If you were hurt in the Clinton Township warehouse explosion — or if you lost someone — you’re probably dealing with more questions than answers right now. Medical bills are stacking up. You may have missed weeks of work. And the criminal case moving through the courts doesn’t automatically put money in your pocket.
As reported by the Macomb Daily, a Clinton Township businessman has been bound over again in connection with the warehouse explosion in Macomb County. That means a judge has found enough evidence to send the case to trial — again. The criminal proceedings are ongoing, which tells you two things: this incident was serious enough to sustain felony charges, and the legal process is far from over.
Here’s what victims need to understand. A criminal case and a civil personal injury case are two entirely different tracks. You don’t have to wait for a conviction to pursue compensation. And you shouldn’t wait.
The Criminal Case vs. Your Civil Claim
When someone is criminally charged after an explosion like this, the prosecutor’s job is to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s the state’s case — not yours. Your civil case runs on a different standard. In Michigan, a personal injury plaintiff has to show that it’s more likely than not that the defendant’s negligence caused harm. That’s a lower bar, and it’s your bar to clear.
A criminal conviction can strengthen a civil claim. But the absence of one doesn’t kill it. Victims have won civil judgments even when criminal charges were dropped or reduced. These are parallel tracks, not the same road.
Who Can File a Claim After a Warehouse Explosion
If you were inside the building, nearby when the blast occurred, or a first responder who was injured, you may have a valid personal injury claim. Families who lost a loved one may have a wrongful death claim.
Potential defendants in a warehouse explosion case can include:
- The property owner
- The business operator
- A contractor who did substandard work on the building’s systems
- A manufacturer if defective equipment caused or worsened the explosion
- A property management company
Multiple parties can share legal responsibility. Michigan law allows for that.
What You Need to Prove
A successful personal injury claim in Michigan generally requires four things:
- The defendant had a duty to keep people safe
- They breached that duty — through negligence, recklessness, or knowing disregard for safety
- That breach caused your injuries
- You suffered real, documented harm
In an industrial explosion case, duty and breach often aren’t hard to establish if the property was mismanaged or if safety codes were ignored. The harder work is documenting your injuries thoroughly and connecting them directly to the explosion.
Types of Compensation Victims Can Seek
Michigan personal injury law allows injured parties to seek damages for:
- Medical expenses — emergency care, surgeries, rehabilitation, ongoing treatment
- Lost wages — income you couldn’t earn while recovering
- Future lost earnings — if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term
- Pain and suffering — under MCL 500.3135, non-economic damages are available when injuries cross a threshold of serious impairment of body function
- Property damage
- Wrongful death damages — if a family member died, Michigan’s wrongful death statute allows the estate to recover for loss of companionship, financial support, and related losses
If you want a clearer sense of what your case might be worth, read about how Michigan courts approach personal injury case value — the answer depends on factors specific to your situation.
The Statute of Limitations — Don’t Lose Your Window
Under MCL 600.5805(2), Michigan gives personal injury victims three years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. Miss that deadline and your claim is gone — regardless of how strong your case is.
Three years sounds like a long time. It isn’t, once you factor in how long it takes to gather evidence, identify all liable parties, and complete medical treatment far enough to understand the full scope of your damages. Read more about how Michigan’s statute of limitations works in accident cases — the principles apply across most personal injury matters.
Wrongful death claims have a different calculation. Talk to an attorney about your specific situation.
What to Do If You Were Hurt
- Get medical care and keep every record. Emergency room notes, imaging results, prescription receipts, follow-up visit summaries — all of it matters.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to anyone’s insurance company without talking to a lawyer first. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that minimize your claim. Here’s why that recorded statement can hurt you.
- Document everything you can. Photos of injuries, notes about symptoms, records of missed work days, names of witnesses.
- Talk to an attorney before you sign anything. Settlement offers come fast sometimes, especially when injuries are serious. A first offer is almost never the right offer.
For a step-by-step breakdown of what to do in the immediate aftermath of any serious injury, this post on steps to take after an injury walks through the process clearly.
If You’ve Had Injuries That Took Time to Show Up
Explosion-related injuries aren’t always obvious right away. Blast pressure can damage hearing, lungs, and soft tissue in ways that don’t fully surface until days later. Burns may be more serious than they initially appear. Psychological trauma — anxiety, PTSD, sleep disruption — is real and compensable.
Don’t let an insurer tell you that because you walked away from the scene, you weren’t badly hurt. Delayed injury symptoms after a serious incident are well-documented, and a good attorney knows how to build a record around them.
According to the CDC’s research on blast injuries, explosive events cause a distinct pattern of trauma — primary blast injury from the pressure wave, secondary injuries from flying debris, tertiary injuries from being thrown, and quaternary effects like burns and toxic exposure. Each category can create lasting harm that may not be fully visible in the first days after the event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to wait for the criminal case to finish before I can file a civil claim?
No. Civil and criminal cases move independently of each other. You can file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit while the criminal proceedings are still active. In fact, waiting for the criminal case to resolve could push you closer to the statute of limitations deadline.
What if I was a bystander or nearby worker, not inside the building?
You may still have a claim. If the explosion caused you physical harm — from debris, a pressure wave, fire, or toxic exposure — proximity can be enough to establish that you were within the zone of danger created by someone else’s negligence.
Can I file a claim if my family member died in the explosion?
Yes. Michigan’s wrongful death act allows the estate of the deceased to bring a claim. Recoverable damages include loss of financial support, loss of companionship and society, funeral and burial costs, and the decedent’s own pain and suffering before death. These cases are time-sensitive — speak with an attorney as soon as possible.
What if I was partially at fault?
Michigan follows a modified comparative fault rule. If you were partially responsible, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. You can still recover as long as you are not found to be more than 50% at fault. This is a nuanced area where an attorney’s guidance matters.
How much does it cost to hire a personal injury attorney for this type of case?
Most personal injury attorneys, including Khamo Law, work on a contingency fee — meaning you pay nothing upfront and only owe a fee if your case resolves in your favor. Here’s how attorney fees actually work in Michigan personal injury cases so you know what to expect.
What if I have a pre-existing condition that the explosion made worse?
You can still recover for the aggravation of a pre-existing condition. Michigan law doesn’t require you to have been in perfect health before the incident. How pre-existing conditions affect your personal injury claim explains how this plays out in practice.
If you were hurt in the Clinton Township warehouse explosion, or if you lost a family member, talk to us before you sign anything. Khamo Law, PLLC offers a free consultation — call 248-466-0606 or message us through the contact form. We serve Clinton Township, Warren, Sterling Heights, and Macomb County. Our team includes Arabic-speaking and Chaldean-speaking attorneys who can speak with you in your language.