Livonia Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one was injured through no fault of your own, you can benefit from seeking contacting a Livonia personal injury lawyer. When another person’s carelessness or recklessness causes harm, you should not have to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and other injury-related expenses alone.

Fortunately, by filing a civil lawsuit, you could request compensation for numerous economic and non-economic damages. However, proving fault can be a confusing process, especially when you are focused on your recovery. By working with a legal professional at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C., you could rest assured with the knowledge that a persistent and skilled accident attorney is helping with each step.

At our personal injury law firm, we pride ourselves on handling each case we take on with care and dedication. Whenever possible, we request full and fair compensation for our clients, whether through a settlement or at trial. Our awards and recognition includes:

• Best Attorneys in America
• The Best Lawyers in America
• The National Top 100 Trial Lawyers
• Multi-Million Dollars Advocates Forum
• Top Michigan Personal Injury Lawyers
• U.S. News Best Law Firms

Can a Livonia Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?

An experienced Livonia personal injury lawyer can help with each step of the claims process. If you are injured and looking to recover compensation, it can be crucial to work with a dedicated attorney.

If your injuries were caused by the negligence of another person, business, or entity, reach out to Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Cases Resulting from Livonia Accidents

Many personal injury claims arise from  accidents. However, Michigan law states that certain defendants are responsible for the injuries that they inflict on victims—even when they did not intend to cause harm. This usually applies when a defendant assumed a duty to protect another person and subsequently failed in this duty, which resulted in injuries. Common examples of this dynamic include:

• Drivers of cars, trucks, or motorcycles, who owe a duty to drive safely and protect all other people on the road
• Landowners who have a duty to protect invited guests on their land from hazards and dangerous on their property
• Medical professionals who have a duty to abide by a standard of care to all their patients
• Dog owners who have a duty to keep their pet from harming others

Michigan Compiled Laws §600.2959 states that juries can assign fault to any party involved in an accident, including the injured plaintiff. Because of this, many defendants will attempt to argue that a plaintiff carries at least some of the blame for their own injuries.

If a jury finds that a claimant is partially at fault, their awarded damages would be reduced to match their percentage of fault. An experienced Livonia personal injury lawyer could help to assess a claimant’s potential liability and work to gather evidence of a defendant’s fault.

 Help from a Livonia Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents cause many personal injuries in the state of Michigan, especially in Wayne County. As a whole, Wayne County saw almost 12,000 traffic accidents resulting in an injury or fatality in 2018, more than any other single county.

Some of the most dangerous roads in Livonia for auto accidents include:

• M-14
• 2 Mile (Joy Road)
• 3 Mile (Plymouth Road)
• West Chicago Avenue
• Inkster Road

According to the Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit, the most dangerous intersections  for Livonia car accidents include:

• Middle Belt Rd at Schoolcraft Rd
• 6 Mile Rd at I 96/I 275
• 7 Mile Rd at I 96/I 275
• Inkster Rd at Schoolcraft Rd
• Middle Belt Rd at Plymouth Rd
• Merriman Rd at Plymouth Rd
• Farmington Rd at Schoolcraft Rd
• Farmington Rd at Plymouth Rd
• Merriman Rd at Schoolcraft Rd
• Inkster Rd at Plymouth Rd

It is often easy to identify the party responsible for a crash between two commuter cars. However, matters can get a lot more complicated when other types of vehicles are involved.

In any civil case involving a Livonia auto accident, Michigan’s no-fault car insurance rules apply. Under these rules, an injured  person cannot sue the negligent driver for medical bills and lost wages.  Those benefits are paid from a different insurer, and we will assist you in filing those claims.

The injury victim can sue the negligent party for pain and suffering damages.  These cases can result in substantial settlement compensation payouts.

If a car crash in Livonia caused severe economic and non-economic damages,  you should call a Livonia car accident lawyer at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. about filing options.

Assistance with Livonia Motorcycle and Truck Accidents

A skilled lawyer at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. could also help with truck accident and motorcycle accident claims.

A truck driver may be liable for causing a wreck if they were driving drunk, speeding, or asleep at the wheel. However, their employer may be liable if they failed to screen that driver properly before hiring them, or if they forced the driver to drive recklessly and ignore federal trucking regulations to save time and money.

Bus accident cases often work the same way. An employer may be liable for the actions of their employee under certain circumstances.

A municipal entity can be held liable for an accident caused by a city-run bus. Negligent motor vehicle operation is one of a few named exceptions to the sovereign immunity of Michigan government bodies from civil litigation.

A cyclist or biker who was not following traffic rules may bear partial liability for their injuries if that behavior contributed to causing the wreck that hurt them. Likewise, pedestrians who do not use crosswalks or run out into the street suddenly may have limits on how much compensation they can seek.

Filing a Premises Liability Case for Injuries on Someone Else’s Property

In Michigan, property owners owe different duties of care to different types of visitors. The different classes of visitors defined by state law are:

• Invitee – someone on land for commercial purposes
• Licensee – someone on land for their own personal purposes with the landowner’s permission
• Trespasser – someone on land without the landowner’s permission

Livonia property owners must protect invitees from harm using “ordinary measures.” This includes cleaning up known hazards and warning visitors of all dangers except “open and obvious” ones.

Licensees are owed protection from hazards a property owner knows about, but fails to quickly address.

Trespassers are not owed any standard of care. The only exception is that property owners cannot intentionally hurt trespassers with traps or artificial hazards.

The definition of what qualifies as an “open and obvious” hazard is not always clear in Livonia property liability cases. Typically, it means that a hazard is both “unreasonably dangerous,” and that a visitor could not reasonably avoid being hurt by it.

A personal injury attorney can discuss filing options for an individual harmed on someone else’s property.  You may have the right to file a slip and fall or other premises liability lawsuit Recoverable damages may include lost wages, medical bills, property damage, and personal pain and suffering.

Can I Sue a Livonia Doctor or Hospital for Medical Malpractice?

St. Mary Mercy Livonia and Providence Hospital generally both provide quality care to thousands of patients each year. Unfortunately, these and other healthcare providers still make mistakes sometimes that have costly effects on patients.

A variety of circumstances may serve as grounds for a Livonia medical malpractice, including:

• Mistakes during surgery
• Medication errors
• Failure to diagnose
• Misdiagnosis
• Failure to interpret a diagnostic scan correctly
• Operating on the wrong limb or organ
• Failure to provide follow-up care

If you suspect malpractice, you can sue a doctor or hospital in Livonia. Anyone who wants to file a malpractice suit in Michigan must notify all intended defendants at least 182 days before filing. If this Notice of Intent to File meets all the applicable legal requirements, the two-year statute of limitations may be paused for those 182 days.

Furthermore, MCL §600.2169 requires malpractice victims to include an affidavit of merit with their case filing. This affidavit must be signed by a medical professional working in the same field, with the same qualifications as the defendant(s).

Recovering damages in a malpractice case requires proving that a doctor-patient relationship existed, that the doctor in question violated the standard of care for their position, and that their failure directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries.

Recoverable losses typically center around non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. However, it is important to note that Michigan state law enforces a cap on non-economic damages that increases every year with inflation.

Taking Action to Address Abuse in Nursing Homes

MCL §333.20201 establishes the Patient Bill of Rights for nursing home residents in Livonia. Facilities such as Woodhaven Retirement Community, Regency at Livonia, and Heartland Health Care Center-Livonia must provide all the following rights to their residents:

• Right to not experience discrimination
• Right to confidentiality
• Right to control their own medical care and refuse treatment if they choose
• Right to reasonable privacy
• Right to present complaints about their care to facility administrators
• Right to private communications
• Right to practice civil and religious liberties
• Right to be free from physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse

Any violation of these rights may serve as grounds for a nursing home abuse case. Furthermore, Michigan state law provides specific definitions for abuse, neglect, and exploitation:

• Abuse – any threat to a resident’s health and/or welfare
• Neglect – a resident not receiving reasonable care in the form of food, shelter, clothing, and sanitary conditions
• Exploitation – a staff member misappropriating a resident’s finances, property, or personal dignity

A number of hotlines operated at the state level are available for reporting nursing home abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation. A Livonia nursing home abuse at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. could clarify what options are available for an individual resident and their family.

What Are My Legal Options After a Dog Bite in Livonia?

Both state and local laws govern how civil injury cases based on dog bites proceed in Livonia. At the state level, MCL §287.351 establishes that a dog’s owner may be strictly liable for injuries their dog causes by biting someone, as long as the dog was not provoked and the victim was not trespassing at the time.

Michigan does not have a one-bite rule like some other states do. This means that strict liability applies even when a dog owner had no idea their pet was potentially dangerous.

However, traditional negligence applies to animal-related injuries from something other than a bite. For example, a person hurt by a dog jumping on them must prove the owner specifically violated a duty of care in order to recover compensation.

At the local level, the Livonia Code of Ordinances establishes various regulations related to dog ownership and liability for injuries caused by a dog. Key ordinances that may play a role in a dog bite case include:

• §6.04.270 – prohibits owners from allowing their dogs to run “at large” outside of their reasonable control
• §6.04.360 – prohibits ownership of a licensed or unlicensed dog that has destroyed, damaged, or trespassed on another person’s property
• §6.04.380 – specifically holds dog owners liable for any injuries and damages their dog causes.
• §6.04.390 – establishes that any dog kept in violation of other local ordinances may be deemed a “nuisance”
• §6.04.410 – grants local authorities the right to humanely euthanize dogs that violate §6.04.360 and criminally prosecute their owners

If you were bitten by a dog in Livonia, a  knowledgeable Livonia dog bite lawyer can help get you an insurance company settlement.

Is There a Deadline for Filing a Livonia Personal Injury Case?

All civil cases filed in the state of Michigan must adhere to a filing deadline set by state law. However, the applicable deadline for a particular claim may vary depending on what type of case is being filed.

Most civil cases, including those for motor vehicle accidents, property liability, and animal attacks, have a filing deadline of three years under Michigan Compiled Laws §600.5805. Medical malpractice lawsuits, on the other hand, must be filed within two years of the alleged injury.

Most of the time, failing to file before this deadline means a case will be time-barred. However, there are certain circumstances under which the deadline can be paused—or “tolled”—that a Livonia personal injury lawyer could go over in greater detail.

A Livonia Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

If you suffered an injury because of the negligent actions of a business, person, or other entity, a Livonia personal injury lawyer is here to help. No matter the circumstances of a case, a skilled attorney could discuss your situation, answer your questions, and be a guide through any legal action you wish to take.

However, there are time restrictions and other important legal elements that must be considered when pursuing civil lawsuits.

As a result, contact an attorney at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. as soon as possible to start your case.

We charge no legal fees unless you win a settlement.  And, it costs no money to start your claim!

Information About Livonia

Livonia has a population of roughly 94,708 people and most residents work in manufacturing, health care, or retail. Livonia is conveniently located with access to the Jeffries Expressway and the I-275 expressway. Major employers in the area include:

• Ford Motor Company
• Trinity Health
• St. Mary Mercy Livonia
• Livonia Public Schools
• NYX, Inc
• Schoolcraft College
• ZF Automotive
• Roush
• Amazon
• Mastronardi Produce USA

Livonia Legal Resources

• Fire Department HQ (Station 1)
  • 16th District Court
• Police Department
  • Review Tickets
  • File Traffic Complaints
• St. Mary Mercy Livonia Hospital
  • File Other Legal Resources