What happens when Michigan no-fault law and real-life medicine conflict?

Our attorneys tell people that the law in Michigan is black and white: Anyone injured in a car accident must provide information as to the nature or type of injury to his auto insurance company within one year, or the insurance company can deny payment for medical bills and other no-fault benefits (MCL 500.3145(1)).

It’s very easy to comply with a one-year notice provision when there is a physical injury like a broken arm - after all, it hurts immediately and upon X-ray, it’s either there or it isn’t. Notice for a tangible injury like this on an application for benefits to an auto insurance company can be easily made.

Truck Accident Lawyer Says Drivers Who Text Are 20 Times More Likely to Crash

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds while texting. FMCSA research shows drivers who text are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident than non-distracted drivers.

Our truck accident lawyers are happy to announce that drivers of commercial trucks and buses will be prohibited from texting under federal guidelines that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood issued Tuesday.

A reader recently wrote in after reading my blog on the Dirtiest Insurance Company Trick of All. “Phil” stated that in the very serious car accident case I had written about, Farm Bureau Insurance company had every right to deliberately mislead the jury (I assume Phil is not a claims adjuster who works for Farm Bureau).

Actually, I really appreciate Phil’s comments and I am sure there are many people feel the same way as he does. That’s why I decided to re-post his comment and my response as today’s blog.

Accident Attorneys Urge Drivers to Take “No-Texting” Pledge

Our car accident attorneys have seen far too many preventable car accidents resulting from distracted drivers texting and talking on cell phones. Research shows that talking on a cell phone while driving can have the same effect on perception and reaction timing as driving with four drinks in your system, while texting can have the same effect as driving with eight drinks in your system.

We are happy to announce that two personal injury attorneys from Michigan Auto Law have received the largest car accident settlement and verdict in the state for 2009, according to a year-end compilation of trial verdicts and settlements by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Steve Gursten’s settlement was for a serious traumatic brain injury accident in Roseville, which is in Macomb County, Mich. In this case, the metal leg of a traffic sign that was not properly secured, blew through the windshield of the plaintiff’s vehicle, striking her in the head.

The long-awaited Michigan Supreme Court hearing on McCormick v. Carrier (Rodney McCormick v. Larry Carrier and Allied Automotive Group, Indemnitor of General Motors Corp.) was Tuesday. McCormick is the Flint auto accident case that will hopefully change Michigan’s long-broken auto threshold law, Kreiner v. Fischer — and restore the rights of injured auto accident victims.

Kreiner is a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court decision that interpreted the no-fault act’s “serious impairment of body function” statute. It establishes the precondition plaintiffs must meet before they can sue for non-economic damages in such a way that many people who suffer serious injuries and who miss months from work, lose their right to bring car accident claims.

When Susan Al-Maliki was seriously injured in a rear-end car accident, she never thought it would be a Wayne County Circuit Court judge in Detroit who would pose the greatest obstacle to her pain and suffering claim reaching a jury.

Without warning – and without providing her an opportunity to respond – Judge Warfield Moore Jr. dismissed Ms. Al-Maliki’s auto-tort lawsuit for a reason that he alone chose to focus on.

Michigan Auto Law attorneys warn Ingham Country drivers to beware when driving on high-crash streets

As another bone-chilling winter brings more treacherous driving conditions, our Lansing auto accident lawyers want to make mid-Michigan drivers aware of crash statistics in Ingham County. The Michigan State Police recently published 2008 data for the state’s top 100 high-crash roads - and two stretches of Ingham County made the list. These problem roads are based on the number of car accidents reported to police in Ingham County:

1.    East Grand River Ave. Between North Clippert Street and Saginaw/Grand River cutoff
Not even a quarter-mile in length, this stretch of Grand River was home to 45 auto accidents in 2008, making it No. 13 on the list of Michigan’s top 100 high crash roads.  With the US-127 exit ramps and the Saginaw Street intersection, this area is a busy corridor between Lansing and East Lansing’s Michigan State University campus.

The “Best Lawyer” May be Embellishing, Even Using Fraud to Sign Cases

This is my final “staring into the abyss” blog - a collection of reflections on things that trouble me about the legal profession and the insurance industry today. Unfortunately, one of the byproducts of having the worst car accident law in the nation is that some Michigan personal injury lawyers have become increasingly desperate to sign new clients. They will say things - and put things on their web sites - to sign a case that would make the worst used car salesman or politician blush with shame.