Injuries from food poisoning can be devastating.  A recent news story discusses a study by scientists that proves that food poisoning, from e.coli, listeria, bocculism, and other airborne illnesses can trigger serious health problems for months and even years.  Many times, the food poisoning victim requires surgery and a lengthy course of treatment.  In the most severe cases, death can result.

Food poisoning victims often do have legal recourse against the restaurant, food maker, and distibutor of the food that causes the poisoning.  Quite often, these illnesses and outbreaks are due to poor sanitary handwashing habits in a restaurant or the failure to keep foods safe and at proper temperatures.  Food poisoning lawyers, like my firm, use health department records and medical records to hold the negligent business accountable for the injuries.

        My law firm specializes in Michigan car accident cases and we review a substantial number of these cases every year.  In many cases, the negligent driver that caused the accident and injured our clients is insured to compensate our clients for their serious injuries.  However, in other cases, the negligent driver either did not have insurance or did not have enough coverage to compensate our client.  

       When the negligent driver did not have insurance or did not have enough insurance (for example, our client had a brain injury or spinal cord injury and the negligent driver was only insured for $20,000.00, the minimum limit), there is still often the possiblity of obtaining a fair settlement for our client.  This can only happen if our client, a family member, or the owner of the car had uninsured motorist benefits or underinsurance motorist benefits. 

         Uninsured and under insured motorist benefits are contractual benefits a person is entitled to if they are involved in a motor vehicle accident where the at fault party is either uninsured or has a minimal insurance policy and is deemed to be under insured.

          Both uninsured and under insured benefits are contract driven, which means that the terms of the insurance contract control the same.  It is always wise to have a personal injury attorney immediately investigate your car accident claims, including the review of your insurance contract.  Some insurance companies, such as Farm Bureau, put a one year contractual provision in their insurance contracts which prevents injured victims from bringing uninsured motorist claims after the one year anniversary of the car accident.  The Michigan Courts have upheld these shortened contractual provisions.                     Under insured motorist claims are similar to uninsured motorist claims except that the at fault party in fact had insurance, but not enough to cover the damages sustained by the injured victim.  For example, many motorists only carry a $20,000.00 insurance policy and if an insured victims damages exceed $20,000.00 then there is a possibility of pursuing an under insured motorist claim with your own insurance carrier. 

           Most insurance contracts require that the injured victim provide notice to their no-fault insurance carrier and that they obtain permission to settle the claim with the at fault parties insurance company.  Failure to obtain permission to settle the case could result in the insurance contract being voided.  Again, the Michigan Courts have upheld these provisions in the contract.This coverage is extremely important and I always encourage friends, family members, clients, and blog readers to review their auto insurance policies to see if they have this coverage.  If they are not sure, they should contact their insurance agent to find out and add the coverage to the policy if they do not have it.  The additional coverage is very inexpensive but extremely important.   

A tragic Michigan fatal car accident has resulted in the 72 year old man who caused the accident being criminally charged.  The tragic accident took the life of Fraser school teacher Casandra Kiepke and her 82 years father last Sunday as they were leaving church.  The negligent driver slammed into her car as she exited the parking lot, killing both her and her father.  A blood-alcohol test later revealed that the man was intoxicated at the time of the accident.  He was also speeding at the time of the collision.

The Macomb County prosecutor’s office has chaged the Warren man with two counts of second-degree murder.  The family of the teacher and her father can also pursue a Michigan Wrongful Death Lawsuit against the man, which is a civil claim and totally separate from the criminal charges.  The civil suit permits the family to receive monetary compensation for the loss of society and companionship of their lost ones. 

An Ohio jury awarded $3 million dollars to the widow of a 58 year old man who died of suffocation injuries Singer Steel, a steel  cutting company in Ohio.  The man, a college graduate, was laid off from his white collar job and took a $12.00/hour job at the factory to survive while he looked for a better job.  While at work, he was trapped inside a machine and suffocated.  The jury awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

Under Michigan law, a Wrongful Death lawsuit is brought by a personal representative on behalf of the estate of the decedent.  The personal representative is typically a spouse or other family member of the decedent and is elected by the other family members to be the “lead” person in the case.  After a case settles, the family can either agree to how the settlement funds will be distributed or have the probate court judge make that determination.