No Fault MVA

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We have divided automobile accidents into two segments that work together No Fault and At Fault. This section is about the No Fault. All operators of motor vehicles and their passengers are able to claim for no fault accident benefits regardless of liability in an accident if they can show entitlement to benefits.

Those benefits include income replacement benefits, medical and rehabilitation benefits, non earner benefits, care giver benefits, other home or house maintenance benefits, attendant care benefits. There are also benefits for miscellaneous items including transport to and from medical assessment or care. If you wish to file for accident benefits you should do so as soon as possible, there is a 30 day time limit for filing an application for accident benefits with your own insurance company, and a seven day time limit from the date of the accident to notify your insurance company of your desire to apply for accident benefits. There is a two year limitation for bringing an application for mediation of any disputes you have against your insurance company over a particular benefit. Once this mediation is completed you have the right to sue, but this must be done again within two years of when the dispute erupted.

You may be entitled to income replacement benefits if you were working at the time of the accident and after seven days of the date of the accident. Those benefits amount to a maximum of $400.00 per week. To receive those benefits for longer than two years of disability you must show that you cannot work at any job for which you may suitable by age, training or experience. Before the two years, you must show that you cannot do your present work. Your insurance company has the right to assess you with regards to your entitlement to this and all other benefits, through medical practitioners of their choice.

As with any other claim that you make for benefits or damages because of a motor vehicle accident or any other accident, you must try to get into the habit of maintaining a journal or diary as to how the accident has affected you and what problems, symptoms and future conditions or needs you are experiencing. This is very useful for future handling of a claim by a paralegal or by a lawyer. You should also follow your doctor or health practitioners’ orders to the letter.

Often a occupational therapist is introduced to determine whether you need support for housekeeping and home maintenance or support for other issues, especially attending to your own personal care. You are entitled to up to $100.00 per week for two years for housekeeping and home maintenance costs if your doctor confirms through a disability certificate that you need the support and your doctor also uses the disability certificate to confirm if you require income replacement or in the case of someone who was not working at the time of the accident a non earner benefit due to complete inability to do activities of normal life.

A useful and helpful tool for explaining your situation is not only to fill out the forms that are provided by the insurance company but to have a before and after list completed by someone who knows you well, such as your spouse, or a close friend, or parent, to describe how you were before and after the accident and how the accident has affected you in every way whether it is at work or at home, or personal functioning. The No Fault benefits system has become quite complex and multilayered to the point where the regulations and statutes applicable are becoming biblical in size. It is always a good idea to consult with a lawyer if you have any other questions with regards to your entitlement to benefits under any heading for no fault insurance.

“Were you told you were too late to sue? You may still have time. Contact me about your rights!”

The Farant Team Can Help

Contact us today regarding your entitlement to any of the above damages.

Special Tip:
It is very important to do everything you can to claim whatever benefits may be available for no fault accident benefits and to at least obtain a denial from your insurance company for those benefits this way if you are a victim of a motor vehicle accident, you can claim these benefits or damages from the at fault defendant instead. If you do not do so, you may be cheating yourself of the ability to claim them from the at fault defendant. This is what is often called “the inter action” between at fault and no fault claims. The idea is to make sure that you are receiving all of the benefits and damages for which you are entitled one way or another, either from your own insurance company, or from the at fault driver’s insurance company.