Michigan Bystander Claims for Family Members in Injury Cases

Our Michigan personal injury lawyers often include lawsuit claims for family members who witness an injury accident.  These claims, known as “bystander claims,” are compensation claims for emotional distress and mental anguish that are filed in the same lawsuit as the injury victim.

Buckfire Law has won substantial settlements in bystander claims for family members of our injured clients.  Most law firms are not savvy enough to recognize these claims, let alone demand compensation for them.  If you witnessed a family member seriously harmed in an accident, call us now to see if you are entitled to a bystander settlement.

• What is a Bystander?
• What is the Bystander Recovery Rule?
• Which Family Members Can Sue for a Bystander Claim in Michigan?
• What is Needed to Win a Bystander Claim?
• Start Your Michigan Bystander Claim Today

What is a Bystander?

In simple terms, a bystander is a person who is present for an event but not an active participant.  For personal injury cases, it is someone who witnesses an accident or incident.  These may be random witnesses or family members.

Some examples of bystanders for personal injury cases include:

• A child in a vehicle witnesses a parent injured in a car crash
• A parent witnesses their child attacked by a vicious dog
• A brother witnesses a sister hit by a speeding car
• A grandparent witnesses a grandchild injured by a firework
• A husband witnesses his wife hit by truck crossing a street

In many cases, family members may be present in the same vehicle when another family is injured, but do not suffer physical injuries on their own. Under Michigan law, bystanders may have their own claim for damages.

What is the Bystander Recovery Rule?

The ‘bystander recovery rule’ applies when the plaintiff is a ‘‘bystander’’ and not a ‘‘direct victim’’ of the defendant’s negligence. The claim asserted by the family members is for negligent infliction of emotional distress against the at-fault party.  This means the defendant’s negligent conduct caused harm to the person from seeing the family member injured in the accident.

The legal rationale for allowing this type of claim is that is reasonably foreseeable that a family member would suffer harm from witnessing an immediate family member’s injury or death.  To recover money compensation, the family member must have witnessed the incident.  One could argue that a family member who arrived almost immediately after seeing the aftermath is entitled to make a claim, but this scenario is not as strong.

Which Family Members Can Sue for a Bystander Claim in Michigan?

Until recently, the law required the bystander to be an immediate family member of the victim.  The phrase “immediate family member” was construed primarily as a parent, child, or sibling of the victim.

However, Buckfire Law recently won a case in the Michigan Court of Appeals for the granddaughters who witnessed their grandmother killed in a car crash. The two granddaughters were driving in a vehicle behind their grandmother when the defendant drove through a red light and crashed into their grandmother’s car.  We made bystander claims for the granddaughters in addition to the wrongful death lawsuit claims.

The trial court dismissed the bystander claims.  The judge held that granddaughters were not “immediate family members” under Michigan law.  We appealed against that decision, and the Court of Appeals agreed with us.

“[W]e conclude that our State’s jurisprudence treats grandparents and grandchildren as immediate family members, hence they are included in that class of individuals for purposes of bystander recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress,” wrote Court of Appeals Judge Stephen L. Borrello.

The case was sent back to the trial court, and Buckfire Law then won settlements for the granddaughters. This expansion of the law provides more opportunities for family members to file bystander claims in Michigan.

What is Needed to Win a Bystander Claim?

To win a bystander claim in Michigan, the family member must have witnessed the accident or injury or continuously observed the negligent act or event.  This is typically the easiest part to prove in a claim.

In addition, the immediate family member must also have suffered psychological and emotional damage that manifested in physical injuries.  This means that observing the incident caused mental anguish that resulted in some type of physical harm, such as a lack of sleep or loss of appetite.  The bystander should discuss these problems with a physician so that physical problems are documented in the medical chart to prove the claim.

How Much are Bystander Claim Settlements?

A bystander has his or her own damage claim in a lawsuit.  This is a separate claim for damages and distinct from the injured family member’s claim.

The compensation amount for a bystander depends on what was witnessed and the severity of the family member’s injury.  It also depends on the degree of mental anguish and psychological harm suffered because of witnessing a family member’s injury or death. Medical records from physicians and psychologists are used to support the claims for damages.

There is no set settlement amount for a bystander claim, and every case is determined on its own unique merits.  The Buckfire Law Firm is Michigan’s leading firm for bystander claims, and we work tirelessly to win you the highest possible settlement if you witness a family member in an accident.

Start Your Michigan Bystander Claim Today

Call the award-winning lawyers at The Buckfire Law Firm now if you saw a family member injured in an accident or due to the negligence of another person or business.  There are strict time deadlines to file bystander claims, so call us now to see if you qualify for a settlement.

We do not charge any fees unless you win a settlement, and it costs no money to start your case. There is no risk whatsoever in starting your claim.