A $5,000 offer became $35,000, plus $45,000 in unpaid wages
- Before
- $5,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer, as a full and final settlement.
- The problem
- Disc protrusions in the neck and lower back on MRI, about six months of physical therapy and a recommendation for pain procedures. The client came to us from another firm holding a $5,000 offer, and her own insurer had not paid her lost wages.
- What we did
- Took over the case from the client’s previous firm. Gathered her complete treatment records and obtained written opinions from her treating physicians on how the injuries affect her life and the long-term restrictions they will cause.
- What decided it
- The MRI findings and her treating physicians’ written opinions on her restrictions. Neither was in the file when she came to us.
- Outcome
- $35,000 for pain and suffering, against a $50,000 policy limit, settled within a few months (August 2026). Separately, $45,000 in wage-loss benefits her own no-fault insurer had not paid.
- Keep in mind
- These were two different recoveries from two insurers: $35,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer, and $45,000 in no-fault wage-loss benefits from her own insurer. Both are gross amounts.
In Justin’s words
I often hear from people who are unhappy with the lawyer they hired. The reasons vary: no one tells them what is happening with their case, the settlement offer is low, or benefits like lost wages take months to arrive. I recently took over and settled one of these cases.
Before she came to my firm, the at-fault driver’s insurance company had offered her $5,000 as a full and final settlement.
One of the most important parts of a personal injury case is understanding the client’s injuries from the medical records. Her MRI showed objective findings of disc protrusions in the neck and lower back. She had about six months of physical therapy and a recommendation for interventional pain procedures in the lower back. But the file did not have all of her treatment records, and no one had asked her treating physicians for a written summary of how the injuries affect her life and the long-term physical restrictions they will cause.
As a lawyer, my job is to figure out and prove three things: liability, damages, and whether the at-fault party can pay. Liability means someone other than my client caused the crash. Damages depend on the injuries and how they affect the client’s life. Ability to pay usually comes down to the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. Here, that policy had a maximum of $50,000 for pain and suffering.
Within a few months of gathering her medical records and getting written opinions from her treating physicians, I settled her claim for $35,000 for pain and suffering, and helped her collect another $45,000 in lost wages her own insurance company had not paid. This case was resolved in August 2026 in Wayne County.
Offered $250,000. Recovered $1,250,000 after we found the umbrella policy
- Before
- $250,000, the limit of the policy the insurer first acknowledged.
- The problem
- A crash caused catastrophic injuries, and the client died after more than five months on life support. The police report said the at-fault driver had no insurance and no license, and the family had already been turned away by other firms.
- What we did
- Took the case other firms had declined, refused the early offer and filed suit in Wayne County. Tracked down the car’s owner and the owner’s insurance. Refused the $250,000 offer and demanded certified copies of every policy, which Michigan insurers do not have to disclose before a lawsuit is filed. The copies showed a $1,000,000 umbrella policy. When the insurer said a Virginia exclusion for other drivers kept it from applying, argued that because the crash happened in Michigan the exclusion did not apply: in Michigan, insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver.
- What decided it
- Certified copies of the policies, read against Michigan law.
- Outcome
- The insurer tendered $1,250,000 to the family, both policies in full, soon after suit was filed.
- Keep in mind
- The amount is the total of two policies, paid to the family before fees, costs and any liens. It depended on this crash happening in Michigan and on the policy language in this case.
In Justin’s words
This family came to me after other firms had turned their case down. Their loved one had suffered catastrophic injuries in a crash and passed away after more than five months on life support.
On paper, it looked hopeless. The police report said the driver who caused the crash had no insurance and no license, so everyone assumed there was nothing to recover.
I didn’t assume. We tracked down the owner of the car and found that the owner had insurance. Given the injuries, the insurer quickly offered its $250,000 policy limit. That sounds like a lot of money, but I refused it.
Before I recommend any settlement, I demand certified copies of every policy that could apply. Michigan is a non-disclosure state, so an insurer does not have to volunteer that information until a lawsuit is filed. When the certified copies came in, they showed a $1,000,000 umbrella policy.
The car was registered in Virginia, and the insurer claimed that under Virginia law and its policy language the umbrella did not apply because the owner’s son, not the owner, was driving. I filed suit in Wayne County. Because the crash happened in Michigan, the Virginia exclusion did not apply: under Michigan law, insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver.
Soon after we filed, the insurance company tendered both policies in full: $1,250,000 to the family.
Told she would never get more. Resolved for 3,650% more than the only offer
- Before
- One small offer before suit, with the insurer saying it would never pay more. The amount is confidential.
- The problem
- Soft-tissue injuries from a crash. The at-fault driver’s insurer said the injuries could never meet Michigan’s serious impairment threshold and that its one small offer was all it would ever pay.
- What we did
- Filed suit and pressed the case through discovery. Filed suit instead of accepting the offer, and used aggressive discovery to build the record showing how the injuries affected her life.
- Outcome
- Resolved after suit for 3,650% more than the insurer’s only offer. The settlement amount is confidential.
- Keep in mind
- The result is shown as a percentage because the settlement is confidential. A large percentage can come from a small starting offer, and this one did. It compares the final result with the insurer’s only offer and does not predict the result of any other case.
In Justin’s words
Insurers often decide that soft-tissue injuries aren’t worth paying for. In this case, the at-fault driver’s insurer made one small offer before suit and told us it would never pay her more. It didn’t believe we could meet Michigan’s serious impairment threshold.
We filed suit and went after the evidence in discovery. The case resolved for 3,650% more than the insurer’s only offer. The amount is confidential, but the lesson isn’t: soft-tissue injuries can meet the threshold, and an insurer’s “final offer” often isn’t final.
Paid $64 a test. Settled at $2,500 or more
- The problem
- A provider performed detailed range-of-motion testing of the neck, back and arms and legs, producing pages of objective findings for each patient. Insurers routinely paid about $64 per test.
- What we did
- Filed suit on the provider’s underpaid claims. Worked with a medical coding and billing expert to confirm the codes billed were correct and to calculate what the no-fault fee schedule actually required for the test.
- What decided it
- The coding expert’s review and the fee-schedule calculation: $2,537.50 owed per test, not $64.
- Outcome
- Settlements of $2,500 or more in almost all of the provider’s cases. None went to trial.
- Keep in mind
- These are per-test amounts across a series of one provider’s claims. What is owed depends on the service, the codes billed and the fee schedule that applies.
In Justin’s words
Half of my practice is litigating for medical providers who have been short-changed by insurance companies on Michigan no-fault claims. Insurers often pay far less than they owe, hoping the provider will accept it and move on. Other times they deny payment entirely, and some providers simply write off the balance.
One provider specialized in a diagnostic test that measured range of motion in the neck, back, arms and legs. The test produced pages of objective evidence of a patient’s physical restrictions, or of the absence of restricted motion.
Under Michigan law, this test fell under the no-fault fee schedule, which ties reimbursement to what Medicare pays. Insurers were routinely paying the provider $64.
In provider cases I work with a medical coding and billing expert. For these range-of-motion tests, we determined that the reimbursement actually owed was $2,537.50. The insurance companies forced me to file suit, but I settled almost all of the provider’s cases at $2,500 or more, and never once had to go to trial.
The key to provider collection cases under Michigan no-fault is understanding the medicine behind the service, making sure the codes billed are correct, and calculating the proper reimbursement under the fee schedule. I am always willing to talk with medical providers who are struggling to collect what they are owed.
Each result depended on its own facts and does not predict the outcome of another case. Amounts are gross figures before attorney fees, costs and liens. Accounts are Justin Grove’s, edited for length, and come from his case files; court and settlement records are not public, and this page does not independently verify them. Where a settlement is confidential, the amount is left out at the client’s or the firm’s direction.
If an insurer has made you an offer, or stopped paying, ask for a free review or call. Medical providers: see unpaid no-fault bills.
