New HB 4936 No-Fault “reform” bill extremely punitive to motorcyclists’ legal rights

Hidden in the new No-Fault “reform” bill  HB 4936 is a very nasty surprise for motorcycle owners. HB 4936 would devastate Michigan motorcyclist legal rights.

As a Michigan lawyer, I write often about motorcycle safety and the issue of motorcycle helmets. And even though I’m a strong proponent of helmets, HB 4936 goes far beyond this and is extraordinarily punitive to motorcycle operators who will choose not to wear a helmet (I already assume the Michigan helmet law will be overturned this year or early next - as does, ominously, this legislation).

HB 4936 says that any motorcycle operator or passenger who does not wear a helmet conforming to Motor Vehicle Code requirements is now completely disqualified from receiving any kind of auto No-Fault PIP benefits.  [§3113(D)]

Motorcyclists who do not wear legally conforming motorcycle helmets are not also not entitled to collect any economic loss damages from the at-fault driver who causes the motorcycle accident and the injuries to the motorcyclist.  Again, this is regardless of whether the motorcycle operator is completely innocent and not at fault for the motorcycle accident. There is no relationship between liability, causation, or injuries suffered by the motorcyclist. Simply the failure to wear a motorcycle helmet will deprive the injured motorcyclist from being able to pursue any economic loss damages against an at-fault driver who caused the motorcycle accident. [§3135(3)(c)]

Comment: these new extremely punitive legal provisions being aimed at motorcycle operators seem set out to punish Michigan motorcyclists. There isn’t really any other explanation for a completely innocent motorcycle operator being barred from even collecting excess wage loss from, for example, a drunk driver who paralyzes him for life as would happen under this bill.  Much like the horribly punitive auto accident law that already exists and so severely penalizes an owner and operator of a motor vehicle who is uninsured (where uninsured drivers lose their right to sue the wrongdoer driver who caused the accident without regard to how catastrophic the injuries are, even if the uninsured driver is entirely without fault), the same draconian legislation is now being aimed at motorcycle owners who choose not to wear helmets.

Therefore, under HB 4936, regardless of whether a motorcycle helmet would have had anything to do with causing the motorcycle crash itself, and without any regard to  the injuries suffered by an innocent motorcycle operator, there will be no PIP protection or viable claim for excess economic loss.

Currently, under our law, an injured motorcycle rider can collect No-Fault insurance benefits, including all available PIP coverage, from the car that causes the motorcycle accident. Insurance companies don’t like this because it eats into their profits. They see an opportunity now to shift this long-settled Michigan law, and the entire cost of medical care from the insurance companies to the taxpayers.

This is great for state’s auto insurance companies, since motorcycle accidents make up a significantly higher percentage of significant medical claims for insurance companies and for the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Fund.  Since these motorcycle accidents will still happen, and catastrophic injury accidents will  occur at the same (or probably significantly higher rates with the repeal of the state’s helmet law, the costs of these catastrophic spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries will now be shifted to taxpayers — as a lifetime of future medical care is shifted to Medicare.

Further Analysis: Under HB 4936, even if a motorcyclist wears a helmet, a motorcycle operator is still only entitled to the lowest minimum PIP coverage available. In  HB 4936, that amount is $250,000 for medical and rehabilitation expenses. In the other pending No-Fault bills, that amount is a ridiculous $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation expenses - an amount that is wiped out in a weekend hospital stay.  Whatever lower insurance limit that will be enacted in Michigan will apply regardless of whether the motorcyclist wears a helmet, obeys the law, and even if that motorcycle owner has purchased higher insurance coverage protection on his or her own personal auto No-Fault insurance policy. [§3114(6)]

Motorcycle operators or passengers who do not wear conforming motorcycle helmets will be deemed at least 35 percent at fault if they make for noneconomic (pain and suffering) damages in a lawsuit against a driver who causes them to be injured.  This is a minimum 35 percent allocation of comparative fault, regardless of whether any true fault exists with the motorcycle operator and regardless of whether the lack of a helmet played any causal role or relationship to the accident or the injuries suffered by the motorcycle operator. [§3135(2)(b)]

Comment: you almost have to read this one twice to grasp how nasty this provision is.  A completely innocent motorcycle operator who bears no fault whatsoever for causing an accident that he or she is injured in would see the monetary recovery for injuries and pain and suffering slashed by at least 35 percent - for no explicable reason.

As a lawyer, I have been helping injured motorcycle accident owners and operators for almost 20 years.  I have certainly seen more than my share of anti-motorcyclist bias by police, insurance companies, and juries.  But I have never seen anything that is inexplicably this discriminatory to a group that has done nothing wrong.

HB 4936 will destroy the legal rights of safe and legal motorcycle owners in Michigan.  I hope the safe and legal owners and operators of motorcycles will let their voices be heard so these draconian and discriminatory provisions can be changed.

- Steven M. Gursten is a motorcycle accident attorney and partner of Michigan Auto Law. He is president of the Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Association and lectures to lawyers around the nation on how to win motorcycle accident and injury cases.  Steve received the highest motorcycle settlement in Michigan last year, according to published year-end reports by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Related information to protect yourself:

Motorcycle helmet repeal will result in more motorcycle accidents, deaths and costs

What to do after a motorcycle accident in Michigan

15 motorcycle driving tips

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our motorcycle accident attorneys.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

New study highlights dangers of so-called No-Fault ‘reform’

The giant boondoggle to the state’s auto insurance companies, disguised as “PIP Choice” has been obvious to many insurance lawyers and consumer protection groups from the beginning.  But a recent Anderson study shows just how costly and harmful  No Fault ‘reform’ actually is.

Entitled “Impact of Proposed ‘PIP Choice’ Law in Michigan,” the study, which was commissioned by the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault (CPAN), reaches four  fact-based conclusions about what will happen if the Legislature enacts the proposed insurance company wish-list of  Michigan’s No-Fault insurance laws:

1. Approximately 800 seriously injured Michigan auto accident victims will be deprived of necessary medical care each year.

2. The medical costs of providing lifetime care will be shifted to the taxpayers as these catastrophically injured accident victims are shifted to Medicare.

3. Michigan will lose between 2,500 to 5,000 jobs.

4. Profits for Michigan’s auto insurance companies (already some of the nation’s highest)  will skyrocket because, with little or no change to the amount of premium dollars collected, Michigan’s auto insurance companies will pay out nearly $100 million less per year in claims.

Currently, under Michigan’s No-Fault Law, seriously injured auto accident victims are guaranteed unlimited, lifetime medical coverage for all of their accident-related medical needs, so long as those needs are reasonably necessary for the victim’s care, recovery and/or rehabilitation.

Every year, between 850 and 1,200 car accident victims in Michigan suffer catastrophic injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury. A catastrophic injury involves medical expenses that exceed $500,000 per year.

PIP Choice will change all of this, of course.  According to the CPAN study,  it is estimated that 75 percent to 90 percent of Michigan drivers will cease to elect and pay for unlimited, lifetime medical coverage and instead, will opt for the new and cheaper medical insurance plan, which carries a $50,000 maximum coverage limit.

As an insurance attorney who helps people injured in car accidents, I see most people with serious injuries go through this in two days of emergency room care after a serious car crash.

Again, $50,000 is nowhere near enough to cover expenses associated with any serious Michigan auto accident.

The inadequacy of the $50,000 medical coverage limit is even more obvious for catastrophically injured auto accident victims.

The CPAN study estimates that with 75 percent to 90 percent of Michigan drivers opting for the minimum medical coverage, approximately 638 to 765 Michigan residents a year who suffer catastrophic injuries in car accidents will be devastated by this change.

As such, they will be forced to:

1. Go without needed medical care and treatment because of no insurance coverage.

2. Pay out-of-pocket and, ultimately, face personal ruin and bankruptcy.

3. Mistakenly rely on health insurance that does not exist (a growing number of  private health insurance plans now have specific  auto accident-related exclusions).

4. Get shifted to the taxpayers, in the form of Medicare (also problematic because Medicaid and Medicare are limited in terms of what medical services they’ll cover).

Additionally, the CPAN study reports that the funding for present and future catastrophically injured Michigan auto accident victims will be endangered, because as fewer people opt for unlimited, lifetime medical coverage, fewer people will be paying into the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fund, which pays for victims’ injuries that exceed $500,000.

Approximately 2,500 to 5,000 jobs will be lost if so-called No Fault ‘Reform’ passes, predicts the CPAN study.

This is trickle-down economics in reverse:

As fewer people opt for unlimited, lifetime medical coverage, there will be fewer unlimited, lifetime medical claims, i.e., catastrophic injury claims, to be paid.

And, as there are fewer claims and less money being paid to the healthcare providers, demand for and the ability to pay for the same number of employees will drop, thereby resulting in terminations and lay-offs.

This is true because even though there will continue to be approximately 850 to 1,200 catastrophic claims per year, between 75 percent and 90 percent of those claims will no longer be covered by the victims’ No- Fault insurance.

As if all of that were not disturbing enough, consider how much the CPAN study estimates that Michigan’s auto insurance companies will profit from so-called No Fault “reform.”

Setting aside the fact that there are no guarantees in writing that Michigan drivers will actually save money (or how much) as a result of the dismantling of Michigan’s No Fault system, the CPAN study shows that Michigan’s auto insurance companies will experience little to no change in the amount of premium dollars they collect from Michigan drivers.

But they will experience seismic changes on the other side of the balance sheet.

According to the CPAN study, so-called No Fault “reform” will allow Michigan’s auto insurance companies to “pay out between $91 and $109 million less in claims each year …”

All of this is poetry for Michigan’s auto insurance industry.

There is only one way to avoid real harm to Michigan residents, and that is to prevent  dismantling of Michigan’s No-Fault Law in the first place.

Call your State Representative and State Senator and tell them about this important study from CPAN.

Ask why we are dismantling the nation’s best insurance system to give an unnecessary boondoggle to insurance companies that are already making more money in Michigan than in any other state.

Ask, if lowering auto insurance premiums is truly the goal, aren’t there far better ways of achieving this rather than savaging No-Fault benefits for those who will need them most, such as regulating the amount of profits that insurance companies can make in Michigan for a product (auto  insurance) that residents are required by state law to purchase?

Ask, why is Michigan one of the only states where the insurance commissioner does not have the power to regulate insurance company profits?

- Steven Gursten is recognized as one of the nation’s insurance attorneys handling serious auto accident lawsuits. He frequently writes about Michigan No-Fault, and is available for comment.

Related information to protect yourself:

Michigan doctors and hospitals against No-Fault “reform”

No-Fault “reform” - bad for drivers, great for insurance companies

Your Michigan No-Fault insurance benefits

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our Michigan insurance attorneys.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

Snyder would tie motorcycle helmet law repeal to No-Fault “reform”

The Detroit News recently ran a story on how our governor mentioned that he will consider the motorcycle helmet repeal issue as part of a broader conversation about No-Fault insurance “reform.”  Governor Snyder hasn’t offered details on his plan as of yet.

For those unfamiliar with the proposed motorcycle helmet law repeal, the Michigan Senate has approved a bill to allow motorcyclists 21 and over the option to ride without a motorcycle helmet – as long as they purchase $100,000 in motorcycle PIP insurance coverage. The bill is expected to be passed by the House as well.

There are also proposed bills to “reform” Michigan’s No-Fault insurance system,  currently the best in the nation for injured auto accident victims (By the way, this is not just what the insurance lawyers think).  If these insurance bills are passed, Michigan drivers would no longer have unlimited medical coverage in case of an auto accident. Instead, the cost of medical care and treatment for injured auto accident victims would be limited to as low as $50,000. If this happens, after an injured auto accident victim reaches that $50,000 cap, the financial burden for their lifetime medical care would be shifted from auto insurance companies — to Michigan taxpayers and Medicare.

Snyder’s idea to tie these two issues together is ludicrous. As I’ve written before, Michigan bikers say their choice to wear a helmet is a matter of personal freedom and expression liberty. But these “advocates” completely ignore that their “personal liberty” intrudes on the personal liberty of everyone else - when taxpayers are asked to pay a motorcycle accident victim’s lifetime medical bills for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries. That’s if the motorcyclist survives in the first place…

Yes, folks, bikers are 45 percent more likely to die when not wearing a motorcycle helmet if they are involved in a motorcycle accident. So… why in the world wouldn’t you wear one?!

Let’s try and attempt to figure out where Snyder is going with this plan. Say motorcyclists are not required to wear a helmet in Michigan any longer. And say the No-Fault “reform” bills are passed, limiting the medical benefits to a lowly cap.

Now let’s say a biker gets in a very serious Michigan motorcycle accident while not wearing his helmet and sustains a catastrophic brain injury that disables him for the rest of his life.

First of all, if this biker did wear  his helmet, he might not ever suffer this brain injury in the first place, or it likely will not be so severe. He might be able to recover and live a normal life. He could have been saved (Read my recent blog about how a bareheaded biker died in a rally against motorcycle helmets).

Who is going to pay for this motorcyclist’s traumatic brain injury and lifetime medical care?

It won’t be the No-Fault insurance company, which would have footed the bill under Michigan’s current No-fault insurance law if the biker had motorcycle PIP, or had been hit by a car.

Again, after this biker reaches $50,000 in medical care (which could likely be exhausted before the first week in the hospital alone), it is now up to the taxpayers and Mediicaid  to pay for his medical care.  As many motorcycle accident injuries without helmets are catastrophic TBI and spinal cord injuries, the taxpayers would assume the cost of paying for lifetime catastrophic medical care.

This is politics at its worst. Synder’s proposal to tie No-Fault reform helps no one but the insurance companies.  We would be letting bikers die and suffer catastrophic injuries in preventable motorcycle accidents, and putting our fiscal house in even greater jeopardy by assuming the cost of these injuries. Again, it’s putting the financial responsibility for their care squarely on Michigan taxpayers.

It’s a bad idea, all the way around.

- Steven M. Gursten heads Michigan Auto Law and is recognized as one of the nation’s top motorcycle accident lawyers. He received the highest motorcycle settlement in Michigan last year, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Steve has spoken at trial seminars on motorcycle injury lawsuits, and is available for comment on Michigan’s motorcycle helmet laws.

Related information to protect yourself:

What to do after a Michigan motorcycle accident

Motorcycle accident lawsuits in Michigan

Editorial: No time to repeal motorcycle helmet sanity

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our motorcycle lawyers.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

Snyder would tie motorcycle helmet law repeal to No-Fault “reform”

The Detroit News recently ran a story on how our governor mentioned that he will consider the motorcycle helmet repeal issue as part of a broader conversation about No-Fault insurance “reform.”  Governor Snyder hasn’t offered details on his plan as of yet.

For those unfamiliar with the proposed motorcycle helmet law repeal, the Michigan Senate has approved a bill to allow motorcyclists 21 and over the option to ride without a motorcycle helmet – as long as they purchase $100,000 in motorcycle PIP insurance coverage. The bill is expected to be passed by the House as well.

There are also proposed bills to “reform” Michigan’s No-Fault insurance system,  currently the best in the nation for injured auto accident victims (By the way, this is not just what the insurance lawyers think).  If these insurance bills are passed, Michigan drivers would no longer have unlimited medical coverage in case of an auto accident. Instead, the cost of medical care and treatment for injured auto accident victims would be limited to as low as $50,000. If this happens, after an injured auto accident victim reaches that $50,000 cap, the financial burden for their lifetime medical care would be shifted from auto insurance companies — to Michigan taxpayers and Medicare.

Snyder’s idea to tie these two issues together is ludicrous. As I’ve written before, Michigan bikers say their choice to wear a helmet is a matter of personal freedom and expression liberty. But these “advocates” completely ignore that their “personal liberty” intrudes on the personal liberty of everyone else - when taxpayers are asked to pay a motorcycle accident victim’s lifetime medical bills for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries. That’s if the motorcyclist survives in the first place…

Yes, folks, bikers are 45 percent more likely to die when not wearing a motorcycle helmet if they are involved in a motorcycle accident. So… why in the world wouldn’t you wear one?!

Let’s try and attempt to figure out where Snyder is going with this plan. Say motorcyclists are not required to wear a helmet in Michigan any longer. And say the No-Fault “reform” bills are passed, limiting the medical benefits to a lowly cap.

Now let’s say a biker gets in a very serious Michigan motorcycle accident while not wearing his helmet and sustains a catastrophic brain injury that disables him for the rest of his life.

First of all, if this biker did wear  his helmet, he might not ever suffer this brain injury in the first place, or it likely will not be so severe. He might be able to recover and live a normal life. He could have been saved (Read my recent blog about how a bareheaded biker died in a rally against motorcycle helmets).

Who is going to pay for this motorcyclist’s traumatic brain injury and lifetime medical care?

It won’t be the No-Fault insurance company, which would have footed the bill under Michigan’s current No-fault insurance law if the biker had motorcycle PIP, or had been hit by a car.

Again, after this biker reaches $50,000 in medical care (which could likely be exhausted before the first week in the hospital alone), it is now up to the taxpayers and Mediicaid  to pay for his medical care.  As many motorcycle accident injuries without helmets are catastrophic TBI and spinal cord injuries, the taxpayers would assume the cost of paying for lifetime catastrophic medical care.

This is politics at its worst. Synder’s proposal to tie No-Fault reform helps no one but the insurance companies.  We would be letting bikers die and suffer catastrophic injuries in preventable motorcycle accidents, and putting our fiscal house in even greater jeopardy by assuming the cost of these injuries. Again, it’s putting the financial responsibility for their care squarely on Michigan taxpayers.

It’s a bad idea, all the way around.

- Steven M. Gursten heads Michigan Auto Law and is recognized as one of the nation’s top motorcycle accident lawyers. He received the highest motorcycle settlement in Michigan last year, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Steve has spoken at trial seminars on motorcycle injury lawsuits, and is available for comment on Michigan’s motorcycle helmet laws.

Related information to protect yourself:

What to do after a Michigan motorcycle accident

Motorcycle accident lawsuits in Michigan

Editorial: No time to repeal motorcycle helmet sanity

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our motorcycle lawyers.

Kansas City Auto Accident Blog

Michigan No-Fault ‘reform’ is bad for drivers, but great for insurance companies

“Reform” does not mean lowering premiums. It does not mean ending Michigan’s problem with too many people driving without any auto insurance. “Reform” is the  insurance industry’s way of saying “Let’s boost our [already record-breaking] profits.”

Michigan drivers (and voters) would do well to remember this as Michigan’s auto insurance industry proposes new  “reform” (read, dismantling) of Michigan’s No Fault insurance system. Previously, the Insurance Institute of Michigan and its executive director, Pete Kuhnmuench, have described Michigan No-Fault insurance as “offering the best No-Fault medical benefits of any state” and providing policyholders with “the Cadillac of auto insurance policies.”

What changed?  With Republicans now in control in the Michigan Legislature, the insurance company lobbyists are sensing an opportunity to boost profits in the state - already the highest in the nation in insurance company profitability. Gone are the comments about Michigan “offering the best No-Fault benefits” and other talk of how good a deal our No-Fault system actually is for state residents.

Currently, in return for an auto insurance premium that the Insurance Journal has called “extremely reasonable,” Michigan’s mandatory No-Fault insurance system provides personal protection insurance coverage (also called No-Fault PIP) which guarantees Michigan auto accident victims unlimited medical benefits to assist with their auto accident-related care, recovery and rehabilitation.

That means that even if a Michigan auto accident victim’s medical expenses runs as high as $100,000 or $500,000 or $1 million, those expenses are paid in full by the victim’s No-Fault auto insurance company.

However, under the “reform” proposed by Michigan’s auto insurance industry, that would now all change.

Under the Michigan auto insurance industry’s proposed “reform,” Michigan drivers would trade their unlimited medical benefits for LIMITED medical benefits (say… medical benefits capped at $50,000).

And, the trade-off for being duped into abandoning “the best No-Fault medical benefits” in the country is that Michigan drivers might have a couple hundred dollars shaved off of their annual No-Fault auto insurance premium.

I say “might” because the insurance industry has promised us savings before, in return for greater restrictions. For example, in 1995, they promised us dramatic savings on car insurance in exchange for Michigan adopting the most draconian injury threshold law in the nation - one that made it very hard to sue someone else for injuries and pain and suffering - and yet car insurance premiums only continued to go up.

It looks like this new  dangerous and inadequate auto insurance will soon be tested on Detroit residents, under the unproven statement that it’s “cheaper.”

The absurdity of this is made all the more obvious when two points are considered:

1. First, $50,000 in medical benefits provides woefully inadequate coverage for seriously or catastrophically injured Michigan auto accident victims. “[A] single injury can cost millions of dollars,” the Insurance Institute of Michigan has said. And if $50,000 is the medical cap, it is burned through in the emergency room in any serious injury car accident, leaving the remainder to the taxpayers and Medicaid.

2. There is no guarantee that Michigan drivers will ever actually see any savings as a result of the so-called “reform” that Michigan’s auto insurance industry is trying to foist upon them.

In more than 60 pages of proposed House and Senate bills explaining in excruciating detail the myriad ways in which Michigan auto insurance companies can dismantle Michigan drivers’ unlimited medical benefits, there is not a single word promising Michigan drivers “savings” — let alone how much or for how long — as their compensation for having “the best No-Fault medical benefits” in the country slashed.

The industry has backed proposed Michigan No-Fault “reform” legislation in 2008 and 2010 and will undoubtedly throw its support behind the proposed legislation that is certain to surface in the near future. Notably, both previous bills — Senate Bill 1278 and House Bill 6094 — “died” from inactivity at the end of their respective legislative terms.

“Profits are essential,” as the president of the Insurance Information Institute told the Michigan House Insurance Committee in December 2009.

And, profits lie at the heart of the Michigan auto insurance industry’s crusade to “reform” Michigan’s No-Fault system. Not saving money for Michigan drivers or trying to end Michigan’s “uninsured motorist” problem, as the industry’s press releases and journal articles strain credulity to suggest.

- Steven M. Gursten is head of Michigan Auto Law. He is recognized as one of the nation’s top lawyers handling serious auto injury cases and No-Fault litigation. Michigan Auto Law has received the highest jury verdict for a car accident or truck accident in 2008, 2009 and 2010, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Additional resources to protect yourself:

Show us the money from proposed changes to our No-Fault law

Why Detroit papers are falling for proposed elimination of Michigan’s No-Fault law

Your Michigan No-Fault benefits

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident,  motorcycle accident and No-Fault insurance lawsuits throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with a car insurance lawyer. We are here to help you.

Michigan Auto Lawyers