Learn about your potential lawsuit remedies if you’ve been seriously injured in a truck wreck
I recently participated in a trucking seminar that was made available to the public, and it struck me that most of the information, while correct, doesn’t apply to people injured in a truck accident in my home state of Michigan, because of our unique No Fault laws and third-party threshold law to recover pain and suffering compensation. Today I want to give a quick overview of your potential legal remedies if you’ve been in motor vehicle accident involving a commercial truck in the state of Michigan.
- First-party truck accident lawsuit for No Fault benefits: In a first-party case, Michigan residents injured in auto or truck accidents are always entitled to No-Fault (PIP) benefits such as wage loss, household replacement services (chores/help with children), and medical expenses including medical bills, prescription reimbursement, medical transportation/mileage reimbursement and attendant care.
- Survivor’s loss: Survivors of those killed in truck accidents are allowed certain survivor’s loss benefits, such as funeral costs of a minimum of $1,750.
- Third-party pain and suffering lawsuit: In a third-party pain and suffering lawsuit, non-economic damages can be unlimited. However, the wrongdoer trucking company has an insurance policy limit, which is the maximum the insurance company will pay. Generally, the insurance company will make its best effort to keep any settlement within that policy limit. In interstate trucking cases, the minimum policy limit is $750,000, which I have argued is far too low, as it hasn’t been adjusted for inflation in more than 30 years.
The general rules for attorneys litigating these cases remains the same, but the legal recovery for people injured in these crashes varies dramatically depending on what state the crash occurs in. And this is also where much of the confusion stems from when people begin to research legal recourse and remedies online, because that will be completely different, depending on whether you’re injured in a No Fault auto insurance state, like Michigan, where people injured in truck accidents will turn to their own insurance company first for medical and wage loss benefits, or in other general tort states, where they can sue for everything.
A great first step is to call a personal injury attorney who is experienced in in truck accident litigation. At Michigan Auto Law, we have a former president of the American Association for Justice Truck Litigation Group available to answer your questions, at no charge. Feel free to call us at (248) 353-7575.
For more helpful information on what to do after a truck wreck, take a look at these nine time-sensitive tips.
