Pedestrian Accident
Lawyers

FAQs

• Can I Still File An Injury Claim If I Was Hit While Jaywalking Or Outside A Crosswalk?

  Yes, you absolutely can. There is a common, dangerous misconception that if a pedestrian was crossing outside of a marked crosswalk, walking against a signal, or “jaywalking,” they are completely barred from recovering compensation. This is simply not true under Michigan law.

  First, your right to receive No-Fault PIP medical benefits and lost wage coverage is entirely unaffected by who caused the accident. Because Michigan is a No-Fault state, you are guaranteed medical coverage even if you stepped into the roadway carelessly.

  Second, when it comes to filing a third-party lawsuit against the driver for your physical pain, suffering, and permanent disfigurement, Michigan utilizes a legal standard known as Pure Comparative Fault (MCL 600.2959).This means that a jury will look at the actions of both you and the driver and assign a percentage of blame to each party.

  As long as your share of the blame is 50% or less, you have the absolute right to collect financial compensation from the negligent driver. Your final financial award will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a speeding or distracted driver strikes you while you are crossing mid-block, a jury may find that you were 20% at fault and the driver was 80% at fault. If the total verdict is $500,000, you will still take home $400,000.

  Insurance adjusters will aggressively try to twist your words to pin 100% of the blame on you so they can escape paying your claim. Our specialized pedestrian crash lawyers know exactly how to counter their tactics. We immediately secure local business surveillance footage, pull the driver’s cell phone records to prove distraction, and deploy accident reconstruction experts to prove the motorist had ample time to stop. Call 855-MIKE-WINS today to learn how we protect your case.

• Who Is Legally Considered At Fault When A Pedestrian Is Struck By A Vehicle In Michigan?

  Legally establishing fault in a pedestrian collision requires proving that the motorist breached their basic “duty of care” under the Michigan Vehicle Code. Motorists have an augmented legal obligation to operate their vehicles with extreme caution because they are piloting multi-ton machines capable of causing instant fatalities.

  At Mike Morse Law Firm, our pedestrian injury team routinely establishes driver negligence by proving the motorist engaged in specific reckless behaviors, including:

  • Failure to Yield: Striking a pedestrian who has the legal right-of-way inside a marked or unmarked crosswalk during a turn (MCL 257.612).
  • Distracted Driving: Texting, looking at a navigation app, or interacting with an infotainment screen instead of scanning the shoulders and intersections.
  • Speeding through Urban Corridors: Driving too fast for road or visibility conditions, which drastically reduces a driver’s stopping distance in heavy pedestrian zones.
  • Impaired Operation: Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which severely degrades a motorist’s reaction time and visual tracking.

  Proving these violations requires an aggressive, immediate investigation. We step in to secure the mandatory police UD-10 Traffic Crash Report, download the vehicle’s event data recorder (black box), and interview responding officers. If a reckless driver has shattered your life, let Michigan’s largest personal injury law firm fight for you. Call us right away at 855-MIKE-WINS for your free, no-obligation consultation.

• Who Pays My Medical Bills If I Was Hit By A Car While Walking In Michigan?

  Because Michigan is a No-Fault auto insurance state, you are legally entitled to comprehensive Personal Injury Protection (PIP) medical benefits and lost wages, even though you were on foot when the crash occurred. However, pedestrians frequently run into a major roadblock: which insurance company is required to pay?

  Under Michigan’s strict insurance “Order of Priority” (MCL 500.3114), you do not automatically collect from the driver who hit you. Instead, you must climb a specific legal ladder to secure medical coverage:

  1. Your Own Auto Policy: If you own a car with valid No-Fault insurance, your own insurer must cover your medical bills, even though your vehicle was sitting safe at home during the pedestrian accident.
  2. A Resident Relative’s Policy: If you do not own a vehicle, your claim goes through the auto insurance policy of a spouse or any relative who lives in the same household with you.
  3. The Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MACP): If absolutely no one in your household owns an insured vehicle, your claim is submitted to the state’s Assigned Claims Plan. The state will assign a private auto insurer to manage your care, but there is a dangerous statutory catch, MACP benefits are capped at a strict lifetime maximum of $250,000.

  Missing an insurance deadline or filing with the wrong carrier can result in a total denial of medical coverage. The pedestrian accident attorneys at Mike Morse Law Firm handle this complex administrative paperwork for you from day one, tracking down the exact corporate insurers responsible for your bills so you can focus entirely on your physical recovery. Call us 24/7 at 855-MIKE-WINS to secure your benefits.

• Can the victim of a Pedestrian Accident pursue pain and suffering claims?

  Personal Injury Protection benefits include a capped amount for medical bills and for lost wages. However, the damages and loss suffered by victims often far exceeds what is offered in PIP benefits, and PIP benefits do not include any compensation for pain and suffering.

  Pain and suffering claims include physical and emotional pain suffered by the victim directly related to the pedestrian accident. A pain and suffering claim takes into account:

  • Physical pain
  • Emotional distress
  • Mental anguish
  • Scarring that causes emotional trauma
  • Loss of quality of life
  • Permanent disabilities,
  • Ongoing PTSD from the accident
  • And more

  Emotional pain can be hard to quantify into actual dollars. An attorney with personal injury law experience will be able to help their client arrive at a legal settlement amount. When deciding on an appropriate settlement figure, an experienced attorney will factor in:

  • How long it has or will take their client to recover
  • If the injuries resulted in a disability or disfigurement
  • The type of injury sustained
  • The severity of injury
  • If the injury was clearly caused by negligence and not the fault of their client
  • If any law was broken that contributed to the accident, such as being hit by a drunk driver

  Michigan No-Fault laws allow for victims to pursue pain and suffering claims and seek compensation for their injuries.