Miller & Tischler, P.C.
28470 W. 13 Mile Rd. Ste. 300
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
(248) 945-1040
www.millertischler.com
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M&T
No-Fault News
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IN THIS ISSUE
Quick Summary of the New Law
Verdicts and Settlements
Miller & Tischler, P.C. About Town
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Hi everyone. I hope you are enjoying our beautiful summer. We now have had a couple of months to digest the devastating changes in the new law. People have now become generally familiar with the changes, and will become
more so
as time passes. We believe this is a good time to take stock of where we stand, what changes are already effective, and what recommendations can be made at this time. In this spirit, we provide the following quick summary:
QUICK SUMMARY OF THE NEW LAW:
I.
CHANGES ALREADY IN EFFECT. Effective June 11, 2019, uninsured passengers (except in very limited circumstances), pedestrians and other non-occupants will generally claim from the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan with a cap on allowable expenses of $250,000. This is a big change from the old law. Uninsured occupants (as long as they were not owners of the uninsured vehicle involved in the crash) and non-occupants alike were eligible for full no-fault coverage. That is no longer the case. Uninsured occupants and non-occupants alike injured since June 11, 2019 will claim through the MACP and be capped at $250,000 (again, with limited exceptions).
II.
PIP "CHOICE." Effective July 1, 2020, Michigan Drivers will be able to choose coverages from full catastrophic coverage to $500,000 to $250,000, and even less in some circumstances. We strongly recommend that people purchase the full catastrophic coverage.
III.
HIGHER LIABILITY COVERAGES. Effective July 1, 2020, Michigan drivers will be required to purchase $250,000 in residual liability coverage (though they can opt to purchase down to $50,000). People who buy lower No-Fault Coverage, may end up with large excess economic loss claims. They may then seek coverage from the liability insurance of the driver who hit them. Therefore, we strongly recommend that people purchase much higher bodily injury liability limits. Even though "choice" doesn't go into effect until July 1, 2020, as mentioned above, uninsured (but not disqualified) injury victims will already be eligible for lower than the unlimited No-Fault Coverage of the past. Therefore, we recommend that you buy significantly increased limits NOW!
IV.
FEE SCHEDULES. Effective July 1, 2021, mandatory fee schedules go into effect. Some of the limits imposed by this fee schedule will be ruinous to the effected providers. For example, the 55% fee schedule will put many providers and even industries out of business. We strongly recommend that legislative action be pursued to correct this horrible public policy. In the interim, we will be exploring the applicability of various fee schedules to different categories of service providers. Stay tuned!
MOTORCYCLE VERSUS ORV. Wayne Miller resolved a large loss claim for a major hospital for over $600,000. This case shows the importance of proper classification different motor vehicles. Our patient was terribly injured when he took his motorized bike on the highway and was hit by a car. The bike had an engine displacement of 450 cc's. The engine size and looks of the bike suggested that it was a motorcycle. Because our patient had not registered or insured the bike, the no-fault insurer argued that our patient was disqualified from no-fault coverage. However, we learned that the bike was a motocross bike, used on dirt tracks in competition. As a motocross/dirt bike, it did not have the equipment necessary to make it "street legal." The no-fault law recognizes distinctions between motorcycles, mopeds and ORVs. We successfully argued that the bike was not a "motorcycle." Therefore, registration and insurance were not required, and no disqualification existed. This was the key to full payment of the large medical bills.
- Wayne Miller and Milea Vislosky spoke at the annual State Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) No-Fault Summit on May 2 - 3, 2019
- M&T has once again sponsored the annual RIM Symposium May 10, 2019 supporting the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan
- Wayne Miller and Maureen Kinsella spoke at MBIPC Legal Boot Camp on June 19, 2019.
- Wayne Miller spoke on "Neuropsychological Testimony for Personal Injury Lawyers" at the annual AAJ 2019 Convention in San Diego on July 28, 2019.
- Wayne Miller addressed the Michigan Judges Association in their annual conference on Mackinac Island on August 19, 2019. The judges are as concerned as everyone else is on the details of the new law, as they will be the first ones to interpret the meaning and application of the new law. An excellent discussion occurred.
- Wayne Miller will be speaking on cross-examining defense neuropsychologists at the Michigan Association for Justice TBI seminar on September 6, 2019.
- Wayne Miller and Maureen Kinsella will be co-moderating and speaking at the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) annual No-Fault Institute on October 10 - 11, 2019.
M&T invades Belle Isle! We took the afternoon of August 2, 2019 off to play hooky on Belle Isle. Beautiful day and beautiful gem of the City of Detroit!
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Miller & Tischler welcomes Aubree Krause to our family.
Aubree is a graduate from Eastern Michigan University and obtained her Juris Doctor from Cooley Law School. As a law student, Aubree held internships in the areas of elder law and criminal defense. After she was admitted to the bar, she began her career in the State Legislature, where she worked extensively on auto No-Fault legislation. From there, Aubree joined a broad-based firm, where she represented clients throughout the civil litigation process.
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| About Our Law Firm
Miller & Tischler, P.C., represents survivors of catastrophic brain and spinal injuries, their families and their professional service providers who are having difficulty pursuing their entitlement to receive No-Fault benefits for injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents. We help our clients understand how their No-Fault insurance may coordinate with other kinds of insurances they have whether it be private health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Workers' Compensation, or Veterans benefits. We assist our clients in learning about and obtaining all of the benefits to which they are entitled, whether they be individuals or service providers. We also represent our clients with their auto negligence and wrongful death claims. In other words, we are a full service auto No-Fault law firm.
Let Us Help You.
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