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What Type of Long-Term Compensation Is Possible in Michigan?
The injuries and damages you might sustain in a car accident can range from minor to catastrophic. Fender benders can cause damage to your vehicle that may be expensive and inconvenient, but more severe accidents on the road can lead to physical injuries that might require ongoing healing.
If you are injured in a vehicle accident, you may face medical needs including surgery, physical therapy, and a potentially lengthy recovery time. In the most catastrophic of cases, you may not be able to return to a new normal due to injuries such as brain damage, back injuries that impact you for the rest of your life, or the loss of a limb.
When facing potential long-term effects after a car accident, consulting a personal injury attorney can help you understand your options for compensation.
What Type of Compensation Can You Seek After an Accident?
Michigan is a no-fault state. This means that drivers are required to carry personal injury protection, or PIP, coverage. This coverage kicks in immediately to help cover medical expenses for each driver and the passengers in their vehicle, regardless of who was at fault in an accident.
Depending on your policy, PIP coverage limitations vary. You might choose $50,000, $250,000, $500,000, or unlimited PIP coverage, though choosing lower amounts requires you and all family members in your household to have health insurance.
However, when your medical needs extend beyond personal injury protection coverage, you may need to seek further compensation. That can involve filing a claim with the insurance company of a driver who caused the accident in question. It might also involve filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Examples of Compensation for Future Damages
The types of damages you seek—and how much you seek—depend on the factors of your case. Some common types of damages involved in this type of personal injury case include:
- Medical expenses. This includes payment for medical expenses you have already incurred and for which you have bills or statements. It can also include compensation for medical expenses that providers have already determined necessary, such as the costs of an upcoming surgery. In cases of very severe injury, however, you may know that you will have medical needs for years or the rest of your life. An attorney can help you make a case for the estimated cost of those needs so you can see compensation for these future losses.
- Lost wages. Medical treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident and the recovery that may follow can leave you unable to work. It’s not uncommon after a major surgery to be unable to work for six or more weeks, and some surgeries call for months of recovery before returning to full duty. In such cases, you may be able to seek compensation for the wages and income you have already lost due to the inability to work.
- Future earnings. In addition to compensation for wages you have already lost, you may be able to get compensation for earnings you are likely to miss out on in the future. If the injuries you suffered in a car accident leave you unable to work in the future due to a disability, an attorney can help you calculate the loss of those future wages and make a case for how much compensation you may be owed.
- Pain and suffering. This type of compensation is meant to cover non-economic damages—the damages you can’t demonstrate with a receipt or simple calculation. Types of pain and suffering that might be eligible for compensation include, but aren’t limited to, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and inability to enjoy social pleasures.
The Burden of Proof Is on You
As a potential plaintiff in a personal injury case, the burden of proof for all of these damages will be on you. You will need to present evidence, such as medical records, witness testimony, images and video, and expert statements that build a narrative about your injuries. That includes proving that you have these injuries and limitations and that they were caused by the car accident in question. You may also need to demonstrate that the accident was the fault of the other driver.
In addition to all this, you must demonstrate that the future losses you are claiming are reasonable. You may need to show calculations and explain how you arrived at certain figures for compensation for loss of wages or future medical expenses.
Why Work With an Experienced Personal Injury Team?
Creating such a complex narrative and demonstrating your future losses may sound daunting—and it can be. This is why it’s important to work with an experienced personal injury team. Your lawyer can work on your behalf to gather evidence and build a case for future compensation. They can also offer guidance about whether a settlement offer is in your best interest or whether you should continue to press forward with a lawsuit.
To find out more about how a personal injury law team can help with your car accident case, call the Sigal Law Firm today. You can reach our team at 248-671-6794. We’ll listen to your story and let you know how we might be able to help in protecting your rights, fighting insurance companies, and seeking compensation for your future losses.
