Back injuries happen suddenly, but the consequences can last for years and sometimes for the rest of your life. Whether your back was hurt in a slip-and-fall accident while shopping in downtown Detroit or when your car was rear-ended at Telegraph Road and 12 Mile Road West, you may need help to deal with the pain and lack of mobility caused by your injuries and to get the compensation you’re owed because someone else hurt you.
Wherever you are in Detroit, Wayne County, or anywhere else in Michigan, a skilled and compassionate personal injury lawyer like Atnip & Associates, PLLC, can help you. We know how painful a back injury can be, and we have many years of experience standing up for injured people against insurance companies who don’t want to pay claims. Best of all, we won’t charge you a thing unless we win. Contact Atnip & Associates, PLLC, today.
According to MedLine Plus, the most common back injuries include:
Sprains and strains
Fractured vertebrae
Herniated disks
Sprains and strains result from an impact or a twisting motion that overstretches a muscle or pulls or tears a ligament. Fractured vertebrae are broken backbones. Herniated disks occur when the soft disks between the vertebrae rupture and leak, causing intense pain.
Different back injuries cause different problems and require different types of treatment. Catastrophic back injuries are life-changing and may require expensive daily care.
If someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing caused your back injury, you shouldn’t have to pay for all this on your own.
Your options after a back injury accident depend on the accident type. Common causes of back injuries include:
Motor vehicle accidents
Slip-and-fall accidents
If your back injury was caused by a slip-and-fall accident, the owner of the property or the business where the accident occurred may be liable for your injury. If a shop owner knew or should have known that their floor was slippery but did nothing to protect their customers from harm, then they are liable for your back injury, and you can file a personal injury claim.
If you were hurt in a car accident, your case may be a little more complicated due to Michigan’s No-Fault insurance system.
Michigan requires registered car owners to carry Personal Injury Protection, which will cover all reasonable and necessary medical expenses no matter who was at fault for the car crash. However, a PIP policy will only pay up to the policy’s limits unless you purchased unlimited coverage. Different PIP policies have different coverage limits, so your expenses after an accident may be greater than what PIP will cover.
Michigan also requires drivers to carry Residual Bodily Injury coverage. If your PIP policy doesn’t cover all your expenses, you can file a claim with the other driver’s Residual Bodily Injury insurer. This claim can include medical expenses that PIP didn’t cover and additional losses such as pain and suffering.
What kind of compensation can you receive for back injuries in Michigan? That depends on your losses, including your medical expenses, lost income, and other factors. People tend to underestimate their losses after an injury, but a personal injury attorney can help you accurately assess your losses. Compensation for back injuries can include:
All past and future medical expenses for your injury
Lost wages from time off work
Loss of earning potential if your injury affects your ability to work
Pain and suffering
Loss of quality of life
The insurance company may try to undervalue your claim, but an experienced personal injury lawyer will know how to pursue maximum compensation. You may be forced out of the career you’ve always known, or your spouse may have to leave work to provide full-time care for you. You may have to hire a nurse to take care of you at home, or you may have to go through expensive long-term rehabilitation to try to get your life back to normal. You may have to modify your home or vehicle to accommodate your injury. The final settlement should reflect all these expenses.
The Michigan Statute of Limitations allows an injured person to file a personal injury lawsuit within three years of the date of the injury. This doesn’t give you as much time as you might think because your lawyer will need time to conduct a proper investigation and negotiate with the insurance company, so don’t delay.
If you suffered your back injury in a car accident, you must file a written notice with your PIP insurer within one year, according to the Michigan Insurance Code. If your insurance company won’t cover one of your expenses, you have one year from the date of that expense to file a lawsuit against your PIP insurer.
If you go on to file a personal injury lawsuit for losses not covered by PIP, you still have three years from the date of the accident. It’s much easier to navigate Michigan’s legal system with the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer.
If you’ve suffered a back injury in the Detroit area, you shouldn’t be forced to deal with the insurance company on your own. Insurance companies are trying to make as much money as possible, and they aren’t interested in paying more than they absolutely have to. You need a Detroit, Michigan, personal injury lawyer to level the playing field and pursue the results you deserve.
Atnip & Associates, PLLC has a lot of experience with back injuries, spinal cord injuries, and catastrophic injuries of all kinds. When you hire us to represent you in your back injury case, here are some of the things we can do for you:
Investigate the accident, gather all the facts, and request police reports, medical records, and eyewitness statements to support your claim
Calculate your true losses due to the back injury
File insurance claims
Communicate with the insurance company
Negotiate aggressively for a fair and complete settlement
Take your case to trial if the insurance company won’t settle
We treat our clients like family, and we don’t charge anything unless we win. You can sit down with us and tell us all about your accident in a free consultation. We’ll give you our honest opinion about your case and explain your options. Contact Atnip & Associates, PLLC, today for your free consultation.
