Koussan Law

11/04/2026

New guide: Tabletop Fire Pit Burns in Michigan. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has told owners of alcohol-fueled tabletop fire pits to stop using them, and it counts "two deaths and at least 60 injuries since 2019." Our guide collects every CPSC recall and warning in the agency's own words, explains why refueling is the dangerous moment, lists what to keep if someone was burned, and sets out what Michigan law says about a product liability claim and the three-year deadline.
If a tabletop fire pit exploded or flame-jetted and burned you or a family member in Michigan, start here.
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

CPSC says stop using alcohol-fueled tabletop fire pits: two deaths, at least 60 injuries since 2019. What Michigan law says if one exploded on you.

11/03/2026

If you own a small tabletop fire pit that burns rubbing alcohol or other liquid fuel poured into an open bowl, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has one instruction: "Consumers should immediately stop using and dispose of these products." (CPSC consumer alert 25-074, December 19, 2024)
The warning covers the whole category, not one brand. If one of these exploded or flame-jetted and burned you or someone in your family in Michigan, our guide explains what the CPSC has said and what to do now.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/tabletop-fire-pit-burn-injury-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=firepit-2026-11&utm_content=stop-using
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

11/03/2026

"I'm fine." It is the most common thing people say after a Michigan crash, and it can be one of the most expensive.

At the scene, adrenaline does its job. Plenty of crash injuries, a neck or back injury, a concussion, a shoulder, do not announce themselves until hours or days later. By then the police report, the insurer's first notes and sometimes a recorded statement already say you were not hurt.

Three things protect you.

Get checked the same day or the next, even if you feel okay, and tell the doctor it was a car crash. A gap between the crash and the first visit is the first thing an insurer points to.

Say what is true and nothing more. "I'm not sure yet" is an honest answer.

Put your own no-fault insurer on written notice. Under MCL 500.3145, unless your insurer has already paid benefits, a PIP claim generally needs written notice of the injury to your insurer within one year of the accident. Waiting to see how you feel is how people run out the clock.

https://www.k-law.com/services/michigan-no-fault-pip-claims?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=evergreen

Koussan Law. Detroit, Dearborn Heights and Marquette. English, Spanish and Arabic. (313) 800-0000.

Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

11/02/2026

After a serious truck crash in Michigan, the evidence that decides the case is mostly in the trucking company's hands, and federal rules only require it to be kept for a limited time: driver logs 6 months, the driver's inspection reports 3 months, maintenance records 1 year. Engine computer data, dashcam video and nearby business video have no retention rule at all.

Michigan applies the same federal rules to carriers that never leave the state (MCL 480.11a).

That gap is the trap: a family can have years to file a claim and lose the proof in months. Here is the full evidence clock, and what to do in the first week.

https://www.k-law.com/blogs/truck-crash-evidence-michigan-what-carriers-must-keep?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blog&utm_content=truck-crash-evidence-michigan-what-carriers-must-keep

Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

Federal rules let a trucking company discard driver logs after 6 months and inspection reports after 3. Some crash data has no rule at all. Here is the clock.

10/31/2026

Myth: the company's insurer will take care of it.
The adjuster who calls after a truck crash works for the carrier's insurer, and the recorded statement they ask for in week one is for their file, not yours. You can decline it.
Your own no-fault insurer handles the medical bills. The carrier's insurer hears from a lawyer.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/who-pays-catastrophic-commercial-vehicle-crash-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=commercial-vehicle
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

10/30/2026

She described a monster: bigger than her, with teeth an inch long. Then the monster showed up. 😳

Meet Magnus, 2.5 lbs of pure terror.

On a serious note: in Michigan, a dog's owner can be held responsible for a bite even if the dog never bit anyone before. Bitten by a real dog? Call Koussan Law at (313) 800-0000.

https://k-law.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=vicious-dog-skit

10/30/2026

What a Michigan wrongful death claim pays: funeral and burial costs, the conscious pain and suffering the person went through before death, the financial support the family lost, and the loss of society and companionship (MCL 600.2922(6)).
It does not pay the lifetime earnings of the person who died as a separate item; the Supreme Court settled that in Daher v Prime Healthcare (2024). The claim belongs to the estate, and the probate court decides who may bring it.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/who-pays-catastrophic-commercial-vehicle-crash-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=commercial-vehicle
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

10/29/2026

A city answers for its own driver.
Michigan's governmental immunity act has a motor-vehicle exception: a city, county or state agency is liable for bodily injury caused by the negligent operation of its own vehicle (MCL 691.1405). A police pursuit that ends in someone else's crash is judged by a different rule, and the deadlines are shorter than in an ordinary car case.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/police-car-ambulance-crash-michigan-can-you-sue?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=commercial-vehicle
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

10/28/2026

That Amazon van is usually not driven by an Amazon employee.
Most routes run through a delivery service partner, a separate company that employs the driver. After a crash the question is who controlled the route, the quota and the vehicle, because that decides which company and which policy answer for the injury.
Your own no-fault policy pays the medical bills first either way.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/amazon-delivery-vehicle-accidents?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=commercial-vehicle
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.

10/27/2026

A claim against SMART for a bus crash needs written notice within 60 days of the injury (MCL 124.419). Not three years. Sixty days.
The Michigan Supreme Court enforced that deadline in Atkins v SMART (2012), and the claim is gone without it. If a transit bus hurt you or someone in your family, the notice has to go out before almost anything else.
https://www.k-law.com/blogs/who-pays-catastrophic-commercial-vehicle-crash-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=commercial-vehicle
Educational only, not legal advice. Attorney advertising.