Auto Accident Case: Why Was I Told I Don’t Have One?
The four most common reasons to be told you do not have an auto accident case
Many auto accident victims contact Michigan Auto Law saying they’ve tried to hire a lawyer, but were unable to find one that would take their auto accident case. They typically say: “My lawyer told me that I do not have an auto accident case;” or “He said my personal injuries are not serious enough to file a lawsuit in Michigan.”
Our lawyers have helped people who have been told they have no case, or that their case was too old. Call Michigan Auto Law at (800) 968-1001 and we will answer all of your questions at no cost.
Here are the four most common reasons Michigan auto accident victims are told they do not have an auto accident case:
- Changes in the Michigan auto law made it more difficult to win.
- Many Michigan lawyers do not only handle auto accident cases.
- Most car accident victims (and inexperienced lawyers) are unaware of important steps they should take to protect their interests.
- Auto accident victims wait too long to contact a Michigan lawyer.
Changes in the Michigan auto law made it more difficult to win.
Sadly, car accident victims are often turned away because handling auto accident cases has become far more challenging in recent years, due to the Michigan auto law. After the Michigan Supreme Court issued Kreiner v. Fischer in 2004, there were only a small handful of “wins” for injured auto accident victims in the Michigan Court of Appeals. In comparison, there were more than 10 times as many “defense wins” (where the automobile insurance company succeeds).
These defense wins highlighted a sad reality in Michigan: you could be completely innocent and in pain every day, but if your car accident injuries do not rise to the level of a “serious impairment of body function” as the Kreiner ruling required, you would not have a successful auto accident case.
Thankfully, in 2010, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in McCormick v. Carrier where the justices not only restored the Legislature’s original intent behind the No-Fault law’s “serious impairment of body function” threshold, but they overruled Kreiner. The Legislature then codified the McCormick decision, giving the case full effect starting June 11, 2019.
Many Michigan lawyers do not only handle auto accident cases.
Even though Michigan auto injury law is difficult and challenging, far too many of these car accident lawsuits could be successful if handled properly. Some losses are the fault of certain lawyers entrusted with representing auto accident victims.
Many Michigan lawyers are attempting to handle car accident cases today just as they had five or 10 years ago — without success — because the Michigan auto injury laws have changed so dramatically. When a car accident attorney is not successful, it means the client is denied compensation.
What are these Michigan lawyers doing wrong? Winning on behalf of injury victims today requires that any lawyer handling an auto accident case is able to document the injuries and impairments that his client has suffered. Too many attorneys don’t understand that there’s a difference between pain and impairment under Michigan’s auto law. Impairment reflects how your life is different now than it was before the car accident. If a car accident lawyer cannot demonstrate a “serious impairment,” he will not have a successful automobile accident case in Michigan, no matter how much pain exists.
Demonstrating impairment requires that the car accident lawyer and client work closely to show how personal injuries from the crash have affected different parts of that person’s life. This includes showing how much time off work was caused by auto accident injuries. Or how recreational activities, hobbies and interests — that were an important part of that person’s life before the accident — have changed. In many cases, the lifestyle changes that were caused by the car accident were there to be found, but the attorney handling the case just never took the time to discover them.
Michigan lawyers with limited medical sophistication will not understand the pain and injuries that car accident victims have suffered. They also cannot help clients receive the right medical testing within time limits allowed. This is critical for the victim’s well-being and for the potential of the car accident case.
Most car accident victims (and inexperienced lawyers) are unaware of important steps they should take early on to protect their interests.
When injured accident victims, and lawyers who are not familiar with auto accident law, lack important information about what to do after a car accident, they can severely limit the potential of their cases. It’s also important to remember that auto insurance companies are not always acting in your best interest. By agreeing to settle, signing releases, not clearly understanding insurance policies, or not properly documenting injuries and medical treatment, it can be difficult to recover.
Auto accident victims wait too long to contact a Michigan lawyer.
In Michigan, auto accident victims have one year to file a lawsuit with their own insurance companies for No-Fault insurance benefits (first-party lawsuit). They have three years to file a lawsuit against the wrongdoer driver for pain and suffering damages (third-party lawsuit). If you do not file within this time, it is very difficult to recover from your car accident.
There are other important filing deadlines that many attorneys are unaware of, and that if missed, can devastate an auto accident victim’s rights and recovery.
Michigan Auto Law can help if you’ve been told you don’t have an auto accident case
For more information about whether you or a loved one have a car accident lawsuit, be sure to contact a car accident lawyer who truly understands how to win auto cases in Michigan today. Call Michigan Auto Law at (800) 968-1001 or fill out our confidential car accident lawyer free consultation form.
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