Can I Get Paid Back for Medical Travel After a Michigan Crash?
Yes. If you were hurt in a Michigan car accident, your no-fault insurance can reimburse what it costs you to get to and from accident-related medical care. This benefit is part of the “allowable expenses” your insurer must pay under एमसीएल 500.3107(1)(ए), and it is one of the most commonly overlooked pieces of a no-fault claim.
Why travel to treatment is covered
Michigan no-fault pays for more than doctor and hospital bills. The statute covers the reasonable cost of everything reasonably necessary for your care, recovery, or rehabilitation after the crash. Getting yourself to the appointments where that care happens falls squarely within that language.
What travel costs you can claim
The benefit is not limited to mileage in your own car. It reaches the range of costs you reasonably run up getting to and from treatment for your injuries, including:
- Mileage for driving your own vehicle to appointments.
- Gas, parking, and tolls tied to those trips.
- Bus, taxi, or rideshare fare when you cannot drive yourself.
- A paid driver’s costs when your injuries keep you from driving.
The destinations that count are the ones connected to your accident injuries: your doctors, the hospital, physical therapy, rehabilitation clinics, imaging centers, and the pharmacy for accident-related prescriptions. Trips unrelated to the crash are not covered.
How much you get per mile
There is no fixed number written into the statute. The law requires the insurer to pay a reasonable amount, and reimbursement rates vary from one insurance company to another. Many carriers pay a per-mile figure in the range of the standard mileage rates that state and federal agencies publish, but you should not assume every insurer applies the same rate, and some pay less than they should. If the rate an adjuster offers looks low, it is worth questioning rather than accepting on its face.
How to actually get reimbursed
Insurers do not reimburse travel you cannot document. The single most important habit is keeping a contemporaneous log, meaning a record you fill in at the time of each trip rather than reconstructing months later.
For every trip, write down:
- The date of the trip.
- Where you went and the purpose of the visit.
- The total miles driven, round trip.
- Any parking, tolls, or fare receipts.
Submit that log to your no-fault insurer along with your other accident-related bills, and keep submitting it regularly rather than saving it all for the end. Regular submissions protect you from the deadline problem described below.
The deadlines that can wipe out this benefit
Michigan no-fault has strict timing rules, and travel reimbursement is subject to them like any other benefit.
Two timing rules work together. First, you must give your insurer written notice of the injury, or begin a benefits claim, within one year of the crash. Second, the one-year-back rule limits recovery to the loss incurred in the year before a lawsuit is filed. A specific claim you have submitted tolls, meaning pauses, that clock until the insurer formally denies it, so promptly submitting your travel expenses is what protects the older ones. Because these rules are unforgiving, waiting is the main way people lose money they were owed.
Quick reference
| Travel-related question | Covered by no-fault? |
|---|---|
| Mileage driving to accident-related doctor and therapy visits | Yes, at a reasonable rate |
| Parking and tolls for those trips | हाँ |
| Taxi or rideshare when you cannot drive | Yes, when reasonable |
| Trips unrelated to your crash injuries | नहीं |
| Travel expenses from more than a year before suit is filed | Generally barred by the one-year-back rule, subject to tolling |
| A specific cents-per-mile rate set by statute | No, the rate must be reasonable and varies by insurer |
अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले प्रश्न
Does my own auto insurance pay my medical travel, or the other driver’s?
In most cases your own no-fault insurer pays, regardless of who caused the crash. Michigan no-fault benefits, including travel reimbursement, come from your own policy first under the priority rules, not from the at-fault driver.
What if I do not have a mileage log for past trips?
You can often reconstruct trips from appointment records, but a contemporaneous log is far stronger and easier for an adjuster to accept. Start logging now, and gather records for past appointments so nothing recent is left out before the one-year-back rule reaches it.
Can I claim rides someone else gave me?
The benefit covers the reasonable cost of getting to accident-related care. Out-of-pocket costs like paid drivers, fare, gas, parking, and tolls are the reimbursable pieces. A favor from a friend with no cost to you does not create a bill to submit.
The insurer paid a rate that seems too low. Is that allowed?
The rate must be reasonable, not simply whatever the insurer prefers. If a carrier reimburses at a rate below what is reasonable, or refuses legitimate travel, that can be an underpayment or denial of benefits you are entitled to, and overdue no-fault benefits can carry penalty interest.
Fighting your insurer over no-fault benefits after a Michigan crash?
Free consultation with Manny Chahal, no fee unless we recover, call 1-844-624-2425
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