fault claims disputed; forcing them to hire a lawyer for claims that should have been paid immediately. Many insurance companies in Michigan also put people “under investigation”— the excuse for stopping payment of all medical bills and wage loss. People are being ignored, threatened, intimidated and even lied to by their insurance claims adjusters.

Insurance Lawyer Helps You Choose the Best

As a Michigan no-fault insurance lawyer , I know first-hand how badly many people are treated by their insurance companies. My clients have routinely had claims disputed or have been ignored for no given reason; forcing them to hire a lawyer for valid claims that should have been paid right away. Insurance companies in Michigan also put people “under investigation,” which has become the excuse for stopping payment of all medical bills and wage loss. People are even being lied to by their insurance claims adjusters – and adjusters can now legally get away with it.

Beware of 14 Factors that Can Ruin a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

This is part six of my series on tips for lawyers handling traumatic brain injury cases. In my experience, I’ve found the incredible irony underlying any TBI case is that the plaintiff — like any plaintiff in any personal injury case — must be likable, honest and credible for a jury to award a fair verdict. But, as we frequently experience with clients, it’s often the brain injury itself that makes a plaintiff somewhat unlikable.

There are bus drivers who cause one car accident after another, but when bus accident lawyers subpoena their driving records – they’re clean.  No reported accidents.  No points.  This is a huge problem in Michigan, especially in cities like Detroit. What’s going on?

What is happening is essentially a conspiracy. Take Detroit for example, police have “unwritten orders” to avoid citing fault and issuing tickets against drivers employed by the city and Wayne County.  Then, when an accident victim’s lawyer gets the bus driver’s driving record and sees it is clean, the lawyer does not add additional legal counts such as negligent hiring, entrustment and supervision against the city/county for employing the unfit driver.