Attendant Care Performed by Family/Friends

ATTENDANT CARE SERVICES PERFORMED BY FAMILY/FRIENDS

Persons injured in a motor vehicle accident sometimes require nursing services when they return home following discharge from the hospital. The nursing services required for a person’s care, recovery and rehabilitation after an accident (also referred to as “attendant care”) do not have to be provided by medical personnel. Under the Michigan No Fault Act, medical expenses for accident victims include nursing or attendant care services which may be provided by family members or friends, who are entitled to compensation for providing those services.

Sometimes family members believe they are not entitled to be paid for helping an injured spouse or child or other family member because they say they would provide attendant care whether or not they were paid. However, this is not the law in Michigan. So long as you provide services required for a person’s care, recovery and rehabilitation as a result of injuries in a motor vehicle accident (including that of your own child), you may be paid for those services and may expect to be paid a reasonable rate for providing those services.

Depending upon the extent and kind of injuries sustained, nursing services may be required for only a short period of time or for a lifetime. Similarly, the kinds of attendant care services provided may range from simply serving meals in bed to a person just home from the hospital to daily bowel and bladder care for a paralyzed person. Other examples of attendant care might include the following:

• assisting with bathing, showering, and grooming

• assisting with toileting and emptying a bedside commode

• assisting with dressing

• administering and monitoring medications

• going to the store to get prescriptions and medical supplies

• ordering and arranging for medical supplies and equipment

• supervising due to instability in walking and ambulating

• supervising for personal safety

• helping to get in and out of bed

• assisting getting in and out of a motor vehicle

• taking to and accompanying at medical appointments

• arranging for medical appointments

• assisting with wheelchairs or other equipment

• assisting with, applying, using and caring for medical equipment, such as a TENS unit, breathing apparatus, wound vac, PICC line, bone growth stimulator, etc.

• cleaning and dressing wounds and changing bandages

• monitoring wounds for infection

• assisting with therapies, such as speech therapy, physical therapy, recreational therapy

• supervising and assisting with cognitive and behavioral problems by redirecting, cuing, monitoring for safety

• providing emotional support when dealing with depression

• in cases of tetraplegia, monitoring for autonomic dysreflexia, pressure sores, osteoporosis, respiratory complications, immobility, etc.

• interviewing, hiring, training, and managing medical staff, when necessary

In Michigan, first-party personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits are paid by the first-party insurance carrier. Before paying for medical expenses, including attendant care, the insurance adjuster will want proof from the injured person that attendant care was reasonably necessary and that the expense was actually incurred. Proof that the care was reasonably necessary can be substantiated by a physician’s prescription or a recommendation in the medical records for attendant care. Proof that attendant care was provided sometimes is offered in the form of a statement from the person providing care. Sometimes it is necessary for the care provider to keep records of the amount and kind of care being provided on a daily basis.

The reasonable rate of pay for attendant care services may vary depending upon the kinds of services provided and the market value paid for those services. Rates are generally determined by persons who are experts by virtue of their training and experience in dealing with these issues.