Grand Rapids Personal Injury Lawyers

When a serious personal injury occurs, it can sometimes be life-altering and cause financial hardship for victims and their families. If you or a loved one suffered a personal injury that was caused by the negligence of others, calling a licensed attorney to review your claim might be a smart move.

The legal team at Jay Trucks and Associates has been fighting for the rights of personal injury victims throughout the state of Michigan for decades. Our firm has handled more than 1,000 cases and recovered millions of dollars in compensation, including $2,000,000 for a worker who suffered catastrophic injuries in an accident, $935,000 for a female motorist that suffered fractured bones in a collision with a commercial vehicle and $98,000 for the family of a 5 year old child that was the victim of a dog bite attack. Our founder Jay Trucks attended Central Michigan University and Detroit College of Law and is a member of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.

...I was treated like a person, not just a case number. I felt taken care of from beginning to end...

– J. Fuller

If we determine you have a valid case, our Grand Rapids personal injury attorneys are ready to handle the entire legal process on your behalf so you can focus on recovering from your injury. We charge no fees up front and only bill you when we successfully recover compensation.

How Do I Know if my Claim is Valid?

You or your attorney must be able to prove negligence was the cause for your injury. During your free case review, our attorneys are prepared to go over the details of your claim and determine if we may be able to prove the four elements of negligence:

• Duty of care was present – This means the at-fault party had a legal duty to take reasonable precautions to help prevent others from getting injured. For instance, a store owner may be legally obligated to put up warning signs if there are wet floors.
• Duty of care was breached – For instance, if the above-mentioned store owner failed to put up warning signs and someone slipped and fell, the store owner may have breached a duty of care. The store owner or worker did not act as a reasonable person would have in a similar situation.
• Causal link exists – There must be a direct link between the breached duty of care and the injuries you or your loved one sustained. Our lawyers know how to gather evidence to build a robust argument for why this link exists.
• Damages resulted from your injury – You need proof that damages were created as a result of your injury. Damages may include things like medical bills for treating your injury, lost income from missing work and costs to repair damaged property.

Our attorneys take on cases involving many types of personal injury accidents, such as:

• Car, truck and motorcycle accidents
• Boating accidents
• Defective products
• Medical malpractice
• Dog bites
• Nursing home abuse

What if I am Partially at Fault for My Injury?

Under Michigan law, if a personal injury victim is found to hold partial fault for his or her own injury, any compensation awarded will be reduced based on the percentage of fault. This law is also known as the comparative fault rule. For example, if an injury victim was awarded $100,000 for his or her injury and was found to be 40 percent at fault, the victim would receive a maximum of $60,000.

However, this law also states that if the injury victim is found to hold a higher percentage of fault than the other parties, the victim cannot recover any compensation.

If you were injured in an accident and you believe you share some percentage of fault, call our Grand Rapids personal injury lawyers to discuss whether you may still be eligible for compensation.

What Types of Compensation are Available?

If you have a valid claim, there could be multiple forms of compensation we could pursue to help you recover from your personal injury.

Economic Damages

These are damages that have a definitive monetary value, such as medical expenses and lost wages from missing time at work because of your injury. Some economic damages that may be available are:

• Medical costs (includes prior and future out-of-pocket expenses related to the treatment of your injury)
• Doctor's visits
• Surgeries
• Hospital stays
• Ambulatory care
• Medical devices (prosthetics, wheelchair, etc.)
• Physical therapy
• Rehabilitation
• Lab tests
• X-rays, MRI's, CT scans
• At-home care
• Lost wages from missing work
• Property damage
• Lost earning capacity

There are no caps on economic damages in Michigan personal injury lawsuits.

Non-Economic Damages

These types of damages cover the physical, mental and emotional suffering that you or your loved one may have endured. These types of damages have no defined monetary value – their value is based on the evidence presented, the severity of your injuries and other factors. This is something your lawyer can help determine.

Common examples of non-economic damages are:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental trauma
• Emotional anguish
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Physical disability or disfigurement
• Reduced enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship

Medical malpractice and product liability cases are the only two types of personal injury cases where there is a cap on these types of damages.

Exemplary Damages

One of the unique aspects of personal injury cases in Michigan is victims cannot pursue punitive damages, which are meant to punish negligent parties for egregious negligence.

Michigan allows you to pursue exemplary damages, which are somewhat like punitive damages, except exemplary damages are not meant as punishment and they are connected to specific damages suffered by the victim, such as:

• Humiliation
• Mental anguish
• Injury to feelings
• Outrage

Your attorney must prove the negligent party engaged in willful, malicious or wanton conduct that demonstrated a complete disregard for your rights.

The Grand Rapids personal injury lawyers at Jay Trucks and Associates have many years of combined experience determining the value of personal injury claims. Our goal is to recover the maximum compensation available for your claim.

Do I Really Need a Lawyer?

Some personal injury victims may question the need for a licensed lawyer to represent their claim, especially if liability for the injury is clear. However, many personal injury victims who decide to hire legal representation end up with larger settlement awards.

If you decide to let our Grand Rapids personal injury lawyers handle your claim, we can handle all communication with insurance companies and other lawyers. We are aggressive negotiators who pursue maximum compensation and are prepared to take cases to court when necessary.

Injury victims that have legal representation usually recover more compensation when compared to those that do not have a lawyer.

Our attorneys have over 150 years of combined experience and have access to industry professionals who may be able to help validate your claim and provide detailed arguments about how someone else is at fault for your injuries. For example, we can bring in medical experts to verify the severity of your injury or its cause.

We are prepared to handle the investigation and take other steps to help build a strong case, such as preserving evidence, contacting witnesses, obtaining video footage and reconstructing the accident.

Dealing with the Insurance Company

Sometimes insurance adjusters from both sides will contact the injury victim immediately after the accident. They are hoping you will say something they can use against you to lower the value of your claim. That is why they often ask victims to provide a recorded statement. Adjusters are trained on how to get victims to say things that damage their own credibility or make it sound like the victim is partially to blame for the accident.

Policy-Limits Recovery – $500,000
For a family business owner that suffered neck fractures and shoulder injuries in an automobile accident.

If you are contacted by an insurance adjuster, it is important to understand your rights. You are not required to give a recorded statement. You can refuse to answer questions if you are unsure or do not know the answer. You can also refer insurance companies to your attorney.

Be careful with what you tell the insurance company, they are looking for anything they can use against you. Stick to the basic facts about the accident and avoid answering questions where the insurance adjuster asks for your opinion or to speculate about what happened or what led to the crash. You should also avoid giving too many details about your injuries and the amount of pain you feel. Victims tend to minimize their pain, and this could damage the value of your claim.

When Do I Need to File my Claim By?

If you or someone you love suffered from a personal injury, it is important to file your claim as soon as possible. Under the Michigan statute of limitations, most personal injury claims, including wrongful death claims, must be filed within three years of the injury or date of death. If you fail to file before the clock runs out, you may lose the right to seek compensation for damages.

However, you may need to file earlier in some situations. For instance, if your claim involves medical malpractice, you may have just two years from the date of malpractice to file a claim. There are various exceptions to this deadline. If you are filing a claim against a government entity, you may need to provide notice to that entity much sooner than two or three years from the date of the accident.

Our qualified Grand Rapids personal injury lawyers are available to discuss the deadline for your claim. The clock could already be running so it is important to contact us as soon as possible.

What to Do After Suffering a Personal Injury

There are steps you can take to help preserve your potential personal injury case:

Seek Medical Attention

Go to the hospital or a doctor's office for a full examination. If you fail to get immediate medical attention, the insurance companies may question the severity of your injury and may try to devalue or deny your claim.

Notify the Police

It is extremely important that you notify the police so they can document what happened. The police officer's report could be valuable evidence for your claim.

Collect Evidence

If it is safe and you are able, you can take pictures of your injuries and the scene of the accident, record witness contact information and write down what you remember about the events leading up to the accident. Many accident victims tend to forget small but important details in the hours and days after the accident happened.

Contact a Grand Rapids Personal Injury Lawyer Today

The lawyers at Jay Trucks and Associates understand the financial and emotional obstacles individuals and families often encounter after an accident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Our lawyers have been able to recover over $500 million in compensation on behalf of our clients throughout the state of Michigan.

Do not hesitate to contact us today. Our friendly staff of legal professionals is prepared to answer your legal questions in a free consultation. You will not have to pay any upfront costs and we only get paid when we successfully recover compensation for your claim.

Learn how a dedicated Grand Rapids personal injury attorney may be able to help you by calling 989-254-6113.