New Buffalo Car Accident Lawyer
Guy DiMartino Law is a licensed attorney who helps clients navigate their car accident claims in New Buffalo, MI. Car accidents can happen fast and it is important to understand your rights after an occurrence. One minute you are driving on US 12 and the next minute you are involved in a car accident. There is nothing that can prepare you for a car accident, it is not something that you can practice. It is also difficult to liaison between the landscape of insurance companies, body shops and doctors. If this is where you find yourself after a New Buffalo car crash, consider consulting with an experienced Southwest Michigan Car Accident attorney.
Why Should You Hire A New Buffalo Car Accident Attorney?
It is always best to hire a local attorney that knows the healthcare providers in the area. Car accidents that happen in Michigan are governed by Michigan’s no-fault, which is a complex insurance program. Even more important, is that people involved in accidents mistakenly believe that since Michigan is a no-fault state, that no-fault benefits are all they are entitled to, which is often not true.
If you’ve been injured because of a negligent at-fault driver, you may be entitled to two types of claims: (1) a claim against your insurance company – for no-fault benefits; and (2) a claim against the other driver’s insurance company. The no-fault claim is called a first-party claim, and the claim against the other driver is called a third-party claim.
Michigan No-Fault Benefits Include:
- Allowable Expenses: Medical and rehabilitation expenses that are necessary for the care and recovery of the person involved in the crash.
- Wage/Work Loss Damages: You can get these benefits for up to 3-years at 85% of the injured person’s prior wages or a statutory maximum of $6,615 per month from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023.
- Replacement Services: $20 per day for the care of the home and help with household tasks.
- Survivor’s loss benefits: This is the same as the wage/work loss benefit. It provides money for the survivor’s death to help support dependents.
Third Party Claim – Liability Claim
In a crash caused by a negligent or reckless driver (at-fault) driver, you may be entitled to bring a negligence claim against the at-fault driver. In these claims, the injured person can receive:
- Pain and Suffering (non-economic) Damages: In order to receive money for pain and suffering the injured person has to meet threshold, which includes:
- Death;
- Permanent disfigurement; or
- Serious impairment of a body function
- Excess economic loss damages: This pays for lost income above no-fault benefits.
Types of Injuries That Will Meet the No-fault Threshold
- Traumatic brain injury with residual neurological changes
- Permanent nerve damage
- Femur Fracture
- Clavicle Fracture
- Disc herniation in the back with nerve damage in the leg
- Disc herniation in the neck with nerve damage in the arm
- Loss of a spleen
- Chronic injury to the biceps muscle
- A toe injury that impacted the injured person’s ability to walk
The issue of serious impairment of a bodily function is fact specific. A specific injury can cause different residual problems in people. In order to support this claim, it is important that the injury is documented objectively (X-Ray, CT Scan, MRI, Surgery), and that the injured person has some residual limitation in function related to the injury. If the injured person broke a bone and healed in a couple of months with no residual limitation, that person will not be able to meet the threshold requirement for pain and suffering.
The intricacies of the No-Fault regarding prompt evaluation of a patient’s medical records to determine if the facts supporting pain and suffering are within the records and if they are not within the records, making sure that the patient sees a specialist who can address these issues.
