Thanks to the Gang of Justice, Fairness Prevails in Auto Negligence Cases

For six years, people injured in automobile accidents have had the door to the courthouse slammed in their face thanks to a 2006 case known as Kreiner v Fischer. This weekend, the Michigan Supreme Court restored fairness to the claims of people who have been seriously injured in auto accidents (PDF). That was done with the Michigan Supreme Court’s opinion in McCormick v Carrier, released this Sunday, August 1, 2010.

Under the Gang of Four, this is what their brand of justice looked like. You had NO CASE when:

• Fractured ankle when a truck runs over your foot
• Two surgeries within 9 months, including having to have screws placed in your ankle and then have them removed
• Multiple months of physical therapy
• Ankle pain so bad you have trouble walking and crouching
• Your life changes so that you go from being a weekend golfer to golfing ONCE since an accident

Thanks to the Gang of Justice, that type of injury is automatically a victory, and a jury only has to decide how much to award you.

Under the Gang of Four, you had to go through all kinds of hoops to prove that the pain you were experiencing could be detected by an MRI, EKG, X-Ray or CT-Scan. And we know how much No-Fault insurers LOVE to pay for those tests.

Thanks to the Gang of Justice, if your injury is observable or perceivable from your actual symptoms or conditions, you can get to a jury.

Under the Gang of Four, people every day were getting severely injured and told time and again they had no case in Michigan.

Thanks to the Gang of Justice, fairness has returned to the courts. The courthouse door is open to anyone who can prove that their injury has influenced their ability to live their normal manner of living. That by the way, is all the Michigan Legislature required when it amended the No-Fault Law in 1995.

Insurance companies are sure to moan and cry foul, but I doubt many people’s insurance premiums went DOWN the last six years because of Kreiner. We have a Court that put people ahead of corporations and insurance companies. Fairness in the Courts happens when the strength of your case decides your outcome, not how much money you have. It was a good day for justice in Michigan on August 1, 2010.