The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed Chief Judge Gerald Rosen's decision granting summary judgment to General Motors in a class action filed by former GM employees, who filed suit to stop GM from "coordinating", i.e., reducing workers' compensation benefits based on disability pension benefits to which they were entitled. Â The underlying facts stem [...]
Category: Workers’ Compensation Cases
Plaintiff Must Provide Comprehensive List of Available Jobs Within His Qualifications and Training – Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission Provides Significant Guidance on Plaintiff’s Burden of Proof to Demonstrate Inability to Find Work
In this Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission decision I recently secured, the Commission significantly addresses a Plaintiff's burden of proof under step four of Stokes v. Chrysler Corp, LLC. According to the Commission, first, the vocational experts are now going to have to provide a more complete list of jobs an individual has the transferable skills [...]
Court of Appeals Denies Medical Service Provider’s Claim Against No-Fault Insurer to Recover for Services Rendered to Plaintiff as PIP Benefits After She Signed a Release with Insurer
In this published opinion, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's decision, which would have allowed a medical service provider (Michigan Head and Spine) to recover against State Farm for services rendered to plaintiff, who was injured in an auto accident, because the plaintiff signed a release with State Farm in which she [...]
Michigan Supreme Court Rules Twins Conceived by In Vitro Fertilization and Who Were In Gestation Only After Father’s Death Cannot Inherit Under Michigan’s Laws of Intestacy (In re Mattison)
This remarkable opinion issued from the Supreme Court yesterday, December 21, 2012. Â In response to a certified question from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the Supreme Court held: Â Children born after the death of a parent who were not "in gestation" at the time of the parent's death may [...]
Court of Appeals Issues Ruling Concerning Michigan Compensation Commission’s Discretion and Authority to Decide Coverage Disputes Between Carriers
The title of this blog does not do justice to the significance and complexity of this case, for many reasons. I presented oral argument in this case on December 6. Â Today, I am in receipt of the attached opinion. Â It is a well-written, highly detailed opinion concerning the discretion and authority of the Michigan Compensation [...]