Detroit General Negligence Lawyer

We see and hear the term negligence in law-related news items, but what exactly is it?

Negligence is defined as the failure to do something that an ordinarily prudent person would do under similar circumstances, or the commission of an act that a reasonable person would not do. In civil law, if there is enough evidence to prove that an individual was guilty of negligence towards another, and this negligence resulted in injury, the injured party is entitled to recover compensation for the harm done to him or her.

Everyone has a duty imposed by law to use reasonable care in conducting activities that have the potential to harm another. Negligent actions ignore this duty and instead put others at risk.

Proving a Negligence Case

To prevail in a negligence lawsuit, there are several different issues that need to be established in court.

  • Duty of Care – The legal obligation to act reasonably with care, and negligence can only be proven if the injured party can demonstrate that the defendant somehow failed to uphold this duty of care. In Michigan, there is a multi-factored test that addresses whether or not the injury was foreseeable, the magnitude of the injury, and the potential ability for the defendant to have acted in another way.
  • Standard of Care – The level of caution that was required of the defendant. This is generally a professional term and is most often attributed to doctors who are held to a high standard of care for all patients, but it can also be used in other types of negligence cases as a yardstick to gauge what a “reasonable person” would have done.
  • Proximate Cause – The determining cause of the injury. To establish proximate cause, the first step is known as cause-in-fact, which is evaluated using the “but for” test – i.e., “but for the other driver driving drunk, I would not have suffered an injury.” Various factors also contribute to this determination, including foreseeability, direct causation, risk enhancement, and others.

In many lawsuits, proving these elements can be difficult, and defendants – often insurance companies and corporations – aggressively defend these cases and do their utmost to prevent or dramatically limit the recovery that an injured plaintiff deserves.

Experience in Obtaining Results

No matter whether you have been the victim of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED), employment-related negligence or even medical malpractice, you can trust that our firm will go above and beyond in our efforts to protect your best interests.

Sommers Schwartz is one of the largest law firms in Michigan devoted to handling personal injury and negligence cases. Our general negligence lawyers are battle-proven trial attorneys backed by skilled investigators, technical experts, paralegals, medical professionals, and others. With more than 45 years of experience in recovering damages for victims of negligence, our firm has handled more cases with consistently superior results over a longer period of time than any other.

Please contact us today to discuss your case and learn how we can help.

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A Client With a Wrongful Death Case

My family and I would like to thank Matt Turner, Mickey McCullough, Janice Koehler, and your entire law firm for your dedication to my wife’s wrongful death case. We realize that we had the best law firm to successfully help us. We appreciate the obviously hard work and the efforts…

Praise for Albert Asciutto

Shout out to Albert Asciutto for being a fantastic attorney & walking me through the entire process of fighting for my wages! He made the process quick and easy. In the end we won the case!! Thank you again for taking my case on, you are awesome! I would absolutely…

Praise for Jesse Young and Alana Karbal

Alana Karbal and Jesse Young did an excellent job fighting a giant for my wages. They pushed me to get what they needed from me and were amazing at communicating with me at all times. I won my arbitration and was so excited when I got more than what I…

Praise for Wage & Overtime Pay Attorney Jesse Young

Jesse Young worked an employment case for me that ended with almost 700 people getting their unpaid wages back. He and his team are incredible. From the first communication to the last, they never missed a single beat – consistent and clear communication, quickly replying to my communication, and always making…

A Client’s Gratitude for Tad Roumayah

Tad, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your unrelenting advocacy on my behalf throughout this process. It’s a shame that this sort of thing is still happening to new moms in 2023 and at an institution that prides itself on diversity, equity, and inclusion, no less. Knowing there…

Comments about Matthew Curtis from an Appreciative Client

Your efforts have changed my life, Matt. I’m forever grateful. My wife has tons of upcoming medical expenses, and we had both been working hard to make ends meet. I can’t thank you and your staff enough.

Praise for Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller and Matthew Curtis

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your hard work and dedication in handling my case. I appreciate your professionalism, your compassion, and your perseverance throughout this challenging process. You have gone above and beyond to protect my rights, to defend my interests, and to secure a favorable…

A Client Talks about Andy Dragovic

My wife had an accident, tripping over a cable line that wasn’t buried. Andy represented us and were very pleased with the outcome. Andy was very professional, personable, and quick to respond to us, answering any of our questions or concerns. The whole firm was responsive to our concerns, and…

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