A motor vehicle crash can happen in an instant and usually when you least expect it. However, its consequences can be long-lasting depending on the severity of the collision. If you are injured in a car accident in Michigan, the state’s laws provide you with an added layer of protection that many other states do not. This protection comes in the form of no-fault insurance, a mandatory policy included with the required car insurance coverage for all Michigan drivers. However, recent changes to the no-fault insurance law may create complications for vehicle collision victims and increase the need to pursue compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.

What Is Michigan No-Fault Car Insurance? 

In Michigan, no-fault car insurance is required Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage included in a driver’s own car insurance policy. When a driver is injured in an automobile accident, PIP coverage will pay for many of the driver’s economic damages, regardless of who is at fault for the crash. Specifically, a PIP policy covers:

Many personal injury claims filed following a car accident are based on negligence. If a driver is negligent, that means that he or she failed to exercise reasonable care toward other people on the roadways when operating their vehicle.

Proving negligence requires you to establish these four elements:

• Duty – All motorists have a legal duty to other drivers and parties on the roadways to operate their vehicles in accordance with the law act responsibly behind the wheel.
• Breach of duty – When a driver fails to adhere to traffic laws or drives recklessly, he or she has breached the duty owed to others.
• Causation – The driver’s negligence must have directly and proximately caused the accident and the victim’s injuries and damages.
• Damages – The victim must have suffered injuries and damages as a result of the accident

Common Forms of Driver Negligence

If you have been in a car accident that you did not cause, it is likely that the other driver broke one or more traffic laws. Some of the most common forms of driver negligence include: