An injury caused by someone else’s negligence can leave you sorting through medical bills, missed work, and pressure from an insurer who would rather close your file cheaply than account for the true costs of your accident. Our dedicated attorneys at Schefman & Associates serve injury victims throughout Macomb County.
Personal Injury Cases We Handle
Serious injuries arise in many ways. In addition to standard car accidents, our firm handles claims across a wide range of situations, including the following:
- Bicycle accidents
- Commercial vehicle accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Hit-and-run accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- No-fault insurance claims
- Pedestrian accidents
- Truck accidents
- Uber and Lyft accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
These cases all stem from the same basic claim: someone failed to use reasonable care, and another person was injured as a result. Many occur along busy Macomb County corridors such as M-59 and Gratiot Avenue, where heavy traffic and frequent turning movements contribute to serious crashes.
Proving Negligence in Personal Injury Cases
A personal injury claim rests on proving the negligence of the liable party or parties. Our personal injury lawyers in Macomb County establish negligence through four connected elements:
- Duty: The other party owed you reasonable care.
- Breach: That party failed to meet the standard of care.
- Causation: The breach directly caused your injury.
- Damages: The injury produced real, measurable losses.
Proof comes from the details around the incident, such as photographs, maintenance logs, surveillance video, and statements from people who saw what happened. Our firm builds that record carefully, since the strength of these four elements usually decides how seriously an insurer takes your demand.
What Damages Can I Pursue for My Injuries?
Michigan personal injury damages generally fall into two categories. Economic damages compensate for measurable losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages address harms that are harder to quantify, including pain, emotional suffering, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
In motor vehicle cases, Michigan’s no-fault system shapes how those losses get paid. Your own insurer covers medical bills, attendant care, household service reimbursements, and wage loss through personal injury protection benefits, no matter who caused the crash. A claim against the at-fault driver opens the door to pain and suffering when your injury meets the statutory threshold of serious impairment of body function under MCL 500.3135.
If insurance is not available for the at-fault driver, or if that coverage is not sufficient for the nature of your injuries, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may be tapped, but your injuries must still meet that threshold. For wage loss in excess of the no-fault statutory maximum, the threshold does not apply.
No-fault benefit claims also run on a separate, shorter one-year rule. The insurer must be placed on notice within one year of the collision, and a suit must be filed within one year from the date any no-fault benefit was incurred.
When an injury turns fatal, the Michigan Wrongful Death Act, MCL 600.2922, lets the estate recover funeral costs, lost support, and the family’s loss of companionship. In a fatal case, only the court-appointed personal representative of the estate may bring that claim, not the surviving relatives on their own.
A suit seeking more than $25,000 would be filed in the Macomb County Circuit Court, the 16th Judicial Circuit, in Mount Clemens.
Why Choose Schefman & Associates to Advocate for You?
More than 60 years of combined experience allow our firm to anticipate how insurers undervalue claims and push back with evidence. At Schefman & Associates, your attorney will be at the initial interview and direct the case from then on, and our personal injury lawyers have recovered tens of millions of dollars.
Don’t Wait to Consult Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Macomb County
After an injury, legal help should feel within reach, not like another bill you cannot afford. Schefman & Associates handles personal injury claims on a contingency basis, so you owe nothing unless we recover money for you.
Our personal injury lawyers in Macomb County can look at what happened and outline what comes next. Call (248) 594-2600 or contact us online for a free consultation to have the facts of your cases reviewed with no obligation to retain our services.