October 12, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Wittenberg, Marino, Lasinski, Chirkun, LaGrand, Moss, Brinks, Camilleri, Chang, Ellison, Green, Sabo, Liberati, Sowerby, Sneller, Pagan, Faris, Byrd, Hammoud, Scott, Geiss, Greimel, Rabhi, Robinson, Hertel, Zemke, Gay-Dagnogo and Jones and referred to the Committee on Insurance.
A bill to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled
"The insurance code of 1956,"
by amending section 3135 (MCL 500.3135), as amended by 2012 PA 158.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 3135. (1) A person remains subject to tort liability for
noneconomic loss caused by his or her ownership, maintenance, or
use of a motor vehicle only if the injured person has suffered
death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious
disfigurement.
(2) For a cause of action for damages pursuant to subsection
(1), filed
on or after July 26, 1996, all of the following apply:
(a) The issues of whether the injured person has suffered
serious impairment of body function or permanent serious
disfigurement
are questions of law for the court fact if the court
finds
either of the following:
(i) There is no factual dispute concerning the nature
and
extent
of the person's injuries.
(ii) There is a factual dispute concerning the nature
and
extent
of the person's injuries, but the dispute is not material to
the
determination that there is
no genuine issue of material fact
and no reasonable minds could differ regarding whether the injured
person has suffered a serious impairment of body function or
permanent
serious disfigurement. However, for These questions are
fact-specific and must be determined on a case-by-case basis. For a
closed-head injury, a question of fact for the jury is created if a
licensed allopathic or osteopathic physician who regularly
diagnoses or treats closed-head injuries testifies under oath that
there may be a serious neurological injury.
(b)
Damages shall must be assessed on the basis of comparative
fault,
except that damages shall must
not be assessed in favor of a
party who is more than 50% at fault.
(c)
Damages shall must not be assessed in favor of a party who
was operating his or her own vehicle at the time the injury
occurred and did not have in effect for that motor vehicle the
security required by section 3101 at the time the injury occurred.
(d) The issue of whether the injured person has sustained a
serious impairment of bodily function is fact-specific and must be
determined on a case-by-case basis.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, tort liability
arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use within this state
of a motor vehicle with respect to which the security required by
section 3101 was in effect is abolished except as to:
(a) Intentionally caused harm to persons or property. Even
though a person knows that harm to persons or property is
substantially certain to be caused by his or her act or omission,
the person does not cause or suffer that harm intentionally if he
or she acts or refrains from acting for the purpose of averting
injury to any person, including himself or herself, or for the
purpose of averting damage to tangible property.
(b) Damages for noneconomic loss as provided and limited in
subsections (1) and (2).
(c)
Damages for allowable expenses, work loss, and survivor's
loss, as
defined in and replacement
services under sections 3107 to
3110 in excess of the daily, monthly, and 3-year limitations
contained in those sections. The party liable for damages is
entitled to an exemption reducing his or her liability by the
amount of taxes that would have been payable on account of income
the injured person would have received if he or she had not been
injured.
(d) Damages for economic loss by a nonresident in excess of
the personal protection insurance benefits provided under section
3163(4). Damages under this subdivision are not recoverable to the
extent that benefits covering the same loss are available from
other sources, regardless of the nature or number of benefit
sources available and regardless of the nature or form of the
benefits.
(e) Damages up to $1,000.00 to a motor vehicle, to the extent
that the damages are not covered by insurance. An action for
damages
under this subdivision shall must
be conducted as provided
in subsection (4).
(4) All of the following apply to an action for damages under
subsection (3)(e):
(a)
Damages shall must be assessed on the basis of comparative
fault,
except that damages shall must
not be assessed in favor of a
party who is more than 50% at fault.
(b) Liability is not a component of residual liability, as
prescribed in section 3131, for which maintenance of security is
required by this act.
(c)
The action shall must be commenced, whenever legally
possible, in the small claims division of the district court or the
municipal court. If the defendant or plaintiff removes the action
to a higher court and does not prevail, the judge may assess costs.
(d) A decision of the court is not res judicata in any
proceeding to determine any other liability arising from the same
circumstances that gave rise to the action.
(e)
Damages shall must not be assessed if the damaged motor
vehicle was being operated at the time of the damage without the
security required by section 3101.
(5) As used in this section, "serious impairment of body
function" means an impairment that satisfies all of the following
requirements:
(a) It is objectively manifested, meaning it is observable or
perceivable from actual symptoms or conditions.
(b)
It is an impairment of an important
body function, that
which is a body function of value, significance, or consequence to
the injured person.
(c) It affects the injured person's general ability to lead
his or her normal life, meaning it has an influence on some of the
injured person's capacity to live in his or her normal manner of
living. There is no quantitative minimum as to the percentage of a
person's normal manner of living that must be affected, nor is
there an express temporal requirement as to how long an impairment
must last in order to have an effect on the person's general
ability to lead his or her normal life. However, temporal
considerations are not irrelevant.