Blog

Highway Liability Back Before The Michigan Supreme Court

December 16, 2015

Smith & Johnson's partner, L. Page Graves, argued a case of first impression regarding liability against the MDOT for failing to maintain parallel parking spaces in reasonable repair for the safety of pedestrians exiting their motor vehicle, ...

Skiing/Snowboarding Helmets Increase Safety

December 02, 2015

Several ski resorts in Northern Michigan have already opened and several more have announced their season will begin this weekend. With that in mind, it is time to re-check and make sure your and your child's ski or snowboard...

Avoiding Unsuspected Snow-Blower Injuries When Engine Is Off

November 18, 2015

It's time to dust off the snow-blower and move it to the front of the garage for regular use. And it is time to learn that even the most cautious person can still sustain catastrophic injury while exercising extreme care. No logical p...

Medical Provider No-Fault Rights Strengthened Again

November 06, 2015

Since last week's blog post, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued yet another published decision strengthening a medical provider's independent standing to pursue no-fault benefits. The case is Chiropractors Rehabilitation Group v ...

Medical Provider Rights Strengthened In Michigan's No-Fault Law

October 26, 2015

The Michigan Court of Appeals has strengthened medical service providers' rights under the Michigan No-Fault Act. On October 22, 2015, the court published a recent decision which upheld Covenant Medical Center's claim against State Farm...

National Teen Driver Safety Week

October 15, 2015

This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds us all about our role as parents, guardians and mentors of our teenage drivers. Tragically, according to the NHTSA, motor vehicle crashes are the leading causes of death...

National Fire Prevention Week

October 07, 2015

Obviously, fire safety in the home is common sense and not to be ignored. But with the daily hustle of work and family schedules, it is easy to let slide the routine chore of double-checking your household fire alarms (repla...

Volkswagen's Alleged Deceptive Trade Practices

September 29, 2015

The Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA), is a statutory cause of action for conduct constituting unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive trade practices. MCL 445.901, et seq. Under the MCPA, a deceptive trade practice is defined to ...

Roundabouts on M-72 (Traverse City, Michigan)

September 22, 2015

With the growth and development progressing from Acme, east toward Kalkaska, the MDOT has elected to redesign M-72 to include roundabouts. While MDOT proclaims roundabouts will decrease accidents and improve safety, a closer reading of its own ...

Radical Change to Michigan No-fault Law

September 16, 2015

There has been a radical change to Michigan's No-fault Law. The radical change was announced in the recent decision published by the Michigan Court of Appeals, on September 10, 2015. The radical case is Perkovic v Zurich American Insurance ...

Hunting Safety

September 08, 2015

With those cool, damp mornings now upon us, many hunters up here in Northern Michigan are preparing for the fall hunting season. In fact, it has already begun with early season Goose hunting. Regardless of your experience, annu...

The Posted Speed Is Not Necessarily The Safe & Prudent Speed

September 02, 2015

It is striking to both see first-hand and then also hear a witness defensively testify that he was "driving the posted speed limit", albeit in poor weather conditions, poor light (e.g., nighttime driving) or even around a curve on...

Driving Too Fast for Conditions

August 24, 2015

The posted speed limit applies to perfect driving conditions (e.g., lighting, weather and traffic flow). It is the maximum speed allowed in that perfect driving context. When less than optimum conditions are present (e.g., reduced li...

Michigan Storm Damage & Home Owner's Insurance Claims

August 21, 2015

The storm that blew through NW MI last August 2, 2015, left a trail of property damage for many. And with that, many property owners are looking to their homeowners' insurers for help but are being surprised by unwelcome news.&nb...

Avoiding Dangerous Chainsaw Accidents

August 10, 2015

Since last week's major storm up in Northern Michigan, tree clean-up is the task at hand for a great many of residents. Obviously, caution is paramount when operating a chainsaw. Kickback is the most common and seriously har...

Pedestrians Have The Right-Of-Way

August 04, 2015

Up here in northern Michigan, our local community shopping districts are bustling with tourists. Multiple designated pedestrian cross-walks and roadway yield-signs are displayed throughout our local harbor villages and cities. Like i...

Jeep Recall & Driverless Vehicles

July 27, 2015

Needless to say, the recent news about the operation of motor vehicles being (or capable of) hacked by outside sources is deeply disturbing. Fiat-Chrysler just announced its recall of 1.4 Million vehicles after reported hacking disrupted ...

Golf Cart Agreements

July 13, 2015

So you and your pals have driven to northern Michigan to play a round of golf at one of its many, beautiful golf courses. You get to the starter shack at the first tee box and the person takes down your assigned golf cart number and then presents to ...

Summer Festivals & Vendor Tents

July 07, 2015

It is that time of the summer season up here in northern Michigan where festivals are in full swing. With that come corporate sponsors and vendors setting up their promotional tents for the designed purpose to engage potential customers. Vendor tents...

Fireworks

June 30, 2015

It is that joyous, patriotic celebratory time of the summer when we gather together and watch municipal firework shows. The calendar of fireworks shows is considerable when you consider they will take place in so many of our beautiful communities her...