Personal injury

Who we help

• People hurt in a car, truck, or motorcycle crash in Michigan
• People injured on someone else’s property
• Family members of someone who was badly hurt
• People worried that their immigration status could affect an injury claim

Injured Because of Someone Else’s Negligence?

An unexpected accident can leave you dealing with medical treatment, lost work, insurance companies, and uncertainty about what happens next.

Masri Legal Group assists individuals who have suffered injuries because of the negligence or wrongful conduct of another person or business. We can evaluate matters involving:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Premises-related injuries
• Negligence claims
• Other qualifying personal-injury matters

Where a case starts

Every personal-injury case is different. The first step is determining what happened, who may be legally responsible, what insurance coverage exists, and what damages may be recoverable.

When appropriate, we may work with or refer matters to experienced co-counsel while remaining focused on helping our clients find the right representation.

What personal injury covers

A personal injury claim asks the person or company responsible for an injury, usually through their insurance, to pay for the harm it caused. Common kinds of cases:

• Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes, which in Michigan start with no-fault insurance
• Pedestrians and bicyclists hit by a vehicle, who can often claim no-fault benefits too
• Falls on unsafe property, such as an icy lot or a broken stair, which depend on what the owner knew and did
• Dog bites: Michigan law generally makes a dog’s owner responsible when the dog bites someone who was lawfully on the property and did not provoke it
• Injuries at work caused by someone other than your employer, such as another company’s driver or a defective machine. Claims against your own employer usually go through workers’ compensation instead.

Michigan no-fault basics

After a car crash, you usually claim personal injury protection (PIP) benefits from your own auto insurer, even if the other driver caused the crash. PIP can pay for medical care, part of your lost wages for up to three years, and help with household tasks you cannot do while injured.

Since Michigan’s 2019 no-fault reform, drivers choose a PIP medical coverage level, so the amount available depends on the policy.

If no policy applies to you, you may be able to claim through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.

Written notice of a PIP claim generally has to be given within one year of the crash.

Suing the at-fault driver

To recover for pain and suffering from the at-fault driver, Michigan law requires that the injury caused death, a serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. If you were more than 50 percent at fault, you cannot recover these damages.

You may also be able to recover some economic losses that no-fault does not cover, such as wage loss above the PIP limits.

Deadlines

In general, a Michigan personal injury lawsuit must be filed within three years of the injury.

Claims against a city, county, or state agency, such as a road defect claim, can require written notice much sooner, sometimes within months. Do not wait to ask.

Immigration status and injury claims

In general, you do not need to be a U.S. citizen or have legal immigration status to bring an injury claim in Michigan.

If you are worried about how a claim, a deposition, or a court appearance could affect an immigration case, raise it at the start. We can look at that side of it too.

How fees usually work

Injury cases are usually handled on a contingent fee, meaning the lawyer is paid a percentage of what is recovered.

Michigan court rules cap that fee in personal injury cases at one-third of the amount recovered after costs, and the agreement must be in writing.