Michigan Personal Injury Law: Determining Fault and Liability

Determining who is at fault for an incident or accident and therefore liable for damages can be a complicated process under Michigan’s personal injury laws. It’s not always a cut-and-dry case as to who was at fault and sometimes a person can collect damages or compensation from another person even if they were partially at fault for the incident.

It is common for people to believe they can’t sue for damages or compensation for their injuries because they were partially to blame. However, the personal injury lawyers at our firm have experience in obtaining damages for clients even in cases where they may be partially at fault.

Michigan uses what’s known as a modified comparative negligence standard to determine whether an injured person can be awarded damages. What this means is that as long as the injured person is less than 51% responsible for the incident that caused the injuries, he or she can collect damages from other people who are also responsible for the damages.

While this allows injured people to receive compensation for their injuries when someone else is more at fault, if they are partially at fault for the injury-inducing incident they will not receive 100% of the damages they’d be entitled to otherwise. Under Michigan personal injury laws, the most a person can receive for an injury they are partially responsible for is 100% minus the percentage of responsibility they hold. For example, if a person sustains $100,000 worth of injuries in an accident they are 30% responsible for, the most they can receive in damages is $70,000 (100% - 30% = 70%; 70% x $100,000 = $70,000).

How do you know who is liable under Michigan’s personal injury laws?

Michigan personal injury law uses the “reasonable person standard” to determine who is at fault in an incident and liable for injuries. If a person is acting as a reasonable person is expected to act under the circumstances of the incident, then they are not at fault. A person will be found at fault if they were doing something a reasonable person would not do at the time of the incident or not doing something a reasonable person would do. Often injured accident participants end up taking more of the blame than necessary if they aren’t represented by an experience Michigan personal injury attorney.

Let’s take the example of an automobile accident on a rural highway during a snow storm. For sake of the example, we’ll assume that the heavy, driving snow reduced visibility to about 20 feet. Under such circumstances, it could be said that a reasonable would look for a place to pull off the highway and wait until visibility improved or at least drive at a very slow place with hazard lights flashing to warn other drivers. A reasonable person would NOT continue driving at highway speeds or talk on a cell phone while trying to navigate the snow-swept road.

In our example accident three cars were involved. Car one was pulled off the road to wait out the storm. Car two was driving slowly with hazard lights on but the driver was talking on a cell phone. Car three was travelling the posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour in the opposite direction of cars one and two. The third car lost control on the snowy highway and crossed the center line toward car two, the driver of which swerved to avoid car three and crashed into car one.

In the above situation, the driver who was parked off the side of the road is likely to be found not at fault at all because he was taking reasonable precautions given the circumstances. Driver one would be entitled to full damages from the other drivers. The driver of car two could be held partially responsible for the accident because although he took the precaution of slowing down and using hazard lights, he didn’t pull off the road and was distracted by talking on the cell phone. Let’s say a jury finds the driver of car two 25% responsible for the incident. Driver three, however, is found 75% responsible because he didn’t take any reasonable precautions to avoid an accident.

If each driver sustained $10,000 worth of injuries above and beyond what their insurance companies are required to pay, the driver of car one would be entitled to full compensation for his injuries from the other two drivers. Driver two, being less than 51% responsible for the accident, would be entitled to damages from the driver of car three, but only up to a maximum of 75% of the injury value or $7,500. In addition, driver two would be liable for 25% or $2,500 of driver one’s injuries and, therefore, would net only $5,000. Driver three, being more than 51% responsible for the accident, would not be entitled to any damages and would be liable for $7,500 to each of the other two drivers for a total of $15,000.

Unfortunately, the math almost never works out so easily as there are often many other factors involved, including differences in injuries, differences in insurance coverage, court fees and attorney fees. But this example gives you an idea of how the system works. In a situation with more than one person at fault, an experienced personal injury lawyer can minimize damages you may be liable for and maximize damages you’re entitled to.

Find out whether you are entitled to compensation for injuries you are partially responsible for

If you were injured in an accident or incident in Michigan and were partially to blame, the attorneys at Sachs Waldman, P.C., may still be able to win compensation for your injuries from other at-fault parties under Michigan’s personal injury laws. The only way to find out is to talk to a personal injury lawyer. Call our Detroit personal injury attorneys at 1-800-638-6722 to schedule a free consultation.