Posts

A Person Who Is Injured While Occupying An Uninsured Vehicle That Is Not Operable May Recover No-Fault PIP Benefits

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently published a case that holds that a person who is injured while occupying an uninsured vehicle that is not operable may recover no-fault PIP benefits.  The case is Shinn v State of Michigan Assigned Claims Facility, ___ Mich App ___ (Docket No. 324227, dated March 29, 2016).  In Shinn, the injured plaintiff was […]

Chiropractic Care Reimbursement Restricted by No-Fault Act

On February 9, 2016, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a Published Opinion that restricts certain reimbursements for chiropractic care under the no-fault act.  The case is Measel v Auto Club Ins Co.  The basic facts are that Ms. Measal was injured (neck, upper back and arm) in a motor vehicle crash.  As part of […]

Increasing The Speed Limit Raises Safety Questions for Michigan Motorists

The Michigan Legislature is, again, debating a proposal to raise the speed limits for state and county roadways.  The package of bills (HB 4423  thru 4427) have been passed by the House Transportation Committee (Chaired by Republican, Peter Pettalia, District 106) and will now be considered and debated by the full House.  A comprehensive legislative analysis of the bills and “the […]

Winter Road Conditions Mandate Slowing Down

It may seem obvious.  It may seem an unnecessary public service caution to express.  Especially for us northern Michiganders.  But for whatever the reason, once winter returns the local news is ripe with car crashes occurring in our area, most often because a driver was driving too fast for conditions.  The posted speed limit is […]

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

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.  Specifically, Covenant had notified State Farm of its billings and its claim for payment.  Unbeknownst to Covenant, State Farm then […]

National Teen Driver Safety Week

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 for 14-18 year olds in the United States.  The NHTSA has published a helpful “5 to Drive” set of […]

Roundabouts on M-72 (Traverse City, Michigan) 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 exhaustive study reveals that the facts are not necessarily conclusive.  In fact, […]

Radical Change to Michigan No-fault Law

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 Company, __ Mich App __ (2015).  Since the no-fault act was enacted back in 1973, it […]

The Posted Speed Is Not Necessarily The Safe & Prudent Speed

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 a road.  The basic speed law is one that governs speed for the conditions present; the posted speed […]

Driving Too Fast for Conditions

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 light/vision, wet roads or congested traffic), the basic speed law requires that you reduce your speed so that you can safely stop […]