Can A Pedestrian Receive Michigan No-Fault Benefits After Being Hit By A Car?
When a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle in Detroit, the injuries can be severe and may require long-term medical care. Many people wonder who will cover these medical costs if the injured person was walking instead of driving. Michigan’s no-fault insurance system offers important benefits to pedestrians hurt in car accidents, even if they were not in a vehicle at the time. The benefits available depend on whether the pedestrian has no-fault coverage through their own insurance or a household member’s policy. If there is no such policy, Michigan law offers another option through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
We guide injured pedestrians in figuring out which insurance company or program should handle their claim and whether they can also file a separate lawsuit against the driver at fault. There are two main types of recovery: no-fault benefits for specific financial losses and a liability claim against the driver for damages allowed by Michigan law.
Michigan No-Fault Benefits Can Apply To Injured Pedestrians
Michigan’s No-Fault Insurance Act does not limit Personal Injury Protection benefits to people sitting inside cars. A pedestrian who suffers accidental bodily injury arising from a motor vehicle accident may qualify for PIP benefits.
Under MCL 500.3114(1), the first place we generally look is the pedestrian’s own Michigan no-fault policy. That provision also extends applicable coverage to the named insured’s spouse and certain relatives domiciled in the same household.
So, a pedestrian does not have to be driving or riding in a covered vehicle to qualify. What matters is whether there is a no-fault policy that applies under Michigan’s rules and if the injuries were caused by the car accident.
Medical PIP Coverage Can Depend On The Applicable Policy
Michigan drivers can select different levels of PIP medical coverage under MCL 500.3107c, subject to eligibility requirements and other provisions of the No-Fault Act.
Because coverage can vary, we do not assume that every pedestrian injury claim has the same amount of medical benefits available. We identify the policy that applies, determine its PIP medical limits, and review whether another statutory source of benefits is available.
For pedestrians who must claim through the Assigned Claims Plan, separate statutory limits can apply. This makes correctly determining priority one of the most important early steps in a pedestrian injury case.
A Pedestrian May Also Have A Claim Against The Driver
PIP benefits and a negligence claim against the driver are different.
No-fault benefits address certain economic losses without requiring the pedestrian to prove that the driver caused the crash. A separate third-party claim may allow the injured pedestrian to pursue damages against a negligent driver.
Under MCL 500.3135, an injured person may pursue noneconomic damages when the accident causes death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function. Serious pedestrian accidents commonly produce fractures, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, internal injuries, and other conditions that can satisfy this threshold depending on their effect on the victim.
A third-party claim may include compensation for pain and suffering, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, and economic damages that are not otherwise covered under Michigan’s no-fault system.
Driver Negligence Must Be Proven In A Liability Claim
Unlike the PIP portion of the case, a claim against the driver requires proof of fault.
Pedestrian accidents may occur because a motorist was speeding, distracted, intoxicated, failing to yield, turning without properly checking the crosswalk, backing out of a parking space, or ignoring a traffic signal.
We may use police reports, witness statements, surveillance footage, traffic-camera video, vehicle data, photographs, cellphone evidence, and medical documentation to determine exactly what happened.
The driver’s insurance company may also attempt to place some responsibility on the pedestrian. Michigan’s comparative fault provisions can reduce certain damages according to the percentage of fault attributed to the injured person. We therefore take allegations involving crossing location, traffic signals, visibility, and right-of-way seriously.
Pedestrians Should Act Quickly After Being Hit By A Vehicle
Serious pedestrian accidents create immediate medical and financial pressures, but insurance deadlines also require attention.
We encourage injured pedestrians to obtain medical treatment, preserve photographs and witness information, and identify every potentially applicable insurance policy as early as possible. The no-fault system contains strict requirements governing claims and benefit recovery, and third-party injury lawsuits are also subject to statutory filing deadlines.
Waiting can also make evidence harder to obtain. Businesses may erase surveillance recordings, vehicles may be repaired, and witnesses may become difficult to locate.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michigan Pedestrian No-Fault Benefits
Can I Receive Michigan No-Fault Benefits If I Do Not Own A Car?
Yes. Not owning a vehicle does not automatically disqualify you from PIP benefits after being hit by a motor vehicle. We first determine whether you have applicable coverage under MCL 500.3114(1) through your own policy, your spouse, or a qualifying relative domiciled in your household. If there is no applicable coverage under that section, MCL 500.3115 generally directs a non-occupant pedestrian claim to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
Does The Driver Have To Be At Fault For Me To Receive PIP Benefits?
Generally, no. Personal Injury Protection benefits are called no-fault benefits because eligibility ordinarily does not depend on proving that the motorist was negligent. Fault becomes important when we pursue a separate claim against the driver for pain and suffering and other tort damages.
Can I Receive Lost Wages If I Cannot Work After Being Hit By A Car?
Potentially, yes. MCL 500.3107 provides for work-loss benefits for income an injured person would have earned during the first three years after the accident, subject to statutory limitations and the facts of the claim. We document employment, earnings, disability restrictions, and medical proof showing why the pedestrian cannot work.
Can I Sue The Driver In Addition To Receiving No-Fault Benefits?
Yes, when Michigan’s legal requirements are satisfied. Under MCL 500.3135, a pedestrian may pursue noneconomic damages against an at-fault driver when the injuries involve death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function. This third-party claim is separate from the pedestrian’s PIP claim.
What If I Was Hit In A Parking Lot Instead Of A Crosswalk?
You may still have both PIP and liability rights. Michigan’s no-fault coverage is not limited to accidents occurring in marked crosswalks. We examine whether the injury arose from the use of a motor vehicle and then determine the proper source of PIP coverage. For the liability claim, we examine the conduct of both the driver and pedestrian to determine fault.
What If The Driver Who Hit Me Did Not Have Insurance?
An uninsured driver does not necessarily eliminate your right to PIP benefits because those benefits are determined through Michigan’s statutory priority rules rather than simply through the at-fault driver’s policy. Recovering additional damages from an uninsured motorist can be more complicated. We examine potential uninsured motorist coverage and every other available source of recovery.
Talk To Ravid & Associates, P.C. About A Michigan Pedestrian Injury Claim
Being hit by a vehicle can create medical, financial, and personal consequences that last long after the accident scene has been cleared. We help injured pedestrians identify the correct source of Michigan no-fault benefits, document their losses, respond to insurance disputes, and determine whether they also have a claim against the negligent driver.
The source of coverage is not always obvious, especially when the pedestrian does not own a vehicle. We examine the household insurance situation, applicable PIP limits, Assigned Claims Plan eligibility, driver liability, and available insurance coverage before determining how the claim should proceed.
Call our Detroit pedestrian accident attorneys at Ravid & Associates, P.C. today at (248) 948-9696 for a free consultation. We can review the accident, determine where your no-fault claim should be filed, investigate the driver’s responsibility, and pursue the compensation available under Michigan law.
