Insurance Law – Motor Vehicle Accidents – No-fault Insurance Act

Injuries involved “parked vehicles” have led to a significant amount of litigation. The Michigan No-Fault Act covers injuries arising out of the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle under MCL 500.3105, but then generally excludes injuries arising out of the use of a parked motor vehicle in § 3106 with several exceptions listed in the statute. See MCL 500.3106.

In a recent decision the Michigan Supreme Court clarified that a motorist who injures himself unloading his personal property (a briefcase and other similar personal effects) can recover no-fault PIP benefits, because “the conveyance of personal belongings is closely related to the transportational function of motor vehicles, and a person who is engaged in the activity of unloading his or her personal effects from a vehicle upon arrival at a destination is using the vehicle for its transportational function.”

The Supreme Court noted that the correct question is whether the activity in which the plaintiff was engaged was closely related to the vehicle’s transportational function, and arguments that “the injury could have occurred elsewhere is of no moment.” The Supreme Court rejected a line of cases that disallowed No-Fault coverage, where the injury arguably “could have occurred at other locations,” thus broadening No-Fault coverage in “parked vehicle cases” somewhat, as compared to earlier decisions of the Court of Appeals. The case was a 4-3 decision: Kemp v Farm Bureau General Insurance Company of Michigan, Supreme Court Docket 151719, decided June 15, 2017.

Read more about our expertise in motor vehicle accidents, and the No-Fault Insurance Act.

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT NO FAULT INSURANCE

About the Author

Mr. Zelenock grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and earned a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan. He graduated from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1998, and has practiced law in Traverse City since 1998.
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