If you have been injured in a hit-and-run accident, it may seem incomprehensible that someone would be reckless enough to hit you with his or her vehicle and callous enough to leave you seriously injured in your car or on the roadway. Though there is no justification for such outrageous misconduct, most hit-and-run drivers are terrified rather than cruel.
Due to varying circumstances, they often fear severe punishment, such as long-term incarceration or deportation. For you, however, their reason for leaving you, potentially to die, makes no difference. Assuming you survive, you now face extensive medical care, possible permanent injury and a host of painful complications — physical, emotional and financial. If you are a Michigan resident, your one ace in the hole is having the outstanding personal injury law firm of Miller, Tischler & Vislosky, P.C. available to help you through.
Our team is fully aware of the devastating trauma you have been through and how far-reaching its consequences are. Our knowledgeable hit-and-run attorneys, assisted by our fine paralegals and other staff members, are ready and willing to take over all insurance and legal matters pertaining to your case. We will offer you compassion as well as diligence as we:
You can count on us to navigate the justice system to your best advantage, even if the hit-and-run driver has not yet been located or turns out to be uninsured.
Hit-and-run accidents are never excusable. Though few hit-and-run incidents are deliberate, all are criminal. Those in which the driver is found to be at fault for causing severe personal injury are felonies, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison and potential fines of up to $10,000. You may wonder why anyone would risk the legal punishments of engaging in a hit-and-run, let alone how anyone can tolerate the guilt of committing such an immoral act. Here are reasons certain individuals may panic and leave the scene of the accident:
No matter what rationale hit-and-run drivers use, they are guilty (in addition to any of the offenses mentioned above) of [1] leaving the scene of an accident without providing information to the other driver or the police and [2] not attempting to assist a person who has been injured.
At Miller, Tischler & Vislosky, P.C., we are dedicated to finding the hit and run driver and holding that person accountable for all you have suffered. We are well aware that your injuries may be far worse as a result of not getting more immediate medical attention, and that this, too, is the fault of the driver who left you helpless.
In recent years, many tools have become available to aid law enforcement officers in finding hit-and-run drivers. For one thing, witnesses can now take immediate photos with their smartphones, providing reliable evidence. For another, the internet and computer data banks can help police run license plates swiftly and accurately and trace steaks of paints and car parts with ease.
Certain aspects of personal injury law differ from state to state. In Michigan, there are two basic principles: no-fault and modified comparative negligence.
Michigan hit-and-run claims give rise to two main compensation claims. The first is under our state’s no-fault insurance law. Known as a “first-party claim,” this will provide you with personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for your economic losses, including:
When you are working with our team of experienced attorneys, you can be confident in our strategic skills. We will ally ourselves with your physicians to prove that your injuries rise to the level that makes you eligible to file a third-party claim.
The second main compensation claim is under your own uninsured (UM) motorist policy. Unfortunately, more than one-fifth of all drivers in Michigan do not carry UM. If you are one of them, you cannot open a claim for no-fault benefits or go after the at-fault vehicle for pain and suffering compensation. If you find yourself in this challenging situation, one of our sharp hit-and-run accident attorneys will provide you with the best chance of having your needs met.
Modified Comparative Fault addresses the issue of shared blame. Though it may be hard to imagine a more clear-cut case of sole responsibility than a hit-and-run accident, in fact, there are occasions in which the court assigns some blame to the injured party. Examples can be found when the driver or pedestrian injured has violated traffic law. The injured driver, for instance, may have been speeding or driving while impaired; the pedestrian may have run into the street between parked cars.
In such ambiguous situations, the court will consider the facts and assign a percentage of blame to each person and the awarded damages will be adjusted accordingly. If you are found to be, for example, 10 percent to blame for your own injury, you will receive only 90 percent of the awarded damages.
If you have been injured in a hit-and-run accident, you need one of our savvy car accident attorneys at your side to handle the many complications that may arise, whether the party who hit you is arrested or never found. Our Farmington Hills-based team knows all the ins and outs of hit-and-run accidents and will provide you with superior legal representation when you need it most.
