Sommers Schwartz attorney Michael Cunningham filed a personal injury lawsuit for a Wayne County woman who suffered serious spinal injuries after another driver rear-ended her vehicle at high speed on I-94.
On September 2, 2025, the plaintiff was driving eastbound on I-94 when a driver traveling in the same direction slammed into the back of her vehicle. The at-fault driver was operating a car owned by another individual who had permitted him to use the vehicle.
The complaint alleges that the at-fault driver failed to operate his vehicle with due care, failed to maintain a proper lookout, and was traveling at a speed that prevented him from stopping before striking the plaintiff. He failed to apply his brakes in time and rear-ended her vehicle at a high rate of speed. Michigan law requires drivers to travel at speeds that allow them to stop within the distance they can see ahead, a standard known as driving within the “assured clear distance.”
The collision caused serious injuries to the plaintiff’s lower back. She sustained a traumatic rupture of the disc at L2-L3 (between the second and third lumbar vertebrae), multiple disc bulges spanning L1 through L5, and retrolisthesis at L2-L3, a condition in which a vertebra shifts backward relative to the one below it. She has undergone multiple epidural steroid injections and a spinal ablation procedure to manage her pain, and she may require surgery in the future. The impact also damaged surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and soft tissue, leaving her with chronic pain, impaired spinal mobility, disability, emotional distress, and a significantly diminished ability to engage in the normal activities of daily life.
The lawsuit names both the at-fault driver and the vehicle’s owner as defendants. Under Michigan’s owner liability statute, a vehicle owner who permits another person to operate their vehicle is responsible for damages that the driver causes. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the plaintiff’s past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity, along with damages for her pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life.
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