Top 10 Michigan Auto Accident Guide

Things You Must Know if Injured in a Michigan Car Accident

by Steven M. Gursten

Note:
In addition to the following Top 10 Guide, a Michigan Car Accident Checklist is available for victims to use at the scene of an auto accident. The checklist can be printed or downloaded for reference, and placed in your glove box. The following information has been prepared by Michigan auto accident attorneys to assist car accident victims. If you have questions or wish to speak to an auto accident lawyer directly about your circumstances, please call Michigan Auto Law at (800) 777-0028.

Michigan car accident victims must show impairment — not pain. You only have ONE YEAR to apply for benefits. You have only three years to file a lawsuit — but you may have much less! Document all injuries (even minor ones) on your application for benefits. Prompt medical attention for ALL injuries is essential. Don't hide and don't lie. Expect surveillance. Misrepresent and lose your "right to sue." "Right to use" an uninsured vehicle may cost your "right to sue." Communication is vital.

1. Michigan car accident victims must show impairment — not pain.

Michigan law requires that victims injured in a car or truck accident show a “serious impairment of body function.” This means someone can be completely innocent and in pain every day, but if he cannot show how his life is different after the auto accident, it is unlikely he will have a successful Michigan car accident case.

How do Michigan auto accident attorneys and victims demonstrate “impairment?” Demonstrating impairment is the most important way to have a successful case for injuries sustained from a car accident in Michigan. Impairment is commonly referred to as “lifestyle impact.” The more ways you can show changes in your normal daily life, the easier it is to show how the car accident has affected your life. Courts will look at factors such as amount of time off of work, type and length of medical treatment, and what effect the car accident had on the ability to perform hobbies, interests, and recreational activities performed prior to the accident.

2. Michigan no-fault law has a ONE YEAR time limit to apply for benefits.

Michigan no-fault law (also called a first-party or personal injury protection (PIP) case), is responsible for important benefits such as wage loss, medical bills, replacement services and mileage. Attendant care may also be payable, based upon the severity of the injuries.

All Michigan auto accident victims have only one year to file an application for benefits, regardless of age or competency. And all incurred Michigan no-fault benefits must be paid within one year of the date the service is incurred. If an incurred expense remains unpaid by your no-fault insurance company after one year, and a lawsuit for no-fault benefits has not been filed on your behalf, then the amount owing is time-barred. No exceptions, meaning it is too late to ever file a lawsuit to recover those benefits that have now been lost forever.

This is because tolling — which allowed insurance adjusters to investigate claims, and auto accident attorneys to negotiate settlements for medical bills and other expenses that ran past the one-year statute of limitations of MCL 500.3145(1) — was eliminated when the Michigan Supreme Court issued Devillers v. ACIA. The ruling overturned existing case law that allowed for tolling of medical bills, wage loss and other important Michigan no-fault benefits, until there was a formal denial by the no-fault insurance company. Previously, tolling prevented these bills from becoming time-barred by the one-year statute of limitations.

Again, because of Devillers, there is a strict one-year rule in Michigan: If a submitted expense is not paid within one year of the date it is incurred, you can’t ever file a lawsuit to recover those lost benefits.

This strict one-year rule also applies when a no-fault application for benefits must be filed, thanks to another terrible decision Cameron v. Auto Club Insurance Association. After Cameron, the one-year rule now also applies to minors and to those who are found mentally incompetent or disabled. For example, both a child and a truck accident victim in comas for a year due to a disabling traumatic brain injury would lose the right to receive Michigan no-fault benefits — if an application for benefits had not been filed with the correct no-fault insurer within one year of the auto accident.

3. You have THREE YEARS (or less) to file a lawsuit for injuries from Michigan auto accident.

Michigan auto accident victims have three years to file a lawsuit for injuries sustained from an auto accident. But in reality, injured victims may have much less time than that. Here’s the reason: Many Michigan car accident victims have two additional types of coverage called Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM or UIM). These options may have notice provisions that are far less than the one-year statute of limitations in first-party no-fault cases, or the three-year statute of limitations in filing a tort lawsuit against a negligent driver.

Michigan courts have repeatedly ruled that because UM and UIM are “optional” types of coverage, the insurance policy’s contract language controls the notice and filing requirements. Courts have upheld contractual provisions requiring a lawsuit be filed within one year from the date of the motor vehicle accident for underinsured motorist benefits. On the other hand, Michigan courts have held that notice provisions to the auto insurance company within only two weeks are valid under Michigan law — regardless of the severity of the personal injuries, or a very reasonable explanation for why notice was not provided.

Please be sure to check your auto insurance policy immediately after you are involved in a car crash, so you can provide timely notice to your insurance company. If you have any questions regarding the contractual provisions in your insurance policy regarding filing requirements or notice periods, consult with an auto accident attorney who is experienced in Michigan auto negligence law immediately. Please call Michigan Auto Law at (800) 777-0028 for help.

Additionally, if you currently do not have UM or UIM, please protect yourself now. If you or a loved one is ever involved in a serious car or truck accident, these may be the most important types of insurance coverage you can have.

4. All auto accident injuries (even minor ones) must be documented on no-fault application for benefits.

In 2004, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in Ross v. Allstate that a person who suffered injuries in a car accident but who FAILED TO GIVE SPECIFIC NOTICE OF EACH OF THOSE INJURIES to his no-fault insurance company within one year, was later barred from having his no-fault insurer pay medical bills for those injuries. Ross v. Allstate is an important example of how dangerous it can be for people who are hurt in auto accidents and fail to report all of their injuries to their insurance company. 

For people who have suffered closed-head injuries or mild traumatic brain injury, a more common problem is that important symptoms are often not documented early in medical records or reported to doctors, so payment for medical services can be later denied or refused. 

For instance, symptoms like headaches, dizziness, light-headedness, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), blurred vision, short-term memory loss, jarred concentration or emotional changes might not be reported to doctors, because the auto accident victim dismisses them as minor concerns. But when these TBI symptoms become far more evident, such as when the masking effects of pain medications for accompanying physical injuries later stops, or when someone tries to return to a job that highlights underlying problems with short-term memory or concentration that were not as evident when the injured person was still off of work, it can be too late to get the medical treatment paid by the insurance company.

Injuries that may at first appear minor sometimes get progressively worse instead. When significant and expensive medical treatment is required to address these injuries, the medical bills can either be denied entirely, because they were not reported in a timely manner, as in Ross v. Allstate; or they are contested because of a long delay between the occurrence of the truck accident and the diagnosis of the injuries.

Michigan auto accident lawyers who understand the complexities of handling closed-head injury cases cannot stress this point enough to victims and their families: Do not try to determine on your own that your injuries are too minor to report. If something hurts, tell your doctors, and tell them as soon as possible. Also report all of your injuries to your insurance company on your application for benefits immediately.

5. Prompt medical attention and documentation for ALL injuries is absolutely essential.

What seems like minor personal injuries or insignificant pain from a car accident can sometimes have devastating or fatal consequences. 

Always seek medical attention immediately if you struck your head or lost consciousness. Seek diagnostic testing for your brain to rule out bleeding as soon as possible. Back and neck pain, and other areas where you are experiencing pain must be documented as soon as possible, too. A “minor” backache may be a ruptured spinal disk and extruded disk material that can cause paralysis. 

Your health and well-being are too important. The auto accident lawyers of Michigan Auto Law have all-too-often experienced the sad consequences of medical delay.  Please, if you or a loved one has suffered any injuries from a car or truck accident, be sure to seek medical attention and treatment as soon as possible. And document every injury, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time.

6. Two simple rules can prevent Michigan car accident victims from harming the value of their auto injury cases:

a)  Do not hide information;

b) Always tell the truth.

Violate these two rules and you arm defense lawyers with a valuable weapon to attack your case and undermine the true value of your injuries.

Seems like common sense. So why do Michigan auto accident attorneys consider these to be the two biggest mistakes made by accident victims? Trial advocacy essentially boils down to a pair of simple issues: Being credible and being likeable. Because jurors want to do the right thing, they need to believe something is true if they are going to be motivated to help. In turn, jurors tend to give more money to people that they like and believe to be credible.  

When a defense attorney argues at trial that an auto accident victim did not fully disclose important parts of his medical history, this will likely have an impact on the value of the auto injury case.  

In a lawsuit, the accident victim’s entire medical history can be discovered. So a proper history must be provided immediately to doctors, and it must be as accurate as possible. Remember that we live in an age of computers, private investigators and social security numbers. If an injury ever appeared in your medical or work records, it will be found. An old or minor injury that occurred years ago to the same area injured by a new car or truck accident must be disclosed, so doctors can properly differentiate between old and current automobile accident-related injuries. Always admit what you can remember, as it prevents defense lawyers from later claiming that you tried to “hide” information or were exaggerating your injuries. The auto accident lawyers of Michigan Auto Law have repeatedly seen that clearly inadmissible information, such as an old criminal record, can become admissible evidence because the injured party did not disclose the information when asked by doctors in depositions or lawsuit interrogatories. Remember, if you have hired a Michigan auto accident lawyer, he or she is on your side, but your attorney has to know about your history to help you.

7. Surveillance by defense is expected for serious Michigan car and truck accident cases.

It has become expected that defense lawyers will conduct surveillance during the course of a serious Michigan car or truck accident case. Whenever there is a serious automobile accident injury that requires significant first-party, no-fault benefits to be paid, it’s expected that insurance companies will conduct surveillance as well. 

We typically find that almost everyone tells the truth. The danger occurs when an accident victim almost never performs a specific task, say, taking out the garbage, except for one day when there is no one around to help. So the injured person may take out the garbage and forget about the task in a deposition. In turn, the defense lawyer can make accusations of lying or exaggerating, instead of seeing this as an honest mistake. Unfortunately, this type of mistake has the potential to destroy a car accident or truck case. Even if the task was truly performed just once, it could be caught on video and the jury could believe that this is something that has been done on a routine basis. 

Ethical auto accident attorneys recommend that if there’s any basis of truth to the question you’re being asked, even if it was just one time, just admit it. There’s no reason you cannot disclose something, and explain the circumstances behind it. Maybe it was just a good day, and you were on pain medication. Maybe it was the first time you attempted the task and just wanted to see if you could do it. Telling the full truth is always the right answer.
 
What most automobile accident victims fail to realize is that these scenarios are exactly what make them human. It shows that you’re not just “giving up.” You are trying to do the best you can. Jurors like people who try their best — even if they could only perform a task once or twice because it caused too much pain afterwards.

8. Misrepresentations made to insurance companies can prevent “right to sue” for injuries.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM and UIM) are optional types of coverage that provide many important protections. If an insured person makes a misrepresentation that is considered material, the insurer may be entitled to cancel the insurance policy. 

More specifically, an insurance company has no obligation to pay benefits if an insured person has misrepresented where an automobile is principally garaged for lower rates, or if an insured person has not disclosed other drivers who are also regularly driving the vehicle.

Take Michigan Court of Appeals case Jones v. ACIA. It held that “fraud or concealment” by an insured person can actually void an insurance company’s obligation to pay on a claim. In Jones, the law was actually extended to a misrepresentation made by an insured person in a completely different case — the insured person’s own personal injury protection (PIP) no-fault claim. The misrepresentation cost the insured person the right to receive any compensation for injuries from her automobile accident.  

Michigan law is the most draconian in the entire country. Uninsured drivers who also own the vehicle they were injured in cannot receive any Michigan no-fault PIP benefits.  Moreover, uninsured drivers/auto owners also lose the right to sue the negligent driver who caused the car or truck accident.

Michigan case law has allowed insurance companies to reduce much larger UM and UIM policies to minimum $20,000 policy limits (the lowest policy limit for bodily injury allowed under Michigan law) or to void these policies altogether. 

Therefore, victims of serious truck accidents must be extremely mindful of the truth in all circumstances. Even if it’s a completely unrelated issue — like providing documentation regarding your wage loss — you can expect that if you have suffered a very significant auto accident injury, defense lawyers will check and investigate your application for benefits, wage and salary verification forms and other insurance documents.

The consequences in Michigan for not telling the truth can truly destroy your chances of receiving a fair and full measure of compensation for your accident injuries. 

9. “Right to use” an uninsured vehicle may cost your “right to sue” for injuries.

In 2004, Twichel v. MIC General Insurance Corp. was issued by the Michigan Supreme Court. Overnight, thousands of completely innocent, seriously injured Michigan residents lost their right to bring a lawsuit for their auto accident injuries. 

According to the Court precedent, a person does not have to actually drive an uninsured vehicle a certain number of times in order to be considered a “constructive” owner. The essential inquiry is the “right to use” that vehicle for a 30-day period. If that “right to use” exists, even if the person who has been injured in a car or truck accident has only driven the vehicle a handful of times, then that person will be found to be a constructive owner of that vehicle. 

Michigan auto accident lawyers find this so important because if someone is found to be a constructive owner of a vehicle then they are also, by definition, an uninsured owner of that vehicle. And in Michigan, an uninsured owner of a car or truck not only loses the ability to receive no-fault benefits, but that person also loses the ability to sue for injuries against the at-fault driver.

This law is deliberately harsh and punishing. For example, even if you are paralyzed for life by a drunk driver, if you are found to have had the “right to use” an uninsured car, you can not sue for your injuries. 

10. Strong communication with Michigan auto accident attorney is vital.

Alert your auto accident attorney regarding any doctor visits or medical examinations that your insurance company is referring to you. Never give a statement, recorded, or otherwise, to anyone, including your own insurance company, without contacting an attorney first. Often, these examinations under oath (EUOs) are used by experienced defense lawyers to take advantage of an injured person who does not have a lawyer. In this situation, questions are asked and topics explored that have no importance or relevance to the claimed areas of investigation. The only true reason for the interviews is to lessen later exposure in a lawsuit. Because EUOs are recorded and under oath, they can be used against you in your car accident lawsuit.

Never miss appointments: There is almost never a good reason to miss a doctor appointment. Not going to appointments or physical therapy can often be interpreted by a doctor (or a jury) that you don’t really care or aren’t really hurt. It is very important to work hard to recover and keep all of your appointments.

Tell your auto accident attorney everything that worries you: Often, many things like a past DUI, bankruptcy or old injury can cause clients substantial worry and concern. Unfortunately, too many clients decide to hide this information from their auto accident lawyers and doctors. Normally, this information would be inadmissible if disclosed. But it can become admissible if a person tries to hide the information or fails to disclose it when asked.

Remember, experienced and ethical auto accident attorneys are 100 percent on your side with one common interest — to make sure you receive the most fair settlement and full benefits. Our greatest satisfaction is having happy clients who can confidently refer friends and family members, knowing they too will receive the best possible legal results. But we have to know about your concerns if we are truly going to help. 

To avoid these and other dangerous pitfalls, car accident victims should consult a Michigan auto accident attorney who has experience with the unique challenges related to auto negligence cases and Michigan no-fault law. To request a free, no obligation case evaluation, please fill out our consultation form and we will respond to your inquiry within one business day. Or to speak to an attorney immediately, please call (800) 777-0028.

About Michigan Auto Law

Michigan Auto Law is Michigan’s largest law firm practicing exclusively in car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases, with offices in Southfield, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights. Our auto accident attorneys have helped injury victims throughout Michigan for more than 50 years and three generations. We have achieved more reported million dollar verdicts and settlements for auto accident injury and death cases than any other law firm in Michigan. Year after year, Michigan Auto Law has unmatched success helping people. For more information, we invite you to read our law firm quick facts.