Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Settle Left Turn Case for $118,000

The car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. recently settled a case for $118,000. Our client in this case was a passenger in a car driven by a negligent driver.

This claim stems from a November accident where a driver was attempting to make a left turn. His view was obstructed by a large bus in front of him who was also attempting to make a left turn on a different road. Though the driver could not see oncoming traffic, he sped up and turned left anyway, seriously risking his safety as well as the safety of his passenger and other drivers on the road.

The driver turned into the path of an oncoming car and caused a collision. Our client was a passenger in the turning car at the time of the crash. The impact was so significant that our client's vehicle rolled over, causing the roof of the car to indent into the passenger compartment more than 12 inches.

When the police responded to the scene, the driver admitted that his view of oncoming traffic was obscured but that he chose to turn anyway. The driver received a traffic citation for failing to yield the right-of-way when turning left.

Our client was unconscious immediately following the accident. He was transported to Lutheran General's Emergency Department by ambulance where doctors examined him and performed tests. Our client was diagnosed with a concussion and a fractured leg. He remained in the hospital overnight so doctors could assess his cognitive function following his concussion.

After his discharge, our client sought follow up treatment for his injuries. While his leg healed, his ability to walk, drive, and work were affected as was his ability to think clearly. After some time, our client was deemed to have recovered from the accident and was discharged from treatment.

The lawyers at Abels & Annes were able to set up a claim against the left turning driver's insurance company for our client's injuries. As in cases like this, a passenger can recover for injuries sustained in an accident even if the passenger is in the same vehicle as the driver that causes a crash. This is because the driver alone, and not his passengers, are to blame for the accident so injured passengers are still entitled to a recovery.

At Abels & Annes, P.C., we understand that each case is unique and each case deserves consideration on its own merits. That is why we work hard every day for our clients and we fight for each one separately. We were able to help this client after he was hurt, and we might be able to help you as well.

If you have been injured in an accident where a driver failed to yield the right-of-way, call the Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes today for a free telephone consultation. We have an attorney standing by 24 hours a day to take your call at (312) 924-7575 or toll free at (855) 529-2442 so please do not hesitate. Let us help you recover for your accident-related injuries now.

Prior Blog Entries:

Abels & Annes, P.C. Settles Car Accident Case for $100,000, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, published June 24, 2013.

Motorcyclist Killed in Lakeview Crash, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, published June 21, 2013.

Photo Credit: mzacha, stock.xchng.

Chicago Car Accident Lawyer

4 of our Michigan personal injury attorneys named Best Lawyers in America

It’s a nice honor to announce that four of our partners at Michigan Auto Law have been named Best Lawyers in America. Last week, Super Lawyers listed nine of our attorneys as Michigan Super Lawyers in the personal injury category.

It’s especially pleasing because our firm does almost no marketing whatsoever. We have no billboards (anyone else amazed by how many there are these days?), bus ads, TV or Yellow Pages. Our entire marketing campaign is simply to try to have the very best car accident and truck accident verdicts and settlements in Michigan every year - and business will come.

Fortunately, with the top auto verdict in seven of the past 10 years in Michigan, and the top Michigan auto accident settlements every year, it has proved a sound strategy. And it keeps me off of billboards!

Now four of our Michigan personal injury attorneys were recently selected by their peers - other attorneys from across the country - for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012— in the personal injury litigation specialty.

Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey of nearly 41,000 leading attorneys, who cast 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers. Those selected for Best Lawyers in America don’t pay a fee to be listed.

Our Best Lawyers include:

Lawrence Gursten: Larry is the founding partner of our law firm, and he has been one of the top car accident lawyers in the U.S. for more than 40 years.

Steven Gursten (me): I’ve been handling auto accident lawsuits for nearly two decades. I’m a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the Year, and a Leader in the Law for my work promoting truck safety. I’m also president of the  Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Association, and past-president of the American Association for Justice Truck Accident Litigation Group.

David Christensen – Dave is a partner of Michigan Auto Law, and President of the Negligence Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan (the organization of all personal injury attorneys in the state). Dave is known for for his expertise in brain injury lawsuits.

Robert Raitt: Bob is also a partner of Michigan Auto Law. He’s past-president of the Michigan Association for Justice – a victims’ rights organization comprised of more than 2,000 injury attorneys across the state. Bob is a tenacious trial lawyer who has multiple million-dollar verdicts and settlements.

Best Lawyers in America is considered the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. For more than 25 years, it has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in unfamiliar jurisdictions or specialties.

The lawyers listed in Best Lawyers in America don’t choose which practice areas they’re included in; they are voted into the practice areas from the votes they receive from their lawyer peers. Michigan Auto Law has been listed in the Personal Injury Litigation section this year and for the past several years.

Congratulations to our Michigan Auto Law Best Lawyers 2012.

- The Best Lawyers in America® 2012  is copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.

Related information:

What to do after a car accident in Michigan

Our clients and their stories

Michigan Auto Law in the news

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

Tip 3 for truck lawyers: Preserve supporting documents and log books

Here’s the third video to help my fellow truck accident lawyers, from my series of 13 videos on truck accident litigation tips for lawyers.

In the video, I’m reviewing Rule 3 during a past American Association for Justice Truck Accident Litigation Group seminar for truck lawyers from around the nation. My third tip is about how preserving supporting documentation in discovery that can show that a trucker - and the trucking company behind the trucker -  was negligent, can make or break a truck crash lawsuit.

The takeaway: Truck lawyers can catch truck drivers who falsify their log books by preserving those supporting documents — because motor carriers are required to retain supporting docs for six months from date of receipt.

Supporting documents can include receipts, bills of lading, GPS tracking printouts, etc.
Failure of the motor carrier to preserve this information (according to Appendix b, Section 385),  is considered a critical offense. The motor carrier also has the burden and responsibility to investigate and to audit to ensure compliance.

As I always say, truck lawyers should never make these cases about the truck driver. You always want to point the finger at the negligent trucking company. This lets you do that by shifting the onus from the truck driver to the trucking company — for failure to investigate and audit.

- Steven Gursten is a partner of Michigan Auto Law and one of the top truck attorneys in the country. He is past president of the American Association for Justice Truck Accident Litigation Group, and has received the top-reported jury verdict in Michigan for truck crashes. Steve was named a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law for his work to promote national truck safety.

Related information to protect yourself:

Truck lawyers: Get your hands on those discovery documents!

Michigan truck accident discovery - the trucker

Find a truck accident lawyer

Michigan Auto Law exclusively handles car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state of Michigan. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Detroit to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

San Diego Elder Neglect Lawyers

Every year, thousands of elderly San Diego residents are neglected in their own homes, in relatives’ homes and even in facilities responsible for their care. Unfortunately, as elders become more fragile and less able to function independently, the people directly responsible for their care make the elders’ lives more difficult.

Reporting elderly neglect may be hard to do and often times, you may be unsure if it is really happening. If you suspect, in the slightest, that an elder is being neglected, tell someone you trust and contact a San Diego elder neglect attorney immediately. Call the Jurewitz Law Group at (888) 233-5020.

San Diego Accident Lawyer

No-Fault tip for insurance lawyers – Pick your venue for PIP cases

It’s a simple rule that all too many insurance lawyers tend to forget: you can file No Fault lawsuits (also called personal injury protection (PIP) cases) in any court venue you choose in Michigan.

The mistake is that most No Fault lawyers assume you have to file the PIP (the insurance case for No Fault benefits)  in the same venue where you are required to file  your third-party auto negligence case (this is the case for pain and suffering against the driver and his/her insurance company who caused the accident).   But a No-Fault PIP case is a contract action, not a tort action.  As a contact action, it does not have to be filed in the venue where the underlying car accident occurred.

There’s published and unpublished case law in Michigan supporting this. It has been repeatedly held by the Court of Appeals that a No Fault case is a contract action that is subject to the venue statute found at MCL 600.1621. Ferguson v. Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan, 273 Mich App 47, 50-55 (2006); see, also, Shiroka v. Farm Bureau, 276 Mich App 98, 104-109 (2007). The contract venue statute provides that a proper venue is where:

A. the county in which a defendant resides, has place of business, or conducts business or in which the registered office of a defendant corporation is located, is a proper county in which to commence and try an action. MCL 600.1621.

In other words, No Fault insurers do business in every county of the state. Therefore, you could file in a venue you like, or that is more convenient. You can do this for every single one of your No-Fault PIP cases. For example, before we moved to our main office to Farmington Hills from Southfield, I used to file many of my No Fault PIP cases in Southfield District Court, and I would literally walk across the street for hearings and motions. That saved me hours of travel time and allowed me to help many more people (sadly, there’s never a shortage of people being denied auto insurance benefits by claims adjusters in Michigan, a state without bad faith laws, punitive damages, or a consumer protection act to protect people from insurance company abuse).

Another example, Michigan Auto Law has a Sterling Heights law office. It makes much more sense for  Sterling Heights auto accident lawyers to file in  Macomb County  - either circuit court or district court, then to travel to  a further venue, such as where someone was injured and has her third-party case.

- Steve Gursten is recognized as one of the nation’s top No Fault lawyers handling serious auto accident lawsuits. He writes about insurance company abuse and the insurance laws in Michigan, and is available for comment.

Related information:

Your Michigan No Fault benefits

Help for Michigan injury lawyers

Three potential cases for auto accidents in Michigan

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our No Fault insurance lawyers.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

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San Diego Lawyers Help with Uninsured Motorist Claims

Next » Posted On: March 2, 2011 by Ross Jurewitz

In California, you must own car insurance in order to drive legally on our roads. However, drivers only have to carry the minimum car insurance coverage for California, which is $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident/$5,000 for property damage. This is hardly enough to pay for even a minor car accident!

View the Original article