Which auto law applies to cases filed under Kreiner, before McCormick v. Carrier?

As I’ve previously discussed in my blogs about McCormick v. Carrier, I believe McCormick will apply retroactively to all auto accident cases that had been filed before the decision was released by the Michigan Supreme Court on August 1, 2010. In addition to writing on McCormick, I’ve also spoken on the topic to several hundred auto accident lawyers at the No-Fault Institute seminar and to the State Bar Negligence Section seminar in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last fall.

Now it’s official.

Auto insurer hits ‘brick wall’ in attempt to exploit legal technicality that would skirt otherwise undisputed obligation to pay for victim’s hospital No-Fault medical care

Michigan auto insurance companies frequently complain they get a “bum rap” for being too focused on profits and too indifferent to the plight of their insured customers who have been seriously injured in auto accidents. Our No-Fault insurance lawyers frequently blog about this topic. The real reason your auto insurance rates in Michigan keep going up is a perfect example of insurance companies’ spin tactics in light of the outrageous profits they rake in each year.

Judges finally say ‘Enough is enough’ to bus line’s illogical, form-over-substance strategies for shirking responsibility to Michigan bus accident victims

In an opinion that will come as a welcome change of pace for Michigan bus accident attorneys and the accident victims they represent, the Michigan Court of Appeals has issued an emphatic and long-overdue “smack down” to SMART bus’s seemingly boundless efforts to avoid taking responsibility for the injuries its buses have caused people.

Michigan Auto Law thanks Justice Elizabeth Weaver for her dedication, service to Michigan

A momentous sea change has just occurred on the Michigan Supreme Court.

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Weaver resigned. And a short time later, Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Alton Davis to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Justice Weaver was an excellent justice.  A Republican from Northern Michigan, she stood up for the integrity of the Court. This caused her to come increasingly into conflict with the three remaining arch-conservative and activist justices – Young, Markman and Corrigan.

How people with significant pre-existing medical conditions and Social Security Disability can still recover after a car accident in Michigan

I am thrilled for Jeff and Lisa Chase. Jeff is my client, and he just achieved an important victory for all auto accident victims with his recent win in the Michigan Court of Appeals. Just as important, his case, Chase v. Pomilia, et al. addresses some of the greatest travesties of justice that have plagued car accident victims  under Michigan’s auto law since Kreiner v. Fischer.  Hopefully, this new decision can be used by lawyers representing clients who have significant pre-existing medical histories - to help judges understand that a less-than-perfect pre-accident life is still a life of value and worth that is compensable under Michigan’s current threshold law.

So-called textualist judges dismiss bus accident cases  based on false logic while ignoring  law that works in bus accident victims’ behalf

I’ve helped a number of personal injury victims injured in serious bus accidents over the years. But recently, the law has swung hard against the rights of Michigan residents injured in bus accidents. The way Michigan judges are now treating bus accident victims is outrageous. In a recent spate of bewilderingly unjust cases, appellate judges have approved the dismissal of bus victims’ lawsuits based on a hyper-technical argument made by bus lines that defies justice, common sense, morality and logic.

Bus line again exploits loophole to escape responsibility for bus accident

For the third time in almost as many months, SMART bus has used a Michigan law that puts form over substance to avoid responsibility for causing a bus accident that resulted in serious injuries.

By claiming its accident victims didn’t report their personal injuries (even though the bus line already knew about the injuries and crashes from multiple other sources), SMART bus has successfully argued that victims’ lawsuits should be thrown out of court. SMART bus contends these plaintiffs failed to comply with a Michigan law that requires accident victims to personally notify transportation authorities, such as SMART bus, about their injuries after a bus accident.

Tragic bus accident result shows why Michigan law must change

Talk about putting form over substance. That’s exactly what happened after a SMART bus accident caused serious injuries to a completely innocent woman. SMART bus relied upon putting form over substance to allow it to escape responsibility for serious, debilitating personal injuries it caused one of its most vulnerable wheelchair-bound passengers.

In Eugene Rose v. Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation [SMART bus], et al., SMART bus got Eugene Rose’s lawsuit thrown out of court by insisting it didn’t have proper “notice” of the injuries Mr. Rose suffered in a Detroit accident involving one of its buses - even though SMART bus knew about both the bus accident and the serious nature of Mr. Rose’s injuries.

Detroit Lawyer to Share Experience with Wayne State University Law School Students

Tonight I will  be speaking to a Wayne State University Law School trial advocacy class, taught by Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Gleicher. As a personal injury attorney handling car accidents, I’m going to be sharing real-life advice with the law students on how to be a successful litigator and trial lawyer. I plan to use a mock auto accident case.

Greg Gromek of Plunkett Cooney will be speaking on how he would defend the case from an insurance defense perspective.

What happens when Michigan no-fault law and real-life medicine conflict?

Our attorneys tell people that the law in Michigan is black and white: Anyone injured in a car accident must provide information as to the nature or type of injury to his auto insurance company within one year, or the insurance company can deny payment for medical bills and other no-fault benefits (MCL 500.3145(1)).

It’s very easy to comply with a one-year notice provision when there is a physical injury like a broken arm - after all, it hurts immediately and upon X-ray, it’s either there or it isn’t. Notice for a tangible injury like this on an application for benefits to an auto insurance company can be easily made.