Under Michigan’s No-Fault Act, liability for non-economic loss suffered as a result of a motor vehicle accident is limited to situations where an injured party produces sufficient evidence of a threshold injury under MCL 500.3135. MCL 500.3135(1) specifically limits tort liability to situations where an injured person has suffered death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. A serious impairment of body function is defined as “an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's general ability to lead his or her normal life.” MCL 500.3135(5). Additionally, MCL 500.3135 “does not create an express temporal requirement as to how long an impairment must last in order to have an effect on ‘the person’s general ability to live his or her normal life.’” McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180, 202-203 (2010).
In Asraeel v Farm Bureau Insurance Company, Unpublished Court of Appeals Case No. 344022 (Decided October 1, 2019) the plaintiff was a passenger in an automobile that was involved in an accident. As a result of the accident, he suffered a broken clavicle that required surgery to repair. He was also off work for 6 weeks following the accident and testified that he had to alter his work habits and recreational activities as a result of the accident. Plaintiff subsequently brought claims for PIP benefits and uninsured/underinsured benefits against Farm Bureau, as well as claims against both drivers of the vehicles involved in the accident. Defendants filed motions for summary disposition arguing in part that the plaintiff did not suffer a threshold injury.
The trial court found that the plaintiff did not suffer a threshold injury and granted defendant’s motion for summary disposition. The plaintiff appealed. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision finding that plaintiff clearly presented evidence that his general ability to live, work, and engage in activities that he previously enjoyed in his normal life have been affected by his injury. Accordingly, the trial court’s grant of summary disposition in favor of the defendants was improper.
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PERSONAL INJURY & ACCIDENT LAW NO-FAULT INSURANCEAbout the Author
