Michigan is a no-fault insurance state. It means that all car owners need to take no-fault insurance before the allotment of the license plate. Though this city sounds very friendly to car owners this way, but is not so in real when it comes to road accidents and subsequent damage to body and property. The rules are pretty different from other cities where you just go to the court of law when you get hurt and sue the accused. Here, you may require hiring a Michigan Auto Accident Lawyer to understand what entails in the legal procedures when you get involved in car accident.
Types of claims available
There are two types of claims that can be filed as per Michigan Law. These claims are classified as:
- First party claims
- Third party claims
In case of first party claims, you are entitled to reimbursement of all expenses of economic nature. You will get the insurance benefit that you bought for your car and for your personal injury in this case. That is, your first party claim will help you get monetary benefits for:
- Replacement costs: When you are out of action due to injury caused in an accident, you may require some helpers to do your everyday jobs. All those helpers’ expenses can be claimed in the first party claim.
- Medical treatment expenses: All the medical expenses that are uncovered by the insurance claims need to be claimed legal way with the help of Michigan auto accident lawyer.
- Loss of wages: You are entitled to compensation for loss of wages that incur due to your absence from job as an eventuality of road accident. You can get this compensation under the first party claim.
- Nursing care expenses: Your inability to move due to severe injuries can require appointing full-time nurse at home for rehabilitation. Thus, the expenses incurred in this are also reimbursable to you.
Third party claims have a bit different story. These claims are unique in the way that the person injured in the car accident is filing a claim from the insurance company of the accused and not his. He can make third party claim under two heads. First is the threshold injury situation in which he is entitled to compensation from the insurance company of the accused. Threshold injury means body is disfigured completely in accident or is seriously impaired. Injuries other than the threshold injury are covered under personal injury protection plan. This cover is a part of no-fault insurance.
Third party claims are possible to avail in Michigan because of the no-fault insurance policy adopted by this city. Because of this policy, the victim can ask the insurance company of the car owner who does the accident to provide him relief for all the instances as mentioned in first party claim. Only change is that nursing care expenses are replaced with pain and suffering compensation. You may need an auto accident lawyer to evaluate the mental and emotional stress caused by pain and other sufferings and convert it into an economic value to file a claim.
A lawyer can be of great help in filing these claims
Though the cases where terms of payment and liability of accident are clear do not require legal intervention, still the appointment of legal expert to understand the settlement points can help in understanding if you are compensated amply. In unclear situation, you definitely need the lawyer to do the homework for you before moving to the court and to represent you in the court when actual hearing happens. So, know your rights by appointing a lawyer to have secured future even after the accident.
