After the Crash: Is Your Insurance Company Telling You about All Benefits Available?

The Michigan No-Fault Law allows persons injured in a Michigan auto accident to seek the following Personal Protection Insurance (PIP) benefits from their own insurance company:

 

(1). Medical expenses;

(2)  Incidental expenses necessary for medical care and treatment (such as private nurses, home aides, family member reimbursement for providing necessary care);

(3). Wage loss benefits for an injured claimant;

(4)   Transportation costs (to and from treatments);

(5).  Home modifications (for example, wheelchair ramp);

(6).  Survivor’s loss benefits in cases of death;

(7).  Replacement services (cooking, cleaning, and lawn care) up to $20 per day (very often overlooked);

(8). Other benefits related to necessary and reasonable treatment (for example, food and lodging for a severely injured person requiring 24 hour care in a treatment facility).

After an auto accident it is important to contact your insurance company claim’s department and make a formal claim for benefits.  Under Michigan law, waiting for more than a year to make claims for PIP benefits may limit your eligibility for full benefits.  The law requires that the benefits you are seeking to be necessary for medical care and treatment, reasonable, and related to the auto accident.  In special circumstances other benefits not listed above will also be paid but it may be necessary to consult with an attorney in order to secure payment from your insurance company.

Pain and Suffering Damages and Wage Loss benefits beyond three years are recovered from the Negligent Driver’s insurance company rather than your own insurance company.  A separate claim must be made to recover for these damages and you can only recover these damages if you are seriously injured and your injuries meet Michigan’s threshold of injury level.   

http://www.michiganautoaccident.com/Practice-Area/Common-Injuries.shtml

Michigan Pedestrian Auto Accidents

On average, 179 pedestrians are killed each year in Michigan and over 3,000 pedestrians are injured.  Surprisingly, over 22% of Michigan pedestrian fatalities occurred in the City of Detroit when Detroit only has about 10% of the State's population.  Over 33% of pedestrian facilities and over 175 injuries occurred in Wayne County.

Many Michigan cities are implementing the suggestions from the State of Michigan's Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan by installing mid-street pedestrian refuge islands, installing more lighted crosswalks, and even installing pedestrian activated traffic signals for non-intersection cross walks.

Michigan pedestrians need to realize that Michigan is a comparative negligence jurisdiction and if they are struck by a car this means that their own negligence may be considered by the jury.  A jury may consider the fact that the pedestrian was listening to loud music and wearing earphones, talking on the phone, or crossing mid-street instead of at a cross-walk or intersection.  An injured pedestrian's damage award may be reduced by the percentage that a jury finds the pedestrian at-fault vs. the fault of the driver of the automobile.

http://www.michiganautoaccident.com/Practice-Area/Common-Injuries.shtml

Are Distracting Digital Billboards Causing Auto Accidents?

Recently, Ms. Rebekah Warren, State Representative from Ann Arbor, introduced a proposal to the legislature to place a two year moratorium on building more digital billboards in the State of Michigan.  Ms. Warren stated:  “We are moving so quickly into this digital age...We are being cautious in state legislatures around the country on how we keep drivers focused on the road."  Across the country 15 cities have banned digital billboards and 6 cities have placed moratoriums on constructing more based on the belief that digital billboards are specifically designed to draw drivers' attention from the road.  Currently, the Federal Highway Administration is conducting a study using instrumentation that tracts drivers' eyes to determine how much of a risk digital billboards pose to the average driver based on how long the eyes are distracted from the road.  The study should be completed by the end of the summer. No conclusive studies have been done thus far to determine how much of a risk digital billboards actually pose and whether there is a marked increase in accidents near currently existing digital billboards.
See our website for more information on dangers of distracted driving:
http://www.michiganautoaccident.com/Practice-Area/Rear-End-Collisions.shtml