Historic Changes To Michigan No-Fault Law Effective July 1, 2020 (Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.)

Historic Changes To Michigan No-Fault Law Effective July 1, 2020

  Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020 Source: Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.

The Michigan Legislature passed no-fault auto insurance laws in 1973, and like a T-Rex guarding its bone, has been holding on to this dysfunctional approach to auto insurance ever since.

Instead of running away completely from the problem and joining states which have enjoyed lower auto insurance premiums after abandoning the failed no-fault experiment, Michigan has historically doubled down on their system and made it even more difficult for seriously injured accident victims to receive necessary catastrophic injury coverage. On May 20, 2019, however, Michigan took baby steps toward ridding itself of its dysfunctional and confusing no-fault system.

It eliminated core features of the Michigan no-fault law it had in place for nearly 50 years, including doing away with Michigan’s lifetime, unlimited no-fault medical expenses, and giving drivers the choice of opting out of the No-fault Act altogether.

At the same time, the new law opens up the tortfeasor’s tort exposure and ensures higher payouts in civil negligence litigation by decreeing that damages that are no longer payable under PIP will be shifted over as an element of damages for the injured person’s tort claim.

This historic change in Michigan law presents new potential subrogation opportunities in a state that has otherwise been all but abandoned by subrogation professionals.

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