Auto accident attorney interprets Michigan’s new auto law, which could give hundreds of car accident victims with serious personal injuries a second chance to have their pain and suffering cases heard in court

I’d like to share the exciting news.  Sometime between now and Sunday, the Michigan Supreme Court will release McCormick v. Carrier (Rodney McCormick v. Larry Carrier and Allied Automotive Group, Indemnitor of General Motors Corp.).

McCormick is the case that Michigan auto accident victims, lawyers on both sides and almost all trial court judges have been hoping will finally reverse the shocking unfairness that has resulted under Kreiner v. Fischer.

Bill 5744 would change ‘open and obvious’ defense to better protect Michigan residents

How bad is Michigan’s “open and obvious” premises liability law?  So bad that in one fell swoop in 2002, it wiped out over 65 years of human factors science. Our “open and obvious” law essentially wipes out slip and fall cases. The Michigan Supreme Court declared that no typical person could ever blame the premises owner for falling in a pothole or on a sidewalk, if he or she were able to see the hazard.

House of Representatives passed HB 4747 allowing bikers to ride without helmets - despite warning from experienced motorcycle accident attorneys

The Michigan House of Representatives last night passed HB 4747, which would allow motorcyclists to ride without protective helmets.  As a motorcycle accident attorney for the past 16 years, I feel adamantly that this is a terrible idea.

Although I am close with many bikers who believe the helmet debate is about individual rights and liberty, I have a different perspective. The truth is, most motorcycle accident victims that I’ve helped have suffered very serious, sometimes catastrophic injuries. And most of these motorcycle accidents result in traumatic brain injuries.

Any lawyer who assumes a commercial truck accident case is simply a “car wreck” case with bigger policy limits is bound to commit legal malpractice. In trucking cases, the federal government imposes hundreds of regulations that essentially, create theories of strict liability against the truck driver and the trucking company.

Without knowledge of these regulations, a lawyer cannot possibly recover top value for his clients after a serious truck accident case.

Michigan TBI lawyer says ERs and doctors frequently miss head injuries, lists signs so you can protect yourself

It’s a sobering fact: Emergency rooms will miss up to 85 percent of traumatic brain injuries after a person has been in a car accident. Our TBI lawyers have witnessed cases where a catastrophically brain-injured person literally walked away after a car crash, without even an ambulance or ER visit, only to become permanently disabled with a brain injury.

Michigan Car Accident Lawyer Says Unlimited Corporate Spending on Elections Will Corrupt Democracy

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited corporate political spending on elections is so dangerous that I cannot resist sharing my political views on the topic. I’m just a civil justice lawyer.  But since I specialize in helping people in catastrophic accidents such as very serious car accidents and truck accidents, what the conservative judges did is very alarming.

The reasoning of this decision is inherently flawed and the consequences are detrimental to the public good.

Medical, consumer and legal groups also say McCormick v. Carrier shows why Kreiner v. Fischer is wrongly decided

To follow-up on a recent blog on my own impressions of the Michigan Supreme Court hearing on McCormick v. Carrier (Rodney McCormick v. Larry Carrier and Allied Automotive Group, Indemnitor of General Motors Corp.), I’d like to run a comment by C-PAN regarding the McCormick case and why Kreiner v. Fischer is wrongly decided. CPAN, the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault, is a Lansing-based, bi-partisan organization of medical, consumer and legal groups.

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.

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.