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Flint Truck Accident Lawyer
Table of Contents
The crash is over, but the hard part is just beginning. The medical bills are already arriving, you are not sure which insurance company is supposed to pay them, and part of you suspects the trucking company is already working to protect itself. A loaded semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, roughly 20 times what your car weighs, so these crashes often cause severe injuries and a long recovery.
Trucking companies and their insurers move fast after a serious crash. They send investigators to the scene, sometimes before an injured person leaves the hospital, and every day without someone protecting your side is a day the other side spends building theirs. Around Flint, these crashes cluster on I-475, I-69, and US-23, the freight routes that keep trucks on the road at all hours.
An experienced Flint truck accident lawyer can level that imbalance. At Matz Injury Law, we have spent decades handling complex, multi-party injury claims across Michigan. We work each case personally, and our 22% contingency fee leaves more of your recovery with you.
Why Flint Truck Accident Victims Choose Matz Injury Law
After a serious truck crash, one of the hardest decisions you face is who to trust with your case. For Flint and Genesee County families, what sets our firm apart is how we treat the people behind each claim.
We take time to understand what the crash did to your life before we talk strategy, and we handle every case personally instead of passing you to staff you have never met. Steven J. Matz has spent decades on complex, multi-party injury claims like these, and the recognition he has earned from other Michigan attorneys, including an AV Preeminent rating and a place in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame, reflects that record. Jared Matz works the same way, staying directly involved with the families he represents.
That level of attention also costs you less. We charge a 22% contingency fee instead of the 33⅓% most Michigan injury attorneys charge, so on a $500,000 settlement, you keep about $56,667 more. We help clients all across Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula.
Injured Michigan clients have recovered more than $300 million with our help, including these truck crash results:
- A $3,450,000 settlement for a Genesee County family who lost loved ones to an inattentive cement truck driver
- A $1,000,000 settlement for a Northern Michigan woman who fractured both ankles when a gravel truck rear-ended her
No two cases are alike, and prior results are not a promise of what yours will bring.
Client Testimonials
“I was involved in a fatal trucking accident. I reached out to Matz Injury Law and Jared was extremely helpful in explaining to me how I needed to proceed going forward. I highly recommend giving them a call if you’re in need of a personal attorney as they will answer all your questions and help you get proper compensation for your losses.” — Christian H.
“Following a near head on collision that left my wife with serious injuries to her leg and a head injury from the air bag that caused “instant onset dementia”, she has been deteriorating and needs constant supervision. Hats off to Steve Matz and all the work he and his firm have done to secure the compensation needed from the insurance company to facilitate her care. Without his tireless help I don’t know where we would be today. I highly recommend Matz Injury Law and if needed would definitely utilize them again.” — Thomas C.
“Absolutely the most amazing lawyer we could have asked for . I couldn’t thank you enough for sticking with us and helping us with everything! Jared is the guy for you ! 10/10” — Victoria T.
What Makes Truck Accidents in Flint Different from Car Crashes?
Commercial trucks answer to a layer of federal oversight that ordinary cars do not. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration limits how long a driver can stay behind the wheel, requires maintenance records, and sets rules for loading and securing cargo. When a driver, a trucking company, a cargo loader, or a maintenance contractor cuts a corner, everyone else on the road can pay for it.
That difference shapes your claim. A typical car crash involves one at-fault driver and one insurer. Michigan truck accident claims can involve several parties who share responsibility, and identifying each one early can change what your case is worth. Michigan no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) still pays your medical bills and wage loss no matter who caused the crash.
A pain-and-suffering claim against the trucking company is different. It requires meeting one of three thresholds: death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of an important body function that can be objectively identified and affects how you live. Truck crashes often cause exactly those injuries.
What Causes Most Truck Accidents in Flint?
Flint sits where I-475, I-69, and US-23 meet, so commercial freight runs through Genesee County around the clock. A few patterns cause most serious truck crashes here:
- Fatigued and overworked drivers: Federal hours-of-service limits exist because a drowsy trucker is one of the most dangerous things on the road, and the risk climbs when carriers push drivers past those limits.
- Distracted driving: A driver who looks at a phone or loses focus puts every nearby vehicle at risk, and distraction is a common factor in commercial truck crashes.
- Weather and road conditions: Michigan winters bring ice, poor visibility, and long stopping distances, and a heavy truck that cannot slow in time does serious damage.
- Improper cargo loading: Cargo that shifts in transit or sits above legal weight limits can make a truck unstable, and the loaders and freight companies can share responsibility.
- Unrealistic delivery schedules: When a carrier sets timelines that push drivers to skip rest or speed, the carrier can share liability for the crash.
What PIP Benefits Can You Claim After a Truck Crash in Michigan?
Michigan’s no-fault system pays PIP benefits no matter who caused the crash. After a truck crash, your PIP benefits can cover:
- All crash-related medical bills for life, if you elected unlimited PIP coverage
- Up to $20 a day for three years for household help, when a doctor finds it necessary
- Mileage for every crash-related trip to a doctor, hospital, pharmacy, or therapist
- Three years of lost wages at 85% of your pre-tax income, paid tax-free
- Funeral reimbursement between $1,750 and $5,000 per policy
Michigan lets drivers cap PIP coverage at $50,000, $250,000, or $500,000, or opt out in limited situations. We recommend unlimited coverage, because the cap you chose before the crash sets the ceiling on your medical benefits.
The law also sets the order for which insurer pays first: your own auto insurance, then the auto insurance of a resident relative, and a state-assigned insurer if neither applies. When a carrier delays, cuts off, or denies your benefits, you can challenge that decision, and Michigan’s no-fault and PIP claims rules give you a path to do it.
What Type of Damages Can You Recover After a Flint Truck Accident?
A truck crash can leave losses PIP was never meant to cover in full, and Michigan law lets you pursue two kinds of compensatory damages from the at-fault driver or trucking company. Economic damages cover financial losses beyond your PIP benefits, including:
- Medical bills above your PIP limits and the cost of future care
- Lost earning capacity after the PIP wage-loss period ends
- Rehabilitation costs and property damage
- Funeral and burial costs in a wrongful death claim
Bills and wage statements make these losses straightforward to prove. Non-economic damages are harder to measure, and Michigan law lets you pursue them only when your injury meets one of Michigan’s three serious-injury thresholds. They cover the pain, suffering, aggravation, and inconvenience the crash caused, including lasting pain, emotional harm, and disfigurement or scarring. When a crash causes head and brain injuries, those losses often drive the largest claims.
Michigan does not award punitive damages. It does allow exemplary damages, which compensate you for the distress caused by a driver’s willful or malicious conduct, mainly for victims of drunk or impaired drivers.
How Long Do You Have to File a Truck Accident Claim in Flint?
Michigan gives injury victims three years from the crash to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. Your PIP benefits run on a separate, shorter clock: you generally have one year from the crash to notify your insurer and open your no-fault claim. Let that one-year window pass, and you can lose those benefits, so it helps to act early.
Truck cases add their own time pressure. A commercial truck’s electronic logging data and black-box records can disappear quickly unless someone preserves them, so the sooner you reach out, the better the odds the evidence survives.
Should I Talk to the Trucking Company’s Insurance Adjuster?
The adjuster who calls after a truck crash works for the trucking company’s insurer, not for you. Their job is to record the claim in a way that protects their employer, and anything you say in those first conversations can come back later to shrink or deny your claim.
Try to hold off on a recorded statement until you have legal advice. Adjusters often reach out fast while you are still in pain and piecing together what happened, and a statement given then can create problems that are hard to undo. You can politely decline until you have a lawyer, and that is a fair thing to do.
How Do You Choose the Right Truck Accident Lawyer in Flint?
Not every personal injury attorney handles commercial vehicle cases. Truck claims bring in federal safety rules, several potentially liable parties, and insurers that often fight harder than they do in a routine car accident. As you compare attorneys, look for a few things:
- Real commercial truck and semi-truck experience, not only car accident work
- A working knowledge of the FMCSA rules and how violations affect liability
- A lawyer who handles your case personally rather than passing it to a paralegal
- A fee that leaves more of your recovery with you
That last point is worth pressing. Most Michigan truck accident attorneys charge 33⅓%, while we charge 22%, so on a serious settlement that gap stays with you. A free consultation lets you find out where your case stands at no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accidents in Flint
Can I Still Recover If the Truck Driver Was Following the Rules?
Possibly. A driver who personally did everything right can still be part of a crash caused by a defective truck, badly loaded cargo, or a carrier that pushed an unsafe schedule. In Michigan, liability in a truck accident claim can reach several parties beyond the driver.
What Is the Difference Between My PIP Claim and a Claim Against the Trucking Company?
Your PIP claim goes to your own auto insurer and pays medical bills and wage loss no matter who caused the crash. A claim against the trucking company is a separate, fault-based claim for losses PIP does not fully cover, including pain and suffering when your injury meets one of Michigan’s serious-injury thresholds.
Can I Afford a Truck Accident Lawyer in Flint?
Yes. We work on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing up front and nothing by the hour while your case is open. Our fee comes out of the recovery at the end, so you owe an attorney’s fee only if your case results in a recovery. The consultation is free.
Talk to a Flint Truck Accident Lawyer at No Cost
A serious truck crash can leave you with lasting injuries, mounting bills, and an insurer that is already building its case. We handle truck accident claims for injured people in Flint, across Genesee County, and all across Michigan, working each case personally from the first call through settlement or trial. A free consultation is the simplest way to find out where your claim stands, with no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Call 866-226-6833 or reach out through our contact form to tell us what happened
Written By Steven Matz
Steven J. Matz is the founder of Matz Injury Law, specializing in personal injury litigation with a focus on car accident victims. With over 40 years of legal experience, Mr. Matz has achieved numerous million-dollar settlements. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized among Michigan’s Top Attorneys. Steven J. Matz is a frequent lecturer on legal ethics and personal injury law, and serves on the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.
