Were you seriously injured in an automobile accident in Michigan?

Hello. My name is Bob Garvey. I’m an attorney in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. I have a state wide practice in personal injury law. One of the areas I limit my practice to is automobile negligence cases.Â Michigan has sort of difficult to understand, but really not, if you get the idea that every auto accident in Michigan presents the opportunity for two claims. Most importantly if you’re injured in an auto accident in Michigan you will generally go to your own insurance carrier for three benefits.

The first and most important is that you have medical coverage for the rest of your life without regard to fault. So if you’re seriously injured in an automobile accident in Michigan I hate to say it but Michigan is a great place to be involved in an auto accident in terms of the protection and the coverage that you have.Â You have coverage for the rest of your life for medical bills as long as it’s related to the accident.

Second thing you have in Michigan if you’re involved in an auto accident, if you’ve suffered wage loss.Â There’s coverage for wage loss, for up to three years, 85% of your former weekly wage, and it’s non-taxable to you.

The third benefit that you have in Michigan from your own insurance carrier without regard to fault are what are called replacement services. These are household services, cooking, cleaning, shoveling the snow, cutting grass, raking leaves, dishes, cooking. They’ll pay up to $20 per day for up to three years. Again, that’s your own company, your own insurance company; it’s without regard to fault.

There are instances where you go to the other person’s insurance company, but in the vast majority of time, you’re going to your own insurance company. But you may not have insurance,then you’re going to another carrier.

The second case that you may have in Michigan is a result of a motor vehicle accident, is what people traditionally think of as a lawsuit.Â I’m disabled, I have chronic pain. I have a closed head injury. I’ve lost a function of my hand. Those are terrible injuries. And experience pain and suffering and concern and worry.Â You can sue the driver, the at-fault driver of the auto accident in addition to getting these benefits that we spoke about from your own company.Â In that second case, where you’re suing for your pain and suffering, your mental distress, your disability, the fact that you can no longer engage in sporting activities, you have to demonstrate that you’ve had a serious injury, they call it a serious impairment of a body function. Once you establish that threshold injury, it’s what they call it, you can get whatever’s reasonable, if your pain and suffering, distress, disability.Â So that you would have to show a fault in that case, and you’d have to show a certain level of seriousness to your injury. And of course, that’s where your personal injury lawyer comes in. And we limit our practice to personal injury litigation in Michigan. I personally taught that course for 7 years at the University of Detroit Law school. So, if you have questions, please give us a call. Thank you.