Exploring the Value of A Pain and Suffering Claim After a Car Accident in Michigan?

Injured victims want to know the answer to the question, “How much is my pain and suffering case worth after a serious injury accident in Michigan”? Michigan’s no-fault law does allow recovery for pain and suffering for injured victims of auto and truck accidents. The question of what the value of the case is not easy to answer. The fact is it varies different from accident to accident. Every accident is a story of liability, medical treatment, pre and post medical condition, age of victim, lifestyle of the victim, and many other variables.

Differences in Insurance Company Claim Handling May Make a Difference when Presenting Your Michigan No-Fault Pain and Suffering Demand.

The insurance carrier of the at fault driver is an additional factor to consider. In other words, some insurance companies will analyze the claim and offer a reasonable settlement. While other insurance companies will play hardball, and fight claims with little or no legal basis. In the latter instance, the insurance company simply wants to pay as little as possible. That is why it is always recommended that the seriously injured victim hire an experienced lawyer. Thus, every case will always be different in multiple respects.

Rules of The Road: Why Do We Allow Injured Victims to Make Pain and Suffering Claims?

The rules of the road are that every driver and passenger on the road have the right to live free from serious injuries caused by reckless and negligent drivers. The driver that caused the accident must be at least 50% responsible to trigger liability for a pain and suffering claim. In other words, the injured victim is a passenger or an operator of a vehicle that was in an accident caused by a negligent driver. Violations of the rules of the road include failure to yield to oncoming traffic, crossing the centerline, driving intoxicated, or being hit by a distracted driver.

When the negligent driver crosses the center line or runs a red light and crashes into an innocent driver the consequences can be life changing. It is these life-changing injuries that lead to the necessity to make a claim for pain and suffering.

Michigan No Fault Act-Establishing the Pain and Suffering Claim

Under the No Fault Act, a driver or owner of a motor vehicle is liable for the plaintiff’s non-economic damages such as pain and suffering if the plaintiff sustained threshold injuries of a serious impairment of a body function. There are 3 prongs necessary to establish serious impairment of a body function: “(1) an objectively manifested impairment (2) an important bodily function that (3) affects the person’s general ability to live his or her normal life. “Impairment need not be permanent to be serious under the Michigan Jury Instructions.                                                                                                                  

An “Objectively Manifested Injury” is one that is evidenced by actual symptoms or conditions that someone other than the injured person would observe as impairing a body function. Further, it is only the impairment that must be objectively manifested, not the injury or its symptoms. Thus, when considering an impairment, a court should not focus on the injuries themselves, but on how the injuries affect the plaintiff’s particular bodily function.

An Important Body Function:  

Whether a body function is important is an inherently subjective inquiry that must be decided on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the body function has great value, significance, or consequence. This will vary depending on the person because “what may seem to be a trivial body function for most people may be subjectively important to another, depending on the relationship of that function to the person’s life.

The Injury Must Affect the Person’s General Ability to Lead His or Her Normal Life.

It means to have “an influence on some of the person’s capacity to live, or pass life, in his or her normal manner of living.”. For instance, I had a client in Holland Michigan that had been a laborer in the furniture industry his entire life. However, after he was struck by a driver running through a stop sign, the client suffered permanent back and neck injuries requiring surgery. The injuries led to him losing his job and no longer able to perform as a laborer.   

Another example would be a homeowner that enjoyed working in the yard and maintaining his property but can no longer perform these functions. Their pre accident activities included fixing up their property, gardening, mowing the grass, building decks, painting and general maintenance. In this case, the client will not be able to return to prior work or his active lifestyle. They are suffering from several limitations as a direct result of their car accident injuries. We must look at the person’s life before the accident and their life now. That very stark contrast is the reason we seek pain and suffering damages for clients.

Impediments to The Amount of Recovery in Michigan No Fault.

Insurance Policy Limits as A Factor in What Your Claim May Be Worth for Purposes of Settlement.

Many people not familiar with filing a personal injury claim do not understand the concept of policy limits. Every insurance policy has a limit to the amount they will pay for bodily injuries because of their insured’s negligence. Thus, the policy limits of the insurance company of the defendant driver may also play a role in how much is recovered. 

For instance, a victim could be permanently injured, but the driver that hit him may have low bodily injury policy limits. For instance, low limits would be 50/100. This means that the insurance company is obligated to pay up to $50,000 per injured victim, but no more than $100,000 for all victims. If the victim is permanently injured, they could only get $50,000 from the at fault driver.

A claimant can always file a lawsuit, go to trial, and win a bigger verdict. However, the insurance company is only obligated for $50,000.00. Thus, if the at fault driver is uncollectable, they can declare bankruptcy or simply not pay the amount of the verdict. In that case, the injured party is out their time, efforts and expenses of litigation. The expenses of litigation can be a great impediment to full recovery as a practical matter. On the other hand, if the at fault driver is a commercial carrier or large corporation, policy limits may not be a factor.

Uninsured/underinsured Motorist Coverage Can Provide Additional Coverage for The Seriously Injured Michigan Driver.

It is because drivers often have low policy limits that a Michigan driver should always maintain uninsured and underinsured coverage on their own vehicle. The injured victim may be able to use his own policy to recover additional money under their uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This is critical coverage to consider when purchasing your own policy. After the accident, the question is does my own policy have underinsured motorists’ coverage that is greater than the negligent driver’s policy limits. You may be able to negotiate additional pain and suffering settlement from your own policy. Furthermore, the negligent driver must pay the entire policy limit before your uninsured/underinsured insurance policy is available. 

Not Wanting to File a Lawsuit or Go Through the Lengthy Process of Litigation Can Be an Impediment to Recovery.

The reality is that some injured victims simply do not want to be involved in the lengthy process of litigation. Litigation is very intrusive into a person’s life and lifestyle. If you file a lawsuit, you will be forced to open your entire life history. For instance, the insurance company lawyers will request you produce multiple years of your taxes. This may include your wife’s taxes. You will also have to submit medical records from your treating doctors before the accident. This will be used to establish whether you had preexisting conditions. The courts are notorious for long and lengthy delays. All these litigation issues can lead to a great deal of stress and anxiety.  In that case, many clients would be inclined to accept settlement and avoid these litigation issues.

Values of Cases Ultimately Turn on The Severity of The Client’s Injury.

As a final thought about the value of Michigan No Fault pain and suffering claims, the severity of the injury controls. A client could suffer catastrophic injuries in a semi-truck accident that permanently requires treatment. The insurance companies will still look at such factors as the age of the injured victim, but the ultimate devastation to the client will prevail. Thus, the value of the case exceeds the policy limits, and the insurance company has little excuse for not paying the claim. This may be no more apparent as in the case of the death of the victim because of a car accident. In the case of a death, the damages are always significant.

The most important lesson of determining value is that every case will be different. It is for all the reasons that injured victims need to hire an experienced personal injury firm. Call Gerald R. Stahl for any further questions. This Blog is intended to discuss the issues related to No Fault Insurance claims and is not intended to give or be construed as legal advice.