Case results

A $5,000 offer became $35,000, plus $45,000 in unpaid wages

Neck and back injuries, plus unpaid wage loss, 2026, Wayne County

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 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.

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. Paid $1,250,000 after we found the excess policy

Wrongful death: finding all of the insurance, Wayne County

Before

$250,000, offered as soon as a few hospital records were sent.

The problem

A crash caused catastrophic injuries, and the client died after more than five months on life support. Fault was clear. The at-fault car was registered in Virginia, and its insurer said coverage stopped at $250,000 because the owner’s son, not the owner, was driving.

What decided it

The insurer’s coverage certification and the policy language, read against Michigan law.

Outcome

The insurer tendered $1,250,000 to the family: the $250,000 policy and the $1,000,000 excess policy.

In Justin’s words

Many of my cases come from former clients who recommend me. This one was referred by a client I helped many years ago. It is a sad case: the client suffered catastrophic injuries in a crash and passed away after more than five months on life support.

Fault was clear; there was no question the other driver caused the crash. After we sent a few hospital records, the insurance company called and offered $250,000 to settle. That sounds like a lot of money, but we declined while we investigated the party who caused the crash.

Before I recommend any settlement, I demand that the insurance company certify all of the coverage available under its policies. Michigan is a non-disclosure state, so an insurer does not have to volunteer that information until a lawsuit is filed.

The car was registered in Virginia. The insurer claimed that under Virginia law and its policy language, coverage was capped at $250,000 because the named insured was not driving; the driver was the named insured’s son. I filed suit in Wayne County right away and told the insurer I would pursue an award well above $250,000.

The insurer then disclosed a $1,000,000 excess policy, but said it did not apply under Virginia law because someone other than the named insured was driving. Because the crash happened in Michigan, I argued the Virginia exclusion did not apply. Under Michigan law, insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver.

In the end, the insurance company tendered $1,250,000 to the family.

Paid $64 a test. Settled at $2,500 or more

Underpaid diagnostic testing under the fee schedule

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 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.

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.