Attorney Carol Smith Wins MSD on Serious Impairment Threshold             

In a recent case handled by Attorney Carol Smith, the claimant was being transported home from dialysis in a non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) vehicle when she fell out of her chair and seemingly suffered a highly comminuted, displaced fracture of her left femur. She underwent surgical repair with hardware placement the following day and, as a result of the surgery, was hospitalized for three weeks and then in-patient at a nursing care facility for another four weeks. She died ten months later, which her family attempted to relate to her fall. The wrongful death claim was ultimately withdrawn after Carol moved the circuit court to dismiss it. Regarding the femur fracture, the court agreed with Carol that, because the claimant was already wheelchair-bound prior to this injury and the femur fracture did not appreciably alter her ability to lead her normal life, the tort threshold established by MCL 500.3135 was not met. The case was dismissed in its entirety.

Tort threshold under the Michigan No-Fault Act can be a complicated and intricate analysis. For more information, reach out to Ms.  Smith or any of the other no-fault attorneys at CMDA and let them help.

Carol Smith is an attorney in our Livonia office where she focuses her practice on insurance defense matters. She has considerable litigation and trial experience representing clients in third-party auto claims, as well as first-party no-fault and uninsured motorist claims. Additionally, she advises clients on numerous areas of law, including insurance coverage, general liability, personal injury protection (PIP) and bodily injury claims. She may be reached at (734) 261-2400 or csmith@cmda-law.com.