St. Clair Shores Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Attorneys in St. Clair Shores Help Get Compensation

Using More than 150 Years of Experience to Win 99% of our Cases

Our personal injury lawyers in St. Clair Shores know that personal injuries can occur anywhere, in any situation. Serious injuries bring major problems — physical, emotional, and financial. Medical and rehabilitative bills mount up at a time you may be in pain and unable to work, and you worry about your future and your family.

If you or a family member has been injured or someone has died from an injury that was caused by someone else’s negligence or fault, you may be entitled to compensation through insurance or a lawsuit. A successful personal injury lawsuit can alleviate your financial problems, provide resources for your future needs, and allow you to concentrate on getting well.

Michigan personal injury laws are complicated, and insurance companies have high-powered lawyers on their side. Going up against them on your own is difficult and may lead to costly mistakes. At this difficult time, when you are struggling to recover from your injuries, it can help to get legal assistance to make sure your case is handled promptly and properly.

Our skilled and experienced personal injury attorneys in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, are here to fight for your rights and hold the at-fault parties accountable. At Goodman Acker P.C., personal injury law is all we do, and we are good at it.

For a combined 150+ years, we have helped our community members get compensation, and we have a 99 percent success rate to show for it.

Why Choose Our Personal Injury Lawyers in St. Clair Shores?

We know how painful and challenging it can be to suffer from an unexpected injury. It affects not just you, but your children, spouse, and families. We know you just want to get well and stop the physical and emotional pain as much as the financial. As a personal injury law firm, Goodman Acker  consistently proves our commitment to legal excellence through unparalleled knowledge of personal injury law and the civil court system in St. Clair County and throughout Michigan. Our legacy and reputation depend on our experience and our successes. And that’s why you choose Goodman Acker to represent you or your loved one: because every injured person entitled to compensation deserves strong, consistent representation so that they can recover that compensation.

• More than 150 years of combined experience
• A 99% success rate for settled cases
• Case results resulting in millions of dollars for our clients and their families
• Client-focused representation that produces strong client testimonials
• Featured regularly in the news with media outlets like Fox 2 News and Local 4 Detroit
• Commitment to and aggressive-yet-ethical, high-performing firm culture
• Availability 24/7 for client emergencies
• Free initial consultations

Our standard of excellence and the quality representation it fosters get noticed by our clients and our peers. We are consistently recognized as top personal injury lawyers by:

• Super Lawyers
• AV Martindale-Hubbell
• The National Trial Lawyers Top 100

This recognition does not come easy, but we continue to receive it because we work diligently to build compelling cases. We fight for our clients when others might retreat.

St. Clair Shores Personal Injury Attorney Explains Personal Injury

To understand whether you may have a personal injury case, you should understand what a personal injury case is. Many people confuse it with an insurance claim.

While after an accident claims are often made first to insurance companies, insurance companies have policy limits on how much and what damages (property or bodily injury) can be recovered by the victim, and they will try to get you to accept the lowest settlement possible.

Personal injury claims, on the other hand, are lawsuits filed with a court; they involve mental and physical injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. Lawsuits are often filed when the insurance company fails to settle for a fair and just amount or the policy doesn’t cover all the damages. In a lawsuit, the complaint can be made against not just the insurance company, but all at-fault parties, and the damage award is likely to be much greater than what you could collect from insurance.

Damages Awards in Personal Injury Lawsuits

In a successful personal injury case, our attorneys can help you win an award that covers both your economic and non-economic losses, called damages.

Economic damages cover your monetary expenses from the accident, such as:

• medical and rehabilitative and caregiver bills
• lost wages and earnings, both current and into the future
• property damage
• transportation costs and mileage to and from medical appointments.

Noneconomic damages cover losses that don’t have a specific monetary value, but negatively impact your life. Examples include:

• physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering
• loss of companionship or consortium
• disability
• loss of enjoyment of life.

In some rare cases, punitive damages may also be awarded. These are intended to punish a defendant who acted with malice or reckless disregard for the victim’s well-being.

Amounts of Damage Awards

There are a wide range of damage award amounts, from the thousands to millions of dollars, that you may receive in a successful personal injury case. Amounts depend on the extent of damages and the individual factors of the case. Factors that go into determining amounts include:

• the severity and permanence of your injuries and whether you will need continuing care
• the costs of your medical and rehabilitation treatment and the amount of property damage
• whether a wrongful death was involved
• the availability of insurance and assets of the defendants and the degree of fault for each party
• the individual judge, jury and jurisdiction involved
• how well your attorney can negotiate a settlement or litigate your case.

While it’s not possible to tell you exactly what your case is worth, our St. Clair Shores personal injury attorneys will fight for the maximum compensation possible in every situation.

St. Clair Shores Personal Injury Lawyers Must Prove Negligence

Proving negligence is integral to winning a personal injury lawsuit. Everyone has a duty of care to act responsibly to avoid harming others. If a party breaches this duty by their actions or failure to act, and you were injured and suffered monetary and other damages as a result, that party (the defendant in your case) may be found negligent, at fault for the accident, and liable for your damages. This liability exists even if they did not intend to do you harm.

When you have us on your side, Goodman Acker will get to work immediately to prove negligence. We will investigate your case and gather and preserve evidence from the accident scene, photos and videos, hospital and medical records, and interviews with witnesses and first responders. If necessary, we will utilize experts in accident reconstruction to testify as to how the accident happened and who was at fault, as well as experts to testify as to the costs of injuries and how they negatively impact your life.

There are many types of personal injury cases based on negligence. Goodman Acker handles cases that include the following:

• Medical malpractice
• Premises liability
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Wrongful death
• Bicycle accidents
• Birth injuries
• Pedestrian accidents
• Dog bite accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Nursing home incidents/accidents
• Product liability.

While most personal injury claims require proving all four elements of negligence – duty of care, breach, cause, and damages — there are a few that do not. For example, claims that involve product defects may only require you to prove that there was a defect and not necessarily that negligence was involved. Dog bites do not require proof of negligence or intent, as according to M.C.L.A. § 287.351, the owner of the dog is liable regardless of whether or not the dog was known to be vicious. In both of these cases, strict liability applies.

St. Clair Shores  Personal Injury Lawyers Answer Frequently Asked Questions

While your questions are best answered at your free consultation, our attorneys are aware that it’s wise to be as informed as possible. To get started, here are some answers to some of the most common questions we receive.

How long do you have to file a personal injury claim in St. Clair Shores?

In Michigan, there is a deadline, called a statute of limitations, for filing claims for personal injuries and wrongful death. According to the law (section 600.5805), you must file your case within three years of your accident, with limited exceptions. You may have longer to file if you were insane or under the age of 18 at the time of the accident.

In some personal injury cases, you have less time. In auto accidents, you have one year to file, and in medical malpractice claims, you have two years.

How does Michigan’s no-fault law impact my personal injury claim?

Under Michigan’s new no-fault law, victims file a claim with their own auto insurance company regardless of who caused the accident. The law imposes strict rules on when you can file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party. These rules are complex and can easily intimidate a victim. At Goodman Acker, we will review your case thoroughly and pursue the most aggressive action to ensure you are compensated adequately.

Should I speak to the insurance company?

No, the less you say to insurance companies the better.  Insurance companies are not out to help you – they are concerned with their bottom line. They will often deny claims, try to get you to settle for less than your case is worth, or even try to trick you into admitting you were to blame for the accident. Tell the insurance company to speak to your attorney, and let Goodman Acker deal and negotiate with them.

What if I was partially at fault for the accident?

Michigan considers comparative negligence for personal injury, so if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still be able to get a settlement, although your compensation will be reduced according to your degree of fault.  For example, if you are determined to be 25%  at fault and the award is for $100,000, you would receive $75,000. Compensation for economic damages is available to injury victims even if they are over 50% at fault for an accident, but compensation for non-economic damages is not available for people who are over 50% at fault.

What Does it Cost to Hire a St. Clair Shores Personal Injury Lawyer?

The good news is that it doesn’t cost anything up front to hire our St. Clair Shores personal injury lawyers. We charge you no fees at all unless and until we win your case, and then fees are taken out of the settlement. We do everything possible to make it easy and stress-free to begin your personal injury claim right now.

Call Our St. Clair Shores Personal Injury Lawyer for Help

At Goodman Acker P.C., our compassionate St. Clair Shores personal injury attorneys are committed to helping our clients make the best possible recovery from injury and obtain the compensation they are entitled to. With millions of dollars recovered on behalf of our clients and a 99 percent success rate in winning cases, we can review your case, determine your legal options, and protect your best interests and rights throughout the legal process. With more than 150+ years of experience leading our way, you can expect exceptional representation for your personal injury case.