Steven Skahn represents clients in automobile accident cases.

When Michigan adopted its no-fault law in the 1970s it sought to minimize the amount of litigation that would arise from automobile accidents. That law provided that no matter who was at fault in an accident your own insurance company pays for your medical care and for necessary replacement services as a result of your injuries. In addition, your own insurance company pays your wage loss, up to certain specified maximum amounts, for a period of three years.

The law sought to minimize the number of lawsuits that could be brought for negligence against the other driver involved in the accident. A negligence claim can be brought against the other driver if you have a wage loss claim that exceeds the amount that is payable from your own insurance carrier. You can bring a claim for non-economic damages, such as pain or suffering, only if you have suffered “serious impairment of body function”, serious permanent disfigurement, or if the injured person dies. What constitutes a serious impairment of body function has been an issue that has generated much litigation in Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court has changed its criteria for this threshold on a few occasions. At the moment it is a strict threshold, such that only persons who have suffered truly serious injuries will be able to recover damages for pain and suffering.

Steven Skahn represents clients in claims against their own insurance company, and in serious injury cases, against the other negligent driver.

For information on how you can receive help following an accident, contact the Law Offices of Steven L. Skahn.