Do you need a lawyer after a car accident in Michigan?

When you can probably handle it yourself

• No one was hurt. Your collision coverage pays for your car, and you can recover up to $3,000 of what it doesn’t cover, such as your deductible, from an at-fault driver through a mini-tort claim, usually in small claims court.
• A minor injury that healed. If you were treated, recovered within a few weeks and your insurer paid the bills, there is often nothing left to claim.
• Your no-fault benefits are being paid, and the injury is minor. If medical bills, wage loss and mileage are being paid on time and you are recovering, keep records and keep treating, and call a lawyer if payments stop. Prompt payment by your own insurer doesn’t answer a separate question: whether you have a claim against the driver who caused the crash. If the injury is lasting, needs ongoing treatment or limits your daily life, have that claim reviewed even while benefits are being paid.

Even then, send your insurer a written application for no-fault benefits within one year of the crash. That one step protects the claim if symptoms get worse.

When a lawyer makes a real difference

• A serious injury. Fractures, surgery, a head injury, a spinal injury, or an injury that keeps you from working or doing what you did before. These can support a claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, which no-fault never pays. See the serious impairment threshold.
• Benefits denied, delayed or cut off. Insurers often stop paying after an insurer medical exam. Overdue benefits carry 12% interest, and a court can make the insurer pay your attorney fee. See when benefits are denied.
• A settlement offer from the other driver’s insurer. A release usually ends every claim it describes, including future medical costs above your PIP limit. Find out what the claim is worth first. See what a case is worth.
• A request for an examination under oath, or a fraud accusation. These are formal steps toward denying a claim or rescinding a policy. See examinations under oath.
• A truck, company vehicle, rideshare or government vehicle. More defendants, more insurers and shorter evidence windows. See truck accidents and government vehicle claims.
• Hit-and-run, uninsured driver, or no auto policy in your household. Who pays is often disputed. See which insurer pays and the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
• A death in the family. The wrongful death claim has to be brought through a probate estate. See wrongful death claims.

What it costs

Injury cases are handled on a contingency fee, so there is no attorney fee unless money is recovered. Michigan Court Rule 8.121 treats a fee above one-third of the net recovery in an injury or wrongful death case as excessive, and the agreement must be in writing. In a no-fault case, if the insurer unreasonably refused or delayed payment, the court can order it to pay your attorney fee in addition to the benefits (MCL 500.3148(1)). The consultation is free. See fees and costs.

Deadlines that decide the question for you

• One year to give your no-fault insurer written notice (MCL 500.3145).
• Three years to sue the at-fault driver (MCL 600.5805).
• As little as 120 days for notice of some claims involving a road defect or a government vehicle.
• Months, not years, for evidence: business video is often overwritten within days, and trucking companies may discard driver logs after six months.

The deadline calculator works out every date for your crash.

Before you decide

Don’t give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and don’t sign a release, until you know what your claim includes. Both are hard to undo. See what not to say to an adjuster.

If you aren’t sure, ask us. The review costs nothing, and you pay no fee unless money is recovered.

Sources: MCL 500.3135; MCL 500.3142; MCL 500.3145; MCL 500.3148; MCL 600.5805; MCR 8.121.