At Michigan Auto Law, our Detroit truck accident lawyers handle the complex legal and investigative aspects of commercial truck crashes to help victims in Michigan secure the compensation they deserve. We thoroughly investigate each crash, gather critical evidence such as police reports, truck black box data, and maintenance records, and identify all potentially liable parties. Our team works directly with insurance companies to negotiate fair settlements and is fully prepared to take your case to court if necessary. Leveraging our deep knowledge of commercial semi crash laws and extensive experience with insurance company tactics, we fight to maximize recovery for damages including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
The Best Detroit Truck Accident Lawyers Near You Are At Michigan Auto Law
The lawyers at Michigan Auto Law are widely regarded as one of the top truck accident law firms for semi crash cases in Detroit, MI. Here’s why:
- Our law firm has decades of experience in tractor trailer litigation. We have more than 50 years of experience with semi crashes throughout the state. We’ve seen it all.
- We specialize exclusively in large commercial vehicle crashes. This is our sole focus, which means our truck accident lawyers have the in-depth knowledge and expertise to handle any challenge that may arise in your Detroit, MI crash case.
- We have secured more million-dollar settlements and verdicts from commercial vehicle crash cases than any other law firm in the state. We’ve won more million-dollar commercial vehicle crash settlements and verdicts than any other firm in Michigan. We also secured the largest commercial vehicle crash settlement in the state’s history—and the largest in the nation that year.
- Board certification. Michigan Auto Law is the only law firm in the state whose lawyers hold a board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy, giving you a distinct advantage in handling your Detroit, MI crash case and maximizing your potential recovery. No other attorney or law firm in the state is board certified.
- Hall of Fame – Steven M. Gursten of Michigan Auto Law is one of only three lawyers in the country named to the American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group “Hall of Fame” for his truck accident litigation, giving you unmatched expertise for your Detroit, MI crash case.
- Every transportation company, insurance adjuster, and insurance defense attorney in Michigan knows we don’t settle for less than the full value of a case. They also know we’re ready to take a case to trial if necessary. Our reputation in the courtroom means we often settle cases for more money and in less time than other attorneys or law firms.
- We are known for our ethics and compassion. We return calls and emails promptly and treat every client with care and respect. Thanks to the exceptional service we provide, we have earned more than 2,500 five-star reviews.
Talk to one of our experienced Detroit truck accident lawyers today to find how he or she can help you.
Use our settlement calculator to find out how much your case may be worth.
What Should I Do After a Crash?
After a crash with a semi, you should do the following: (1) seek medical attention for yourself; (2) seek medical attention for others; (3) report and document all of your injuries; (4) move to a safe area if possible; (5) call the police; (6) refrain from making any statements or signing any releases; (7) file an application for No-Fault benefits; and (8) hire an experienced and specialized truck accident lawyer for your Detroit, MI semi crash case.
Why Do I Need a Lawyer for a Truck Accident in Detroit, MI?
You need an experienced Detroit truck accident lawyer because these cases are more sophisticated and far more difficult than car crash cases. The problem is how few personal injury attorneys truly understand commercial semi crashes. Most treat these as car crash cases but with bigger insurance policy limits, but they don’t understand semi crash law and the federal and state rules and regulations that make these cases different. There can be multiple defendants and hidden layers of insurance. There can be broker-shipper liability.
The sad truth is that while there are plenty of lawyers on TV and on billboards throughout the Detroit metro area who advertise for commercial semi crash cases, most have no experience and knowledge on how to litigate these cases.
Attorneys can advertise for these types of cases, but that certainly doesn’t mean they know how to properly handle them. Don’t let you or your loved ones pay for their mistakes.
How Can an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Help After a Crash in Detroit, MI?
Our truck accident lawyers help by investigating your Detroit, MI crash, handling insurance claims, gathering evidence, identifying all liable parties, and pursuing compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Hiring our experienced attorneys maximizes your chance of securing a fair settlement.
Here are some other ways an attorney can help:
Bigger settlements in less time – An inexperienced personal injury attorney who doesn’t specialize in this area of the law can and will miss the crucial federal and state safety violations and will fail to identify all of the negligent parties – and all of the insurance coverage. This means your settlement will end up far less than it should have been. But our trusted and experienced truck accident lawyers who understand this complex law can maximize settlement results in your Detroit, MI case. The insurance industry’s own research shows that settlement amounts can be up to 4x greater when crash victims are represented by skilled, experienced attorneys who have a track record and a reputation for obtaining favorable settlements and trial verdicts.
Stop the motor carrier company from destroying key evidence – Motor carriers can and will legally destroy evidence that will prove your negligence case if they are not specifically asked to preserve the evidence within a certain amount of time once the retention period has expired. This can be as soon as 90 and 120 days after your crash, depending on what federal motor carrier regulations are at issue. Once that time has come and gone, so will your evidence as it heads to the shredder. Our experienced Detroit truck accident lawyers will serve the necessary “preservation of evidence/spoliation” letters on the transportation company or can go to court to file temporary restraining orders to preserve this evidence that you will need to prove your case.
Show violations of federal and state safety regulations – Our Detroit truck accident lawyer’s extensive knowledge with the federal and state safety regulations that apply to commercial vehicles will allow you to identify every violation that led to your crash. When most semi crashes occur they are not random, unforeseeable acts. These are usually the results of broken safety systems that make these crashes not only foreseeable but even sadly predictable. The time and the place and the unfortunate person injured or killed may be by chance, but broken safety systems, unfit and unsafe drivers with terrible driving records, and little or no supervision, monitoring, and training make these types of crashes foreseeable.
Recruit the nation’s top experts to join your legal team and help build your case – The most commonly used experts in semi crash cases include: (1) crash reconstruction experts; (2) federal and state safety regulation experts; (3) driver training experts; (4) mechanics; (5) toxicologists who can speak to whether a driver was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, and/or prescription medication; and (6) life care planners who can explain to judges and juries what a crash victim’s life will be like going forward and what his or her medical needs will be.
Make sure all of the responsible, negligent parties are held accountable and legally liable – This is not as easy as it may sound. Seldom are all of the defendants in a tractor trailer crash case readily identifiable from the start. The motor carrier companies and the corporations involved in the industry create complex corporate entities so they can hide layers of insurance and assets. An inexperienced attorney won’t be able to find them in your case but an experienced Detroit truck accident lawyer will. Failure to identify and name a proper party as a defendant can mean the loss of millions of additional dollars in applicable insurance coverage that can be used to protect families when tragedy strikes.
Access liability insurance coverage and assets to increase your settlement – Just as it is vitally important to identify all of the parties whose negligence caused the crash, it is equally important to identify all of the financial resources that those parties have available to contribute to a settlement amount that reflects the true value of your case. Our experienced and trusted Detroit truck accident lawyers will discover not only the insurance policies that the defendants readily admit, but also the corporate and umbrella policies that they try to hide. Our attorneys will also do asset checks on the defendant – many of whom are well-heeled corporations – to verify their ability to contribute to a settlement or trial verdict that exceeds their insurance coverage limits.
Who can be held liable after a semi crash?
The parties that can be held legally liable after a crash with a semi are those whose negligence led directly to the crash or played a causal role in the crash. This will always include the big rig driver, but it can include: (1) the tractor trailer broker or shipper; (2) the motor carrier company; (3) the owner of the tractor and trailer; (4) the maintenance company; (5) the loading company; and (6) the shipping company.
How long do I have to sue for injuries after a crash with a semi?
You have three (3) years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for pain and suffering compensation and money damages. This is Michigan’s statute of limitations for all tractor trailer crash lawsuits, MCL 600.5805(2).
If you don’t file your lawsuit on time, you will lose all of your legal rights to sue the responsible parties and to hold them accountable for injuries, harms and/or deaths that their negligence has caused.
What types of evidence can be used in a lawsuit?
The types of evidence that a lawyer can use to prove your Detroit truck accident lawsuit include:
- Police reports
- Photos of the crash scene
- Surveillance video or dash cam video of the crash
- Witness statements
- Expert opinions
- Medical records
- The big rig driver’s electronic logging device (ELD) data which tracks the driver’s “hours-of-service,” i.e., the hours that he or she been driving and the hours that he or she has rested
- The “black box” or “electronic control modules” (ECMs) data which record data about the tractor trailer’s operation such as speed and braking
- The big rig’s vehicle maintenance and inspection records
- The motor carrier company’s employee file for the big rig driver
- The results of a post-crash toxicology test to determine if the tractor trailer driver was under the influence of alcohol, drugs and/or prescription medication
- Cell phone records from the big rig driver and the motor carrier company
- The tractor trailer driver’s and motor carrier company’s records of safety violations
Common causes
Our lawyers find that the most common causes of truck accidents in Detroit, MI include:
- Speeding
- Fatigued driving
- Distracted driving
- Impaired driving (alcohol, drugs and/or prescription medication)
- Reckless driving
- Careless driving
- Violation of traffic laws
- Disregarding traffic signals
- Failure to use the ordinary care that a reasonably careful driver would use
- Following too closely
- Mechanical malfunction issues due to improper or inadequate inspection, maintenance and repair
- Failure to adjust to dangerous road conditions
- Failure to safely monitor and account for blind spots
- Cargo securement issues due to overloading and/or improper loading of cargo
- The motor carrier company’s negligent hiring, training and retention of unsafe big rig drivers
- Motor carrier companies forcing unsafe tractor trailers that should be kept out-of-service back onto the roads
Common injuries
Injuries that our lawyers frequently see from truck accidents in Detroit, MI include:
- Neck Injuries including disc herniations
- Back Injuries including disc herniations
- Head Injuries including traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and brain bleeds
- Fractures, broken bones and dislocations
- Spinal cord injuries which can result in temporary or permanent paralysis
- Injuries to internal organs
- Internal bleeding
- Burn injuries
- Amputations
- Crush injuries
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
- Lacerations
- Emotional trauma
- Psychological trauma
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Wrongful death