Need legal advice.

[P-Zero]

So over the weekend a friend got hit by a drunk driver. My friend was traveling down a road when this drunk ass bitch decided to pull a U-turn nailing the friend.
Now from what I gather, because Michigan is a no fault state, they have no recourse when it comes to damages, meaning they cant sue this dumb drunk ass biznatch. But now the friend is incurring lots of costs like the deductible and hospital expenses not to mention time missed from work. The chick that hit her had gotten at least 2 tickets that I know of -reckless endangerment and DUI.
So my question is, is there really no way to press charges against this drunk woman for that costs the my friend is going to incur? Maybe some sort of civil charges? Any help would be appreciated.
-P.

[bblooz]

Not sure if I would count on any legal advice you get on a public forum, especially when this is such a serious matter. I'm sure that you can contact plenty of PI (person injury) attourneys and they would be happy to take this case. There are a lot of listings in the yellow pages and almost all provide the initial consult for free. I would do it over the phone, though, because they will pressure you to sign a representation aggreement on the spot if you go to their office. Have all the facts available when you call and ask about doing it on a "contingency" basis. I believe this is where you don't have any out-of-pocket expenses to initiate the case, but of course the lawyer gets more of the settlement if you win (that's the trade-off for them taking the risk).
Sorry to hear about your bud, hope all goes well.

[ladyjazz17]

Even though MI is a no-fault insurance state, what happens is, each person's insurance company takes care of their own respective insured's injuries and damages, then if one driver was at fault, the insurance company for the other party pursues what is called subrogation - in other words, they go after the insurance company of the person who caused the accident or damages to recover the costs of damages or injuries to their insured and/or their property.

So even though you have no-fault insurance in a given state, that doesn't mean the guilty party escapes paying for what they did. No-fault just makes it easier initially for each party's damages to be taken care of more quickly.

And what bblooz is talking about is lawyers who take personal injury cases on a contingent fee basis, where they get one-third of the settlement amount if they win or get the other party to settle out of court before trial, or in front of a referee (one step down from a judge).

[P-Zero]

Hey thanx Ladyjazz , thats good to know .
-P.

[Donny]

A friend of min got hit right infront of the hospital. The other drivers insurance company was taken to court and they had to pay for everything. Even the ambulance that drove for about 30 seconds. I dont know if she sued the insurance company or the driver but she bought a house with what she got.
Id deff. look into it and hope your friend gets everything taken care of and gets better.