Michigan Auto Law attorney helps drivers wade through the insurance claim process after a crash

By On Feb 26, 2021

Brandon Hewitt is an attorney at Michigan Auto Law and said there are three types of auto insurance claims after an accident.

Anyone who has ever had a car accident knows how problematic the insurance claims process can be. Brandon Hewitt is an attorney at Michigan Auto Law and said there are three types of auto insurance claims after an accident:

1. Entitlement to no fault auto insurance benefits: They pay for your accident-related medical expenses, your lost wages if your injuries prevent you from returning to work, reimburse you for mileage and transport costs to and from your medical appointments, pay household replacement benefits, and pay for care services for your companion .

2. Entitlement to compensation for pain and suffering: That way, you can get compensation for your pain and suffering from the guilty driver who caused your car accident. It also enables you to reimburse excess medical expenses and excess lost wages and other economic damages.

3. Right to mini tort: That way, you can claim back up to $ 3,000 from the culpable driver’s insurance company (or the culpable driver himself if he does not have limited property damage cover) for your vehicle damage repair costs – that has not yet been insured.

Hewitt said drivers don’t necessarily need a lawyer to file an auto insurance claim:

1. No-fault advantages: In general, you don’t need to hire an attorney to obtain your statutory clawback when requesting an error-free reimbursement of medical bills and lost wages

2. Pain and Suffering: You must hire a lawyer to help you resolve pain and suffering compensation, excessive medical costs and excessive loss of wages against the insurance company of the culpable, negligent driver who caused the accident.

3. Mini error: Generally speaking, if you advocate a mini-tort, you don’t need to hire a lawyer to get the recovery you are legally entitled to.

Hewitt talked about the details drivers need to know in order to make the three types of claims:

• • Submitting an Application for No Fault Benefits: The procedure for claiming vehicle insurance for reclaiming no-fault benefits begins with submitting an application for no-fault benefits to the responsible vehicle insurance company within one (1) year after the accident (also known as a “written Notification of Infringement ”). (MCL 500.3145 (1) and (4))

• • Errors when submitting an application for no fault benefits: If you do not apply, you will lose your statutory rights to all no-fault benefits.

• • Identification of the responsible motor vehicle insurance company: (1) If you drive your own car, you will get benefits from your auto insurance that covers your car. (2) If you are driving someone else’s car or are a passenger, seek benefits from your auto insurance, the insurance company for your spouse or relative who lives in your home, or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan; (3) If you are a pedestrian or cyclist, you will receive benefits from your auto insurance, the insurance company for your spouse or relative who lives in your home, or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. and (4) If you are a motorcyclist, you will be eligible for benefits with the vehicle owner and / or operator’s insurer or with the motorcyclist operator and / or owner auto insurance company or the Michigan Assigned No-Fault benefit plan.

• If your auto insurance denies your no-fault benefits and your insurer refuses to pay your no-fault benefits, you can hire an attorney to bring a first-time lawsuit in court for unpaid and overdue no-fault benefits.

• Your lawsuit against car insurance for unpaid, overdue benefits must be initiated within one (1) year after the last doctor’s bill, loss of wages, mileage, replacement service or escort service. (MCL 500.3145 (2))

• negligence: To restore compensation for pain and suffering, you must prove that the culprit driver was negligent and was 50% or more at fault.

• Offense threshold: In particular, in order to restore compensation for pain and suffering, you must comply with the No Fault Act threshold, which requires you to prove that you have suffered “severe physical impairment”.

• • Three years to submit: Recovering from pain and compensating the culpable driver who caused your accident involves filing a lawsuit against him or her and the insurance company that took out their liability insurance within three years of the accident.

• • Policy restrictions: An important factor that affects the amount of your bill are the limit values for the liability insurance of the culpable driver. However, if your compensation exceeds liability insurance, you may be able to apply for a recovery of the culpable driver’s personal property.

• • $ 3,000: Your mini-tort lawsuit against the culpable driver for the cost of repairing your vehicle damage is limited to a maximum redress of $ 3,000 for damage not otherwise covered by insurance.

• • Error: You need to prove that the other driver caused the car accident that resulted in vehicle damage. This means that the other driver was 50% or more to blame

• • Your car insurance: You must be able to prove that you were properly insured under the No Fault Act at the time of the car accident that resulted in vehicle damage

• Submission of your claim: You will make your claim with the driver’s car insurance. However, if he or she does not have limited property damage cover (i.e. mini-tort cover), you will submit your claim directly to the culpable driver.

• • Small Claims Court: If either the culpable driver’s car insurance or the culpable driver refuses to pay your mini-tort, you will need to file a mini-tort to the minor offenses court.

For help from an attorney, visit www.MichiganAutoLaw.com.

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