Earlier this month, we posted “Do I Have a Good Case?”, illustrating 8 inconsistent examples of how Michigan’s car accident injury laws unfairly impact real people, with identical injuries from car accidents.   All examples were based on actual cases, although one example (Gagne v. Schulte) stands out as so extreme, it has been questioned by our readers as “unrealistic”.

Sadly, that case was all too real.  Krista Gagne was 21 years old when her car was hit by a drunk driver.   Krista suffered very serious injuries, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial meniscus that ultimately required reconstructive knee replacement surgery.  She lost over a year from work, had extensive physical therapy, and ultimately lost her job. 

On April 1st, 2008 the New York Times reported on the practice of automobile and disability insurance companies overloading the Social Security Administration by forcing people to apply for Social Security Disability.  It is a practice that Michigan social security disability lawyers and lawyers who specialize in helping people injured in car accidents already know too well. 

If someone is injured in a car crash in Michigan, the first party no fault insurer (the insurance company responsible for paying your no fault PIP insurance benefits) can literally force a person to repeatedly apply for social security disability (SSD), and they can suspend and even terminate no fault insurance benefits if that person refuses to apply or refuses to continually appeal the disability determination.  

On April 3rd, 2008, the conservative, 4-justice majority of the Michigan Supreme Court, referred to as the “Gang of Four” by many Michigan personal injury lawyers, wiped out all lawsuits and legal claims based on consortium in any car accident caused by government employees.  Parents, children and spouses are now barred from making any claim for loss of society, companionship, or consortium for the injury or death to a loved one if the car accident has been caused by a governmental employee.   This terrible decision is still limited to lawsuits against a governmental entity based upon the negligence of a governmental employee in causing a motor vehicle accident.  Michigan lawyers can still bring a loss of consortium claim for personal injury or death to a parent, spouse or child after car accidents not been caused by a governmental employee.
 
Wesche v. Mecosta County Road Commission:
The decision, Wesche v. Mecosta County Road Commission was authored by Justice Corrigan, the same justice who has ironically called herself a “champion of children,” despite authoring such previous travesties as Cameron v. ACIA.  Justice Corrigan ruled in Wesche that the parents of an unborn child killed in a car accident caused by a negligent driver employed by the government, cannot recover anything for the loss of society and companionship of their child. 

On March 7, 2008 the world changed overnight for Michigan attendant care lawyers, the catastrophically injured and attendant care providers.  For the first time, the Michigan Supreme Court has extended the definition of “incurred” to include attendant care in a case called Burris v. Allstate Insurance Company.  Burris has the potential to wipe out hundreds of pending attendant care cases and jeopardize this important no fault benefit for many seriously injured people who currently depend upon it.

Reprint of Steven M. Gursten’s Letter to Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Rarely does the Michigan Lawyers Weekly completely miss the point of an important case, but I feel compelled to respectfully suggest that your recent story on Benefiel v. Auto Owners Insurance Company¹ did exactly this.  

Benefiel is the most important automobile negligence case to be decided since the Michigan Supreme Court decided Kreiner v. Fischer.²   Benefiel is a published decision, and it may hopefully help lawyers and judges better understand Michigan’s chaotic threshold law.     

On February 14, 2008, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against State Farm Insurance Company on an important new uninsured motorist case (Suminski v State Farm).  State Farm, it seems, did not act like a good neighbor, which comes as no surprise to Michigan No Fault Attorneys.  The surprise with this case is that State Farm’s pattern of bad acts towards injured policy holders did not work in favor of the insurance company (this time).

There is a new auto new insurance company delay tactic in Michigan. Claims adjusters are putting innocent people “under investigation” to avoid or delay paying auto no fault insurance PIP benefits. These are lawful, reasonable, no fault claims made by people that were injured in Michigan car accidents. This blog explores how and why illegal delay tactics work for insurance companies, which companies deploy such tactics, what 3 options are available for injured people “under investigation”, and what Michigan Lawyers can do to help their clients.

The consequences of driving a car without auto no fault insurance in Michigan are exceptionally harsh.  A recent case, released on January 29, 2008, illustrates just how severe these consequences will be.  

Don’t let your insurance company shortchange you on medical mileage reimbursement after a car accident.

Medical mileage reimbursement is an important insurance benefit that is provided under the Michigan No Fault Act.  It is available to anyone injured in an automobile accident in Michigan, provided there is no fault insurance coverage for the car or truck involved in the motor vehicle accident.  Pedestrians hit by motor vehicles are also covered.   With gasoline prices now so expensive, doctor visits and physical therapy appointments frequently can result in thousands of dollars in mileage.   And insurance companies in Michigan are not reimbursing many of these claims at a fair rate. 

What do you do when you are driving in your car and find a deer standing in the roadway before you?

Deer cause many car accidents.  According to AAA of Michigan, deer were directly or indirectly responsible for approximately 60,000 car accidents last year in Michigan alone.   Hundreds of people every year are seriously injured or killed.  There are so many deer in Michigan that in some areas, such as the Upper Peninsula, young drivers are taught by Michigan State Police instructors what to do when they too will one day find a deer in the road.