Where Can I Find the Best Ski Accident Lawyers in Michigan?

Filing a civil lawsuit can cover several different types of negligence for personal injury cases. However, the experienced team of Michigan ski accident lawyers at Morgan & Morgan must prove the same four elements of negligence regardless of the type of personal injury case.

First, the defendant must owe you a duty of care. For example, a ski resort owes you a duty of care by protecting you against physical harm. Second, the ski resort must have breached the duty of care. Third, the incident in question must have caused you harm. Finally, you have to suffer some type of financial loss.

Our highly skilled team of Michigan ski accident lawyers works diligently to demonstrate the presence of the four elements of negligence before initiating legal action by filing a civil lawsuit.

The Michigan Ski Safety Act assigns duty of care to both skiers and resorts. The law also uses the following language to state skiers must assume at least some of the risk for colliding with other skiers.

“Each person who participates in the sport of skiing accepts the dangers that inhere in that sport insofar as the dangers are obvious and necessary. Those dangers include, but are not limited to, injuries which can result from variations in terrain; surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions; bare spots; rocks, trees and other forms of natural growth or debris; collisions with ski lift towers and their components, with other skiers, or with properly marked or plainly visible snow-making or snow-grooming equipment.”

Because of the assignment of at least some of the legal responsibility for a ski accident, it can be difficult for a plaintiff to file a lawsuit claiming another party is 100 percent responsible for causing a ski accident. Working with the Michigan ski accident lawyers at Morgan & Morgan can minimize your exposure from assuming legal liability.

How you handle the aftermath of a ski accident determines whether your insurance company approves your claim. It also goes a long way towards winning a favorable judgment for monetary damages.

Get Ski Patrol Involved

After a car accident, contacting law enforcement starts the investigation process. The same principle applies to a ski accident, except you should contact the ski patrol of the resort. Most ski resorts establish some form of law enforcement group to monitor what unfolds on the slopes. When a representative from the ski patrol arrives, the representative starts to conduct a detailed investigation. The result of the detailed investigation is the release of a formal report that includes a section that either assigns legal liability or states none of the parties involved in the accident should be held accountable for causing it.

Gather and Organize Evidence

When you meet with one of our Michigan ski accident lawyers, you need to bring evidence to the meeting. Although the official ski patrol report should include evidence, you should take photos of the accident scene to allow your legal counsel to examine the physical evidence. Photos of ski impressions in the snow can determine the cause of an accident, as well as the location of both natural and artificial obstacles. If any of your ski equipment received damage, you should bring the damaged equipment to the free case evaluation.

Make sure to write down everything you remember about what happened before, during, and after the ski accident. Your personal injury attorney needs your version of events to move forward with an insurance claim and a possible civil lawsuit.

Speak With Witnesses

Witness accounts support the physical evidence you have collected and organized. The personal injury attorney from Morgan & Morgan who handles your case needs a list of witnesses, as well as their contact information. What your lawyer looks for is a pattern of consistency with the statements. For example, if an inebriated skier collided with you on the slope, several witnesses that describe the same erratic behavior can boost your case. You want to speak with witnesses as soon as possible after any type of accident because the version of events discussed typically represents the most accurate account of what unfolded.

Get Medical Help

If you receive serious injuries because of a ski incident, you need to get immediate medical care at the nearest emergency center. Ski accidents can cause long-term, even life-threatening injuries such as brain trauma and spinal cord damage. Even if you have enough strength to remain at the scene of the skiing incident to gather evidence and speak with witnesses, you eventually should have your injuries checked out. A large percentage of the monetary damages awarded for personal injury cases cover medical expenses.

Work With a Michigan-Licensed Personal Injury Attorney

After you complete the steps listed above, the time has come to reach out to a personal injury lawyer. During the initial meeting, you get the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about your case. Our Michigan ski accident lawyers conduct an investigation that covers your case, try to negotiate a settlement with your insurer and the other party, and represent you if your case goes to trial.

Like every other state, Michigan has established a statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit. You have three years from the date of the ski accident to file a civil lawsuit. This means you have three years to demonstrate at least one other party committed an act or acts of negligence that caused you harm on the slopes. The goal of filing a civil lawsuit is to receive compensation that covers your financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages. You also have the right to ask for punitive damages.

Three years is plenty of time for you to build a case that helps you recover monetary damages. If you fail to meet the deadline of three years for filing a personal injury lawsuit, you can expect the court to dismiss your case.

Before you launch a search for one of the best Michigan ski accident lawyers, you should understand the criteria to consider before hiring legal counsel. You want to work with an experienced attorney, but you should measure experience by the number of cases won by every personal injury attorney on your shortlist. At Morgan & Morgan, we have helped clients recover more than $7 billion in monetary damages for personal injury cases since we opened our doors in 1988.

You also want to work with legal counsel who works your case from start to finish. Too many personal injury lawyers meet with clients during a free case evaluation, only to disappear for the rest of the case. They delegate legal responsibilities to paralegals and less experienced attorneys. The personal injury attorney you hire at Morgan & Morgan handles your case from the free evaluation to the awarding of monetary damages at the conclusion of a civil trial.

Responsive communication skills are another criterion that matters when choosing one of the best Michigan ski accident lawyers. Your attorney must return emails and phone calls promptly. Although your legal counsel probably has a full plate of legal matters to address, this does not mean you should remain in the dark about your case. You can discover the responsiveness of a personal injury lawyer when you first reach out to one to schedule a free case evaluation.

More than 35 years of experience litigating ski accident cases has allowed Morgan & Morgan to receive considerable positive feedback from clients. Check out the reviews left by our clients on sites such as Facebook and Google to learn why we are considered one of the best Michigan ski accident lawyers. Many of our clients mention the same values like integrity, transparency, and accountability. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has awarded us the highest reputation rating the consumer advocacy organization hands out to businesses.

Schedule a free case evaluation with Morgan & Morgan to determine how to proceed with your ski accident case.