Harsh penalties await uninsured drivers who flee a hit and run auto accident; crash victims are entitled to No-Fault PIP benefits
There has been another recent tragedy, a fatal hit and run crash in Port Huron, Michigan. Police are looking for the suspect, who is said to be not at fault. However, fleeing the scene of a car accident is against the law.
Hit-and-run auto accidents comprise approximately 10 percent of all Michigan crashes, according to the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts. In cities such as Detroit, Pontiac and Flint, where it’s estimated that as many as 50 percent of drivers are driving cars uninsured, the numbers are substantially higher.
Here are 7 important things to know about hit and run auto accidents:
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Insurance lawyer says truth is not what the insurance industry would like public to believe
There is a lie being spread by the auto No-Fault insurance industry in Michigan — a lie that our auto insurance premiums are more expensive due to insurance fraud.
This from an insurance industry that is making record-breaking profits — and on the heels of a $1 billion raise. The insurance industry would love to divert attention away from its own profits and find something – anything – to blame the cost of our premiums on.
In a recent press release from the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), the group stated that fraud is “forcing” drivers into paying more for their auto insurance, especially
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/vjMTeAnls1s/
Video tip 12 for truck accident attorneys
Here’s my final video tip in my series of 13 videos for truck accident attorneys from a past American Association for Justice truck accident lawyer litigation seminar.
In this final video clip, I stress what may be the most important safety rule of all, and the key for holding negligent motor carriers and safety directors accountable.
The takeaway here is Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rule (FMCSR) 392.1says that knowledge of mandatory truck safety rules and regulations that are meant to protect us all and keep all of us safe is not only the truck company’s safety director’s responsibility (if there even is a safety director or department). This important safety rule says that everyone in the trucking company must have knowledge of and comply with mandatory safety regulations.
In other words, the onus of knowledge that could have prevented
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/q1wdgS95xMQ/
Detroit Police change from written reports hopefully means less errors in traffic crash reports
Detroit is going electronic, and that means Detroit car accident (UD-10) reports will now be submitted to the state electronically, instead of manually written by police officers as previously done.
Since the transition, Detroit police are now taking non-injury accident reports after hours. You can call the Telephone Crime Reporting Unit at (313) 267-4600 to submit your car accident report. Detroit police officers will continue completing accident reports during the day.
This is being done so Detroit police can spend more time patrolling, and less time doing paper work (such as writing up car accident reports). But as a Detroit car accident lawyer who has seen now hundreds of police reports, I believe this change should also benefit car accident victims.
Let’s just say it
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/2jGbW6LU7d4/
Michigan personal injury lawyer says drivers with shorter legs are at risk for serious airbag inflation injuries
Drive around one day and notice how many (usually) women drivers are sitting very close to the steering wheel. Not just women, but a great many elderly drivers – they seem to want to rest their chins right on the steering wheels – drive with their elbows splayed outwards like WWI pilots manning machine guns.
This got me thinking about just how dangerous it is for these drivers who sit this close to an airbag and the very foreseeable injuries they can sustain from an airbag if they’re involved in any type of car accident or front-end impact. Whether you’re an 80-year-old man or a 16-year old young woman, drivers who sit close to steering wheels are are at serious risk for serious airbag inflation injuries.
Short drivers and
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/nxBhx9FlWOY/
Dangers posed by ‘crotch rocket’ motorcycles continues to explode, studies show
“Crotch rocket” motorcycle riders are four times more likely to die in a crash than riders of other motorcycles, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). This is consistent with my own experience as a motorcycle accident lawyer, where we have a far higher percentage of attendant care claims for motorcycle accident victims who suffered injury riding crotch rockets.
That’s also why the January 2012 online publication, “Motorcycle Crashes,” reports that riders of “crotch rockets” (also called “supersports”or supersport motorcycles) have:
“[D]river death rates … nearly four times higher than for drivers of other types of motorcycles.”
Believe it or not, that news is worse than it sounds.
First, even though “crotch rockets” or “supersports” make up less than 10 percent of all registered motorcycles, they account for “more than 25 percent of
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/wSGf2f0JmMk/
Michigan No-Fault attorney adds his insight to list of ‘need to know’ No-Fault topics created by Michigan Watch’s Lester Graham
There’s a lot more to know about the Michigan insurance industry’s misguided campaign to dismantle Michigan’s nearly 40-year-old No-Fault auto insurance system.
In January 2012, investigative reporter Lester Graham of Michigan Radio’s Michigan Watch did an excellent job of identifying some of the most important aspects of the debate concerning so-called No-Fault “reform.”
He outlined his findings in his story, “Seven things to know about changes to Michigan’s mandatory auto insurance,” which I encourage everyone to check out.
Having written extensively about so-called No Fault “reform,” and after being interviewed by Lester Graham previously on this topic, here are a couple additional points that I would add.
As such, Mr. Graham’s seven points are listed
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/v1K3TUMsMPc/
Michigan Auto Law insurance lawyer Steve Gursten explains to Macomb County newspaper that Michigan is without bad faith laws to prevent insurance abuse
On Sunday, I was interviewed by Jameson Cook from the Macomb Daily newspaper in a story about a paralyzed Sterling Heights woman who is forced to sue for her No-Fault insurance benefits. It’s an important story and I thank Jamie Cook for the chance to share one of the real problems that I see on a weekly basis.
Michigan has a serious problem. Thousands of seriously hurt people with legitimate No-Fault (PIP) claims are being denied by auto insurance companies on a daily basis.
And why not? As I told Jamie Cook, without bad faith laws, without punitive damages, and without a consumer protection act that can protect consumers against insurance company abuse, there is
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/bjtnmDIxz6Q/
February 11th, 2012
Truck accident lawyer explains updated HOS rules for truckers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has recently released new hours of service rules for truckers.
To help prevent truck crashes caused by tired truckers, truck accident lawyers from throughout the country were pushing for a 10-hour drive limitation and a 48-hour restart provision at the least. But disappointingly, the 11-hour daily drive limitation and a 34 hour restart provision with some exceptions remain.
Below is a list of the new provisions:
Limitations on minimum “34-hours restarts”
• Current rule: None.
• Final rule: Must include two periods between 1 a.m.- 5 a.m. home terminal
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/y_NvSpucKhs/
Studies say more help needed for behavioral and personality changes inTBI survivors
Our office helps a number of brain injury survivors. It’s an area of injury that Michigan Auto Law has become known for, and we receive a number of referrals from other Michigan personal injury lawyers for people who have suffered brain injuries in car accidents around the state.
One thing I’ve noticed from my own practice helping brain injury survivors is that the divorce rate in the years following is extremely high. I’ve heard from TBI specialists that the statistic approaches 80 percent, and it is sadly common for the stresses and changes in personality to cause devastation for both the victim and the spouse.
As attorneys who focus on helping brain injury accident victims, we would like to share a compelling New York
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichiganAutoLaw/~3/WX76DhYVYFI/
