A personal injury case usually is not worth pursuing when the injury fully resolved, the filing deadline has already passed, or there is no way to actually collect from the at-fault party. Those three things matter more than most of what people worry about before they call a lawyer.
Every week, someone calls Buchanan Firm after a car accident, a surgery that went wrong, or an injury they cannot quite explain, and asks some version of the same question: is this even worth pursuing? There is a real answer, and it is different for every caller. Some injuries heal completely and leave nothing to pursue. Some claims expire before anyone picks up the phone. Some cases involve real negligence but no insurance behind it to collect from.
None of that means the person asking was wrong to wonder. What follows is drawn from real calls Buchanan Firm has taken and real cases the firm has turned down, serving clients across West Michigan, including Grand Rapids, Ada, Holland, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Rockford, and Lowell.
What Does It Mean When an Injury “Isn’t Significant Enough” to Pursue?
Not every injury creates a case, even when the day it happened was frightening. If you were hurt in a crash or a medical setting but recovered fully, with no lasting pain, no ongoing treatment, and no real change to your day-to-day life, that generally is not enough to build a case around. That is often genuinely good news, even when it feels like the legal system owes you for it.
There is a specific, three-part test Buchanan Firm uses to decide whether an injury clears that bar, and it goes deeper than just asking whether something serious happened. See the three-part legal test every case has to meet for the full breakdown.
One distinction is easy to miss. Caiti Hill, who takes many of Buchanan Firm’s intake calls, has learned to ask specifically about physical injury, not just about how difficult the experience was. Someone can walk away from a crash or a bad medical outcome with real anxiety, a fear of driving, or trouble sleeping, and none of that makes what they went through less real. But it is the physical injury, not the emotional aftermath on its own, that has to carry a personal injury case in Michigan. Caiti says she is careful to use that word on intake calls, not to downplay what someone is feeling, but because it changes what the law can actually do for them.
Is It Already Too Late to File Your Claim in Michigan?
If you have been sitting on an injury because you were not sure it was worth pursuing, or because you were still recovering, the clock has not been waiting with you. Michigan gives most personal injury and vehicle accident claims three years from the date of the injury, and medical malpractice claims two years from the date of the alleged malpractice, with an added notice-of-intent requirement that makes early action even more important. None of the reasons people wait, uncertainty, recovery, feeling overwhelmed, change that deadline. If your claim has already passed that window, even a strong case cannot be revived.
What If the At-Fault Driver Doesn't Have Enough Insurance to Pay?
Even a case that is otherwise strong and well documented runs into one final practical question: does the at-fault driver actually have insurance to pay? In Michigan, that is not a given.
Rob Buchanan sees this most often after hit-and-run crashes, when people assume coverage must exist somewhere and are frustrated to learn that without uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on their own policy, there may be no claim at all. Michigan also allows drivers to carry very low liability limits, so a driver who is technically insured may still not carry enough coverage to pay for a serious injury.
Part of this traces back to a 2020 change in Michigan law that removed mandatory unlimited medical coverage on auto policies. Rob has seen people choose lower coverage to save money on their premium, without realizing how much that choice limits what can be recovered if they are ever seriously hurt, either by their own coverage or someone else’s. It rarely costs much more to carry the higher coverage, and the difference shows up exactly when it matters most.
This is why Buchanan Firm looks at the at-fault driver’s coverage early in every case evaluation, not just liability and injury. A case can clear every other bar and still come down to whether there is anything to collect.
What Kinds of Cases Has Buchanan Firm Actually Turned Down?
Caiti Hill takes many of the calls that come into Buchanan Firm before anyone else does, and she has learned to recognize the shape of a case that will not move forward long before it reaches Rob’s desk. A look at some recent declined leads shows what that actually looks like in practice.
One recent case involved paramedics who did not bring oxygen and cardiac monitoring equipment into a home during a call, even though that equipment was sitting on the ambulance right outside. On its face, it looked like a clear failure. But claims against emergency responders in Michigan are held to a gross negligence standard, a higher bar than ordinary negligence, and having the right equipment nearby, even if it was not carried inside fast enough, did not clear that bar. The case was declined.
Other recent leads followed a similar pattern for different reasons. A HIPAA violation, real as the privacy breach was, did not involve a physical injury, so it did not meet the threshold a personal injury case requires. An old dental complaint and a rash complaint were also declined, situations where what happened may have been genuinely frustrating, but the resulting harm did not rise to the level Buchanan Firm’s three-part test requires.
Not every case that has not moved forward has been declined outright. Caiti recently fielded a call about a cortisone shot that resulted in nerve damage — a serious injury by any measure, but the case is not yet decided either way. When someone is still in rehab, occupational therapy, or physical therapy, Buchanan Firm often waits to see whether function returns before deciding whether to move forward. If she recovers and regains normal use, there may be no case left to pursue, regardless of how frightening the last year has been. If the damage turns out to be permanent, that is a very different conversation.
None of these calls were turned away carelessly. Each one went through the same evaluation as every case that does get taken.
Can a Case Still Be Worth Pursuing Even With a Complicated Medical History?
A complicated medical history or a thin-looking set of facts does not automatically mean a case is not worth pursuing, and assuming it does is one of the easiest mistakes to make from the outside. Caiti Hill has learned this firsthand. She often discusses potential cases with the team before deciding anything, because she has seen the team have different perspectives and insight. That instinct holds even when a client’s medical history looks complicated on paper — the kind of history a defense attorney could use to argue a bad outcome was connected to a pre-existing condition rather than a provider’s error. Rob’s approach is consistent: if something happened during treatment that should not happen, regardless of what else was going on with the patient, that is worth pursuing.
The same instinct applies when the facts themselves seem thin. In one medical malpractice case, a student nurse’s note that had gone unmentioned confirmed what had actually happened during treatment, turning a case that looked weak into one that was not. Rob applies the same scrutiny to corporate defendants, requesting the actual contracts behind a driver or worker labeled an independent contractor rather than accepting that label at face value, since that structure can shift responsibility away from the company that actually controlled the work.
A complicated history or a thin file changes how carefully a case has to be built. It does not mean Buchanan Firm passes on it by default.
Does a Pre-Existing Injury Disqualify a Michigan Car Accident Case?
A pre-existing injury does not automatically disqualify a car accident case in Michigan, but it does complicate how Buchanan Firm evaluates one. Leslie Caliguri, who evaluates cases alongside Rob, has said that vehicle accident claims allow more flexibility here than medical malpractice claims do, but the firm still has to make sure a defense attorney cannot credibly argue that an injury existed before the crash and was never really caused by it. If the medical records cannot separate what came before the accident from what the accident actually caused, that uncertainty alone can be enough to derail an otherwise strong case.
What Else Does Buchanan Firm Look at Before Taking a Case?
Passing the three-part legal test is not the end of Buchanan Firm’s evaluation. It is the start of an ongoing one. Leslie Caliguri, who works alongside Rob on every case the firm takes, keeps digging into the facts well past intake, because a case that looked solid on day one can change once more of the story is known. She has seen a defense attorney produce a set of medical records that were never part of the original request, records that forced the whole case to be re-evaluated with new information on the table.
That is part of why Buchanan Firm asks so many questions early: financial history for cases involving lost income, any relevant personal history, and yes, even a look at public social media. This is not about judging a client. It is about knowing everything the defense will eventually know, before it becomes a surprise in a deposition or at trial. A client who is upfront about a messy detail early gives the firm a chance to plan around it. A detail that surfaces later, after months of work, can undo a case that everyone believed was strong.
Is It Worth Pursuing a Case That Could Take Years?
Even when an injury clearly qualifies, one more honest question is worth asking before you pick up the phone: are you ready for how long this actually takes? Caiti Hill hears from people who expect the process to move the way it looks on television or a billboard, a quick settlement, a check within weeks. That is rarely how it works. Serious personal injury and medical malpractice cases in Michigan commonly take years to resolve, not months.
That timeline is part of why Buchanan Firm asks potential clients to think through their own readiness before moving forward, not just whether they have a case. Once you commit to pursuing one, you are committing to see it through, including depositions, expert reviews, and the possibility of trial, not just the initial call. The firm would rather have that conversation honestly up front than take on a client who is not prepared for what the next few years actually look like.
None of this is a reason to avoid pursuing a case that deserves it. It is a reason to walk in with accurate expectations instead of the version most people have seen on TV.
What If You're Not Ready to Pursue Your Case Right Now?
Being unsure whether you are ready to pursue a case is different from not having one, and Buchanan Firm treats those two situations differently. Caiti Hill has seen clients need real time before moving forward. One family dealing with a wrongful death case was too overwhelmed by grief to proceed right away, and the firm did not push. Not every delay works out as cleanly. One injury case involving a remote-control car stalled for close to two years because the client kept hesitating, and that kind of gap can make a case harder to move forward later, even when it does not expire outright.
That tension is real. Michigan’s filing deadlines do not pause for grief, recovery, or uncertainty, but that does not mean you have to have everything figured out before you call. Starting the conversation with Buchanan Firm does not commit you to filing a lawsuit that day. It preserves your options while you decide, and it means evidence gets gathered and records get reviewed while they are still easy to obtain, instead of waiting until distance makes that harder.
If you are grieving, still recovering, or simply not sure you are ready, that is a reasonable place to start from. It is not a reason to wait until the deadline is the only thing driving the decision.
What Happens If Buchanan Firm Says This Isn't a Case?
If Buchanan Firm reviews your situation and the answer is no, that costs you nothing. The consultation and case evaluation are always free, whether the firm takes the case or not, and there is no charge for the medical record review that goes into deciding either way.
A no is not a dismissal. It usually means one of the things covered above: the injury resolved, the deadline passed, there is nothing to collect, or the facts do not support the claim the way you hoped. Caiti, Leslie, and Rob will tell you plainly which one it is, and what your options look like from there, rather than leaving you to guess.
Buchanan Firm is selective about the cases it takes, not because every case matters less, but because taking on a case that will not hold up serves no one, not the client, not the firm. A firm willing to tell you no for free is more trustworthy than one that says yes to everything and sorts it out later.
Tell Us Your Story
If you are still not sure whether what happened to you is worth pursuing, that uncertainty is exactly what a first call is for. Tell Buchanan Firm your story, and the firm will review it honestly, free of charge, and tell you plainly where you stand, whether that means moving forward together or understanding exactly why you shouldn’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Michigan?
Most personal injury and vehicle accident claims must be filed within three years of the injury. Medical malpractice claims have a two-year window from the date of the alleged malpractice, plus a required notice of intent before a lawsuit can be filed.
Does it cost anything if Buchanan Firm decides not to take my case?
No. The consultation and case evaluation are always free, including the medical record review, whether or not the firm takes the case.
What if the person who hurt me doesn't have enough insurance to pay?
This is a real reason a case may not move forward the way you expect. Michigan allows low liability limits, and without uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, there may be no recovery even when fault is clear.
Can I still have a case if I had a pre-existing injury before my car accident?
A pre-existing injury does not automatically disqualify a Michigan car accident case, but the firm has to be able to separate what the crash caused from what existed before it.
Why would a personal injury case get turned down even if something clearly went wrong?
A real mistake is not always enough on its own. The injury also has to be significant, the claim has to still be within Michigan’s filing deadline, and there has to be a way to actually collect from the at-fault party.
Does Buchanan Firm re-evaluate a case after it's been accepted?
Yes. Evaluation continues throughout a case, not just at intake, since new medical records or facts can change how a case is understood well after it begins.