Legal Question in Insurance Law in Michigan

Re: Pain & suffering related to an auto accident

Under the Michigan No Fault Act, damages are defined as economic and non-economic. For the most part, economic damages such as work loss and medical expenses are paid by your own no fault carrier, and the no-fault act generally does not allow you to sue the other driver for economic loss unless it extends for more than three years, or is in excess of what the no fault act pays.

A person can sue a driver and/or owner for non-economic damages, which includes pain and suffering, but must meet a "threshold" of showing that the injury was a "serious impairment of body function" and/or a "permanent serious disfigurement". By settling with the driver and his insurance carrier, your daughter would be settling all claims for non-economic loss, including the scarring as well as pain and suffering, and releasing them from any claims for economic loss not paid by her own carrier.

All of that being said, your question does not provide enough information to give you an answer in terms of dollars and cents. It is in some circumstances hard to show a "threshold" injury, and in arriving at a settlement value, both sides have to look at their chances of winning if a case is actually filed, and their costs in attorney's fees for trying to win rather than settling, in addition to evaluating the actual damages.

Finally, I would strongly recommend that you directly consult an attorney regarding this issue. Insurance carriers try to keep claimants from contacting lawyers by suggesting that paying a contingency fee is costing them a third of the settlement, and then try to take advantage of the claimant by offering far less than the claim is worth. Where you indicate that liability is clear, your daughter had surgery, and the insurer is willing to discuss settlement, an attorney should be able to help you maximize her recovery, and can be hired on either an hourly or contingency basis.

Please feel free to give me a call at 888-221-0844 if you would like to discuss the details of the claim.