TBI attorney says if Michigan’s No-Fault benefits system is dismantled by law change, brain injury victims like Juliana Ramos would be left without medical care and attendant care
Every year for the past decade, millions of Americans tune in to listen and vote for their favorite singer on American Idol. My daughter takes over the television and demands to stay up late (she’s still very upset about Pia being voted off). But this year, it was the story of a contestant who didn’t make the final cut that caught the attention of the judges, viewers and our traumatic brain injury attorneys.
As Chris Medina, a 26-year-old Chicago native, stood in front of Idol judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, while his fiance Juliana Ramos waited in her wheelchair to hear if Medina made it through to the next round. Medina was singing for Ramos, who had been catastrophically injured in a car accident in 2009.
Two weeks before her bridal shower, Ramos suffered a traumatic brain injury when her car went off the road and crashed into a pole. Her bridal shower was turned into a fundraiser for her medical bills, and her mother-in-law and Medina have been her attendant caregivers ever since.
Sadly, like Juliana Ramos, thousands of people suffer traumatic brain injuries in car accidents in Michigan every year. Fortunately, however, the Michigan No-Fault law (as of now) protects those injured in car accidents from the mountain of medical bills and attendant care expenses Ramos is now struggling to pay.
It’s important to note that our No-Fault law is currently under attack by lawmakers aiming to dismantle the entire (first-party) No-Fault insurance system. They’re doing this under the guise of saving auto insurance policy holders money on their premiums. In reality, if the proposed Senate bills become law, catastrophically injured accident victims like Juliana Ramos, who have suffered serious TBI and spinal cord injuries and who are in need of constant medical care and therapy, will lose their right to lifetime medical insurance benefits.
What do you think of Juliana Ramos’ story? (And are you as upset as my daughter was about Pia being voted off?) Nearly everyone knows someone who has suffered a serious traumatic brain injury from a car accident. Tell your story by making a comment below.
– Steven M. Gursten is a traumatic brain injury attorney and head of Michigan Auto Law. He is a member of the American Association for Justice Traumatic Brian Injury Group and the Sarah Jane Brain Project. Steve received a trial verdict of $5.65 million for a TBI victim; the largest reported auto negligence verdict in Michigan for the year.
Related information:
Traumatic brain injury from auto accidents
Symptoms of traumatic brain injury
Nine steps TBI victims must take following a car accident
Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (248) 353-7575 for a free consultation with a traumatic brain injury attorney. We can help.
