Michigan registers over 300,000 car accidents every year. Moreover, 30,000 of the state’s annual injuries are due to airbags that failed to deploy. Negligence and defective manufacturing add a huge chunk to those statistics, with only 476,000 being caused by dangerous driving. A huge number of crashes are caused by hazardous road surfaces, pushing up personal injury claims even further. If you or a loved one were involved in an accident, there are legal resources to claim damages. This blog dives into seven categories of car accidents that warrant legal pursuit.
- Liability Claims Against Another Driver
If another driver was responsible for your crash and their insurer refuses to settle at a reasonable amount, you can sue the driver directly. Michigan Injury Lawyers’ auto accident injury advocates fight for clients against lowballing insurance companies and at-fault drivers. You also have a right to sue a driver for property damage. If you’ve been side-swiped or rear-ended, the damage might be costly enough to justify a lawsuit.
- Dram Shop Claims
Dram shop claims are third-party liability claims that specifically involve drunk driving. The statute allows courts to hold pubs and restaurants liable for their clients’ damage if they’ve negligently served someone too much alcohol. Many establishments have liquor liability insurance to cover these kinds of claims.
- Uninsured Driver Accident Liability Claim
One in eight drivers doesn’t have auto insurance, so your odds of facing this liability claim are high. If you don’t have uninsured driver coverage, an attorney can help you to seek compensation. The at-fault driver can cover your claim via state-specified alternatives like maintaining bonds or securities. If a police officer investigated your accident, their reports would improve your odds of a successful lawsuit.
- Product Liability Claim
Product liability doctrine allows you to seek compensation if a defective car part causes harm. Unethical treatment of design and manufacturing defects kills motorists every year. There are three categories of defects:
- Design defects that cause risk to the driver.
- Manufacturing defects that occur during production or shipping.
- A failure to warn consumers about the hazards involved in using their product as intended.
Breach of warranty occurs when an auto manufacturer violates a quality assurance contract. Manufacturers don’t always perform product recalls in a reasonable time. Toyota, for example, settled a $1.1 billion suit in 2010 for failing to recall millions of vehicles with faulty accelerator pedals.
- Liability Claims Against Public Institutions
The Federal Tort Claims Act allows you to sue the federal government if a public worker causes your car to crash. If your accident happened no more than three years ago, you still have legal recourse. Since federal courts handle these claims, the judge will decide without a jury. You can make a claim as long as the at-fault worker was performing their official duties at the time of the breach.
- Medical Malpractice Claim
If your injury was caused by a negligent healthcare provider following a car accident, you could claim current and anticipatory damages. Medical malpractice claims can be complex and difficult to resolve if you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury.
- Wrongful Death Claim
If a driver or other third party causes death through negligence, it can be compensated for through wrongful death laws. You can claim the lost income, funeral expenses, and psychological distress. In the past, only close family members could hold someone liable for death, but laws have evolved to include any person who’s financially dependent on the deceased. At-fault parties might be manufacturers, drivers, or government workers.
Car injury claims are further divided into compensatory and punitive damages. Many plaintiffs sue to hold a third party accountable for their wrongdoing. Whatever your motive for suing, injury claims are integral to a healthy, functioning society.
