The No-Fault Act provides for $40,000.00 of coverage for basic economic loss benefits in all, with $20,000.00 being allocated for medical expenses and $20,000.00 for other no-fault benefits, including income loss, replacement services, funeral expense loss, survivors economic loss, and survivors replacement services loss arising out of the injury to any one person.
Medical expense benefits include all reasonable expenses for necessary medical, surgical, x-ray, optical, dental and rehabilitation services. The Minnesota No-Fault Act specifically provides for inclusion of chiropractic care and treatment.
Medical Expenses
Obviously the care and treatment sought must be causally related to the motor vehicle. The decision as to the form of medical care is left entirely to the injured person. The insurance company does not have any right to make a choice as to your treating physician. As long as the treatments are reasonable and necessary to cure or relieve from the effects of the automobile accident, the insurance company remains responsible for payment up to the statutory maximum of $20,000.00.
In addition to the actual cost of treatment, the insured is entitled to the reasonable cost of transportation to and from treatment. Transportation costs include medical mileage which is typically reimbursed in the area of 50.5 cents per mile, cab fare, bus fare or other costs of transportation.
Disability and Income Loss
Disability and income loss benefits shall provide compensation for 85% of the injured person's loss of present and future gross income from inability to work proximately caused by the injury subject to a maximum of $250.00 per week. Loss of income includes the cost incurred by a self-employed person to hire substitute employees to perform tasks which are necessary to maintain the income of the injured person which are normally performed by the injured person and which cannot be performed because of the injury.
Inability to work is defined by the No-Fault Act as:
a) disability which prevents the injured person from engaging in any substantial gainful occupation or employment on a regular basis.
A partially disabled person who is unable to work full-time or return to the same type of work he or she performed prior to the injury has an inability to work within the meaning of the statute. If the injured person returns to employment and is unable by reason of the injury to work continuously, compensation for loss of income shall be reduced by the income received while the injured person is actually able to work. Income Loss Benefits are payable for loss of time from work while receiving reasonable and necessary chiropractic or medical treatment.
Replacement Services
Replacement service loss shall reimburse expenses reasonable incurred by or on behalf of the injured person in obtaining usual and necessary substitute services in lieu of those that had the injured person not been injured the injured person would have performed not for income but for direct personal benefit or for the benefit of the injured person's household.
If the injured person normally, as a full-time responsibility, provides care and maintenance of a home with or without children and by reason of the injury is unable to perform such services, then such person is entitled to the reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining substitute care and maintenance of the home.
These benefits are subject to a maximum of $200.00 per week. All replacement service loss incurred on the date of the injury and the first seven days after the injury are excluded in calculating the replacement service loss.
Rehabilitation
In appropriate cases the insurer is obligated to pay for the costs of retraining and rehabilitation of an injured person.
Funeral Expenses
If a person is killed in a motor vehicle accident, reasonable expenses for funeral and burial of such person not to exceed $2,000.00 are payable by the insurance company.
Survivors Economic Loss
In the event of death occurring within one year of the date of the accident, caused by the accident, survivors are entitled to a maximum of $200.00 per week to cover losses incurred after the insured's death for contributions of money or tangible things of economic value. This is not limited to wage or salary loss but also includes other tangible things of economic value.
Survivors Replacement Service Benefits
Beyond compensation for direct wage loss incurred by the death of an individual, services rendered for the household are also compensation under the No-Fault Act. These benefits are also subject to a maximum of $200.00 per week.