Why Choose Koussan Law?
Ishpeming Personal Injury Lawyer: U.P. Cases, Trial-Firm Resources
Koussan Law represents people seriously injured in Ishpeming, Negaunee, and across Marquette County on a contingency fee — no fee unless we win. Our Marquette office at 425 S. 3rd Street — 15 minutes east on US-41 — puts real trial-firm resources in the central Upper Peninsula, staffed by attorney Tony Ruiz and backed by a team whose results include a $14.95 million jury verdict. U.P. injury victims should not have to accept small-market representation for big-consequence injuries.
Quick facts for Ishpeming injury victims:
- Filing deadline: generally 3 years from the date of injury (MCL § 600.5805); only 2 years for medical malpractice; just 120 days to notify a government defendant (MCL § 691.1404).
- Cost: no upfront fees, ever. Contingency representation, so there is no fee unless we recover money for you.
- Where your case is filed: the 25th Judicial Circuit Court for Marquette County.
- No-fault basics: your own auto insurer pays medical bills and wage loss regardless of fault; a separate claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering requires a "serious impairment of body function."
This page covers the Ishpeming area's highest-risk roads and conditions, the case types we handle most often here, how Michigan injury law applies to Marquette County cases, the local court system, and the deadlines that decide whether a case can be brought at all.
High-Risk Roads and Conditions Around Ishpeming
- US-41 / M-28 — the shared trunkline through Ishpeming and Negaunee is the central U.P.'s lifeline, carrying commuter, tourist, and ore-hauling truck traffic through signalized small-city segments. Winter lake-effect snow — the Ishpeming area averages roughly 200 inches a year — turns it into one of Michigan's most demanding driving corridors.
- Mining and industrial truck routes — heavy equipment and ore trucks serving the Tilden operation share local roads; a loaded haul truck leaves no margin for error.
- Lakeshore Drive, Division Street, and downtown Ishpeming — snowbank sight-line obstructions and mid-block pedestrian crossings in winter.
- County Road 581 and rural Marquette County routes — high speeds, deer strikes, and long EMS response distances raise the stakes of every rural crash.
- Snowmobile and ORV trail crossings — the trail network crosses public roads repeatedly; machine-versus-vehicle collisions produce catastrophic injuries.
Personal Injury Cases We Handle for Ishpeming Clients
- Car and winter-weather crashes — PIP claims, serious-impairment litigation, and crashes where "the weather" is used to excuse plainly negligent driving. Michigan law requires drivers to adjust to conditions; snow does not erase fault.
- Commercial and industrial truck crashes — ore haulers, logging trucks, and US-41 freight.
- Snowmobile and ORV accidents — trail-crossing collisions, negligent operation, and rental-operator liability.
- Premises liability — six months of ice makes Kandil-Elsayed (2023) especially consequential up here: obvious ice no longer automatically defeats the claim.
- Wrongful death and catastrophic injuries — with long transport distances, U.P. crashes skew severe; lifetime-care valuation is central.
- No-fault / PIP disputes — including attendant-care and home-modification benefits that rural claimants are routinely underpaid.
Trauma Care and Your Medical Record in Marquette County
Serious Ishpeming-area trauma is transported to UP Health System – Marquette, the only ACS-verified Level II trauma center in the Upper Peninsula (reverified in 2026). That record — trauma activation, imaging, surgery, rehab — anchors both the PIP claim against the responsible no-fault insurer and the McCormick serious-impairment showing in the third-party case. For the most complex injuries, downstate transfer creates multi-system records we assemble into one coherent damages story.
Marquette County Courts
Ishpeming injury lawsuits are filed in the 25th Judicial Circuit Court for Marquette County. District-level matters are heard by the 96th District Court, which maintains offices in both Marquette and Ishpeming. Federal cases proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan's Marquette courthouse. U.P. juries value plain dealing and local presence — which is exactly why we keep a staffed office on 3rd Street rather than parachuting in from below the bridge.
Michigan No-Fault Insurance: Key Rules for Ishpeming Drivers
Michigan's no-fault system controls almost every Ishpeming crash case, and it runs on two separate tracks. The first-party (PIP) claim is against your own insurer for allowable medical expenses, wage loss, replacement services, and attendant care under MCL § 500.3107 — regardless of who caused the crash. Which insurer pays is set by the priority rules of MCL §§ 500.3114 and 500.3115, and pedestrians and cyclists struck by cars are covered too. Since the 2019 reform, your recovery is also shaped by the PIP medical coverage level chosen on the policy, and the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Andary v. USAA (2023) preserved uncapped lifetime benefits for people injured before that reform.
The third-party claim is the lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering and excess economic loss. It requires proof of a "serious impairment of body function" under MCL § 500.3135, judged by the three-part test of McCormick v. Carrier (2010): an objectively manifested impairment, of an important body function, that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. Insurers in Marquette County fight this threshold in nearly every case, which is why treatment records and honest documentation of how the injury changed your daily routine matter from day one.
Vehicle damage is handled separately: Michigan's mini-tort provision, MCL § 500.3135(3)(e), lets you recover up to $3,000 in vehicle damage from an at-fault driver.
Deadlines for Ishpeming Personal Injury Cases
Miss the deadline and the case is gone, no matter how strong it is. The clocks that matter most in Marquette County:
- Most injury lawsuits: 3 years from the date of injury. MCL § 600.5805(2).
- Medical malpractice: generally 2 years, plus a mandatory 182-day Notice of Intent before filing. MCL §§ 600.5838a, 600.2912b.
- No-fault PIP benefits: the one-year-back rule of MCL § 500.3145 limits recovery to expenses incurred within one year before suit, so PIP disputes cannot wait.
- Government defendants: written notice within 120 days for highway-defect and most claims against public agencies. MCL § 691.1404.
- Wrongful death: the underlying statute of limitations still controls, and the personal representative must be appointed before suit. MCL § 600.2922.
Modified Comparative Negligence in Michigan
Michigan follows a modified comparative negligence rule, MCL § 600.2959. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are barred only if you are found more than 50% at fault. Economic damages survive even above that line. Insurers use this rule aggressively — blaming the injured person is the cheapest defense there is — so do not accept an adjuster's fault assessment as final.
For premises cases, the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Kandil-Elsayed v. F&E Oil, Inc. (2023) folded the old "open and obvious" doctrine into comparative fault. A visible hazard no longer automatically kills an Ishpeming slip-and-fall case; it is one factor a jury weighs.
Why Ishpeming Injury Victims Choose Koussan Law
Koussan Law is a Michigan trial firm, not a settlement mill. Our results include a $14.95 million jury verdict in a sexual assault and institutional negligence case — tried by Ali Koussan as sole plaintiff's counsel against four defense firms — a $6 million premises liability settlement, and a $1 million wrongful death settlement for the family of a disabled adult. Insurance carriers know which firms actually try cases, and that reputation changes settlement math long before a Marquette County jury is ever seated.
We built the Marquette office because the U.P. deserved a serious-injury trial firm of its own. Ishpeming clients get local attention with Detroit-caliber litigation resources behind it — the combination carriers least want to see on a U.P. file.
Every case is handled on contingency: no consultation fee, no hourly billing, no fee at all unless we recover for you. You get direct attorney contact, not a case-number-and-call-center experience.
Frequently Asked Questions: Ishpeming Personal Injury Lawyer
How long do I have to file an injury lawsuit in Ishpeming?
Generally three years from the injury under MCL 600.5805(2); two years for medical malpractice plus the 182-day Notice of Intent; one-year-back for PIP benefits under MCL 500.3145; and 120 days to give written notice of claims against government defendants under MCL 691.1404.
Do you actually have an office in the U.P.?
Yes. Koussan Law's Marquette office at 425 S. 3rd Street is staffed by attorney Tony Ruiz — about 15 minutes from Ishpeming on US-41. You meet locally; the full trial team works your case.
The other driver blamed the snow. Does that defeat my claim?
No. Michigan's basic speed law, MCL 257.627, requires drivers to travel at a careful speed for actual conditions. Losing control on snow is usually evidence of driving too fast for conditions, not a defense to it. Comparative fault under MCL 600.2959 sorts out the percentages.
Where will my case be filed?
In the 25th Judicial Circuit Court for Marquette County. District matters go to the 96th District Court, which sits in both Marquette and Ishpeming.
I was hurt in a snowmobile crash at a road crossing. Is that covered by no-fault?
Snowmobiles are generally excluded from no-fault as motor vehicles, but a collision with a car or truck at a crossing can trigger PIP through the motor vehicle's insurer, and negligent operators, rental companies, and trail-maintenance entities may bear liability. These cases are fact-intensive — get advice early.
What if I was hit by an ore or logging truck on US-41?
Commercial carriers mean federal safety regulations, ECM data, driver logs, and layered insurance. Preservation letters must go out immediately, and the case should be built for litigation from day one — commercial policies justify it.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Yes. MCL 600.2959 reduces your recovery by your fault percentage; pain-and-suffering damages are barred only if you are more than 50% at fault. Economic losses remain recoverable regardless.
Schedule Your Free Ishpeming Case Review
Evidence disappears fast — camera footage is overwritten, vehicles are repaired, and witnesses move. If you or a family member was seriously injured in Ishpeming or anywhere in Marquette County, call (313) 800-0000 or send us a message for a free, no-obligation consultation. You can also get an instant estimate range with our free case value calculator. There is no fee unless we win.
