The laws that govern
Michigan truck accidents are long and complex. Often, the terms spoken by insurance agents and lawyers can be confusing.
Two important terms you need to know are:
- First-Party Benefits
- Third-Party Benefits
Michigan is a “No-Fault Insurance” state. This means that your own insurance company pays most of your economic damages resulting from a
Michigan truck accident , whether or not you were at fault. These economic benefits are called First-Party Benefits.
At the same time, Third-Party Benefits usually cover non-economic losses, including damages for pain and suffering for injuries you suffered from a
Michigan truck accident . Both of these types of benefits are described in detail below.
The Michigan law defining First-Party Benefits states:
First-Party Benefits are payable to anyone who suffers an injury arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle.
The following analysis looks at:
Michigan First-Party Order of Priority After a Michigan Truck Accident
Although your own insurance is first in line to pay in a
Michigan truck accident , there are times when an uninsured individual is an innocent passenger in a motor vehicle. In these circumstances, determining who is responsible to pay Michigan No-Fault Benefits can be complicated.
If you have questions about how these complex rules apply to you, contact an experienced
Michigan truck accident lawyer .
Please click here to make out a simple, free and confidential legal consultation form about your Michigan truck accident claim to get help now.
Driver or Passenger Order of Priority for Payment of First-Party Benefits After a Michigan Truck Accident
- 1st priority is your own insurance policy, if none then...
- 2nd priority is the insurance company of a resident relative (i.e. spouse, parent, or sibling), if none then...
- 3rd priority is the insurer of the owner of the vehicle occupied, if none then...
- 4th priority is the insurer of the driver of the vehicle occupied, if none then...
- 5th priority is the State of Michigan Assigned Claims Facility.
Pedestrian Order of Priority for Payment of First-Party Benefits After a Michigan Truck Accident
- 1st priority is your own insurance, if none then...
- 2nd priority is the insurance company of a resident relative (i.e. spouse, parent, or sibling), if none then...
- 3rd priority is the insurer of the owner of the truck involved in the accident, if none then...
- 4th priority is the insurer of the driver of the truck involved in the accident, if none then...
- 5th priority is the State of Michigan Assigned Claims Facility.
- 1st priority is the insurer of the owner of the truck involved in the accident, if none then...
- 2nd priority is the insurer of the driver of the truck involved in the accident, if none then...
- 3rd priority is the motor vehicle insurer of the driver of the motorcycle involved in the accident, if none then...
- 4th priority is the motor vehicle insurer of the owner of the motorcycle involved in the accident, if none then...
- 5th priority is the State of Michigan Assigned Claims Facility.
The Michigan Assigned Claims Facility is a State Agency with the power to assign an insurance company to provide First-Party Benefits, if an injured Michigan truck accident victim cannot obtain benefits from other sources. However, uninsured drivers who were operating motor vehicles that they owned at the time of the
Michigan truck accident do not qualify for Michigan Assigned Claim Facility assistance.
To apply for Assigned Claims Benefits, call the Michigan Assigned Claim Facility directly at 517-322-1875.
To qualify for medical expense reimbursement, a medical bill must be reasonable (in cost and necessity) and the bill must be actually incurred. Michigan law does not provide for guaranteed pre-payment of bills for treatment of injuries resulting from a
Michigan truck accident . Sometimes, an insurance company will try to escape its responsibility, by questioning the need for a medical test or procedure ordered by your physician, or by disputing the amount of the medical bill.
Michigan No-Fault insurance companies offer two types of medical coverage:
- Uncoordinated benefits.
- Coordinated benefits.
An
uncoordinated policy pays benefits, regardless of the presence of other health insurance. A
coordinated policy requires your other health insurance to pay first, and your automobile insurance to pay amounts that your primary insurer does not cover. Your insurance policy states which type of benefits you should receive.
It is common for a primary health insurance policy and a motor vehicle insurance policy to contain contradictory language about which one has the first obligation to pay medical bills for the injuries you suffered from the
Michigan truck accident . Meanwhile, a motor vehicle insurance company may escape its obligation to pay a bill that it does not receive within one year of the date that you got the medical treatment.
If you have questions about this, or find that neither insurance company is paying your medical bills in a timely manner, it is important to talk with an experienced
Michigan truck accident attorney immediately.
Please click here to make out a simple, free and confidential legal consultation form about your Michigan truck accident claim to get help now.
Wage Loss Benefits for the Michigan Truck Accident Victim
The Michigan No-Fault Law allows an injured individual to receive 85% of his or her lost wages, if a doctor found the victim disabled from work due to injuries suffered in the
Michigan truck accident . This benefit lasts up to 3 years. The wage loss benefit rate is set at 85%, rather than 100%, of lost earnings because the benefit is tax-free. The law also sets a monthly cap on the amount of lost wages that the insurance company must reimburse.
Michigan law requires a No-Fault insurance company to pay for attendant care (also known as nursing services) for an injured victim who needs supervision or assistance while recovering at home from injuries caused by a
Michigan truck accident . A severely injured person may even need around-the-clock supervision.
A caregiver who is a member of the victim’s family is entitled to reimbursement for attendant care services. Although the law does not set a specific hourly rate for the caregiver, the reimbursement should reflect the type and complexity of the services that the injured person receives.
This term refers to reimbursement for services that you would have performed on your own, if you were not injured in a
Michigan truck accident . If you paid or promised to pay for household services, chores, errands, etc., which you usually accomplished on your own, then you may be entitled to reimbursement for these expenses.
Your physician will need to provide a written statement identifying the tasks you are unable to do on your own, because of the injuries you suffered in the Michigan truck accident. In addition, your insurance company may require documentation of who performed which services.
Michigan law states that an insurance company is obligated to reimburse up to $20 per day for replacement services and that these benefits last for up to three years.
Mileage Reimbursement for the Michigan Truck Accident Victim
Often, proper medical treatment, tests, and physical therapy require an injured person to travel long distances. Michigan No-Fault law provides for the reimbursement for mileage traveled to and from this medical care.
While First-Party Benefits cover most economic losses from a
Michigan truck accident , Third-Party Benefits provide damages for pain and suffering, scarring, disfigurement, or death, as well as wage loss in excess of 3 years.
A Third-Party legal claim is filed against the driver whose negligence caused the
Michigan truck accident . With the exception of excess wage loss, the damages claimed in a Third-Party lawsuit compensate the
Michigan truck accident victim for non-economic loss.
In Michigan, to prevail in a claim against a careless driver for the non-economic damages resulting from a
Michigan truck acident , the injured victim must show that he or she suffered a "threshold injury." State law defines this as:
A serious impairment of an important body function, serious disfigurement or scarring, or death.
It is very common for the insurance company adjusters and attorneys who represent the negligent truck driver to assert that an injury is not a “serious impairment of a body function.”
