Michigan Home Care Services Provider Directory

What are Home Care Service Providers?

Home care service providers specialize in the care of catastrophic auto accident victims.

Home care services range from high-tech therapies to assistance with the basics of daily living and include:

• Skilled nursing
• High tech nursing Home health aides and personal care assistants
• Home medical equipment
• Pediatric and peri-natal care
• Rehabilitation, physical, occupational and speech therapy
• Disease management
• Wound V.A.C. therapy

BuckfireLaw.com does not endorse any specific home care service providers and these companies are listed on our website at their own request.

Attendant Care Services Provided by Family Members in Michigan

In Michigan, family members are entitled to be paid for attendant care services provided to an accident victim. However, many family members do not know they are entitled to be paid for these services and, quite often, the insurance adjusters do not tell them that they can submit attendant care service claims.

Attendant care services are a major type of benefit available under the Michigan no-fault insurance laws for those seriously injured in an accident. These benefits— also known as “in-home nursing care,”—are actually a part of the medical benefits that a person is entitled to receive under the state’s no-fault laws. These services include assistance with a number of daily activities during a person’s recovery.

The dollar amount paid for these attendant care services depends on the level of care and supervision being provided. Ranges are typically from $12.00 per hour to $25.00 per hour. In cases involving severe injuries, the rate is paid twenty-four hours a day even when the person is sleeping. This is because it may be necessary for someone to be available in the middle of the night to assist the injured person with going to the bathroom, or in the case of an emergency.

Twenty-Four Hour a Day Attendant Care Services

The need for attendant care services is determined by a physician. A physician must write a script for these services and it is the physician who determines the number of hours each day that attendant care services are necessary. In many cases, the doctor will determine these services are needed twenty-four hours a day.

The determination as to the type of service needed and the number of hours is dependent on the type of injury suffered an accident. For example, in cases involving spinal cord injuries and closed-head injuries, it is often necessary to have supervision for twenty-four hours a day for the remainder of the victim’s lifetime. Other times—such as when a person suffers severe orthopedic injuries—the need for 24-hour attendant care services may be only temporary until the person recovers.

Many times, the insurance adjuster will tell the injured person that they are only entitled to a certain number of hours of attendant care a day, and not when they are asleep. This is false. Other times, the insurance company will underpay the proper hourly rate for the benefits. If a person is receiving attendant care benefits or has been denied these benefits, a lawyer at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. strongly recommends that they seek the counsel of an attorney to determine whether an insurance company is properly paying for attendant care service benefits. If benefits are being wrongfully unpaid or underpaid, a lawyer could work to gather evidence and file a lawsuit to recoup a victim’s losses and ensure future payments are in the appropriate amount.