The Clark         Law Office

In Michigan, a third party case is against the driver that was negligent in causing the accident and the injuries that were sustained during the accident.  3^rd party benefits are referred to as a non-economic loss.   However, because we have a no-fault law in our state, not every driver is entitled to sue the person who caused the accident.  There are additional jumps and hurdles which must be met in order to even bring a case for your non-economic losses.  Most other states without no-fault law don’t have such strict standards and thresholds.

In order to sue the person that was at fault for the accident and receive pain and suffering compensation and other 3^rd party benefits, Michigan law states that your injuries have to meet a certain threshold. The threshold that your injuries have to meet is what is called a serious impairment of an important body function. Additionally, a serious permanent disfigurement meets the threshold along with the uncommon result of death.

Do I Meet The Threshold For Third Party Benefits?

While serious permanent disfigurement and death are easy to define, serious impairment of an important bodily function is much more difficult to prove.  Proving this concept is usually the most important argument made on your behalf.  There are several factors that courts use to determine whether an injury is a serious impairment of bodily function.

• The injury is objectively manifested.
• The accident left you with an injury of a body function that is important to you
• The injury affected your general ability to lead a normal life.
• Other additional factors that the court deems necessary.

An Experienced Auto Attorney Can Help With Third Party Benefits

As you can see, sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether an injury meets this threshold. Every case and every injury is different. Whether your injury resulted in a broken bone, a back problem, ligament tear, knee or shoulder injury, or a more serious condition, it is important to figure out what your rights are and whether your injury meets this threshold for Michigan third party benefits. To determine whether your injury meets this threshold, contact one of our Lansing accident lawyers at The Clark Law Office and arrange a completely free initial consultation by calling (517) 347-6900.  We charge no fees unless you win!