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25 June
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What is a Medical Lien – Health Insurance Liens and Car Accident Settlements

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto Insurance, Auto No-Fault, Fox 17
Healthcare professional holding clipboard and person in bed

If you've been injured in a car accident because of a negligent or reckless driver, you may consider pursuing a liability claim against them. But did you know that your personal health insurer might ask for reimbursement for medical expenses from that liability settlement? In a recent "Know the Law" segment, Grand Rapids car crash lawyer, Tom Sinas, answers the question "what is a medical lien?", explaining how health insurance liens and car accident settlements work. What is a Medical Lien? To understand health insurance liens, you must first understand how personal injury claims work. When a person is injured, their health...

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15 June
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The Intersection of Grunge Rock and Auto Liability Threshold Law

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto Insurance, Auto No-Fault
person play guitar in background

By Grand Rapids auto crash lawyer, Tom Sinas On 1994’s Vitalogy, Pearl Jam’s frontman Eddie Vedder sings a refrain at the end of the album’s seminal track, Corduroy: “Everything has changed, absolutely nothing’s changed.” Little did the singer know that those words would summarize changes to third-party automobile threshold law courtesy of the 2019 no-fault overhaul known as Public Acts 21 and 22. Changes to Serious Impairment of Body Function Requirement Under the New No-Fault Law So how did everything change? For the first time since 1995, the statutory definition of “serious impairment of body function” was revised.  Under the former version of...

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21 May
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Michigan Auto Insurance Changes – What Buyers Need to Know

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto Insurance, Auto No-Fault, Fox 17
speeding headlights on dark highway at night

Join Grand Rapids auto accident attorney, Tom Sinas, in this Fox 17 "Know the Law" special series highlighting the Michigan auto insurance changes and new purchasing decisions. By now, almost everyone in Michigan knows that our state's auto insurance law was reformed last year. The reform introduced vast and sweeping changes to the system as we know it. Many of those changes, however, haven't impacted consumers yet, but are about to do so. For auto insurance policies renewing after July 1, 2020, consumers will need to make these new purchasing decisions. In the weeks ahead, Tom Sinas will cover many of the...

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23 April
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What is a Threshold Injury? No-Fault Reform Provides Further Clarification

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto No-Fault, Motor Vehicle Crashes
man with arm injury working on laptop

[vc_row triangle_shape="no"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Authored by Grand Rapids auto accident lawyer, Tom Sinas What is a threshold injury? If you've been injured in a motor vehicle collision, have heard this term tossed around, and are confused and wonder what it means, we have good and bad news. The bad news is, you're not alone. Threshold law has been the source of great debate in Michigan amongst practitioners and judges throughout the years. It seems that as soon as the courts settle on what constitutes a "serious impairment of body function," an appellate decision upends that definition. The good news, though, is that we seem...

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20 April
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When Chaos Devolves into Anarchy: The Hot Mess of Public Acts 21 and 22

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto No-Fault
Pubc Acts 21 and 22 Michigan no-fault reform

Authored by Grand Rapids car crash lawyer, Tom Sinas Every parent knows that when a child makes a mess, the only thing worse than the mess itself is when the child tries to hastily clean it up. The net result is what some affectionately call a "hot mess." With the legislative overhaul of the no-fault law in 2019, also known as Public Acts 21 and 22, Michiganders are left with what can only be described as a hot mess. Priority Scheme Upended There is no better example than what has happened regarding the so-call "priority" scheme, i.e., the rules determining where an auto...

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02 May
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Auto No-Fault Intentional Injuries Exclusion – You Don’t Have to Prove Innocence

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto No-Fault
knee-brace-injury

With limited exception, Michigan’s auto no-fault law generally provides every Michigan auto-accident victim with certain financial and medical insurance benefits that pay for accident-related medical care and other related expenses.  Generally, these benefits are payable regardless of whether the injured person claiming them was at fault for the accident. To use an extreme example, a person theoretically could crash their vehicle into a telephone pole while driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol, with no sleep, while checking their Facebook account on their phone, and they will generally still receive no-fault benefits.  To be clear, we do not endorse or otherwise suggest...

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30 November
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Steve Sinas Argues Out-of-State No-Fault Case at Michigan Supreme Court

Posted by Steve and Tom Sinas
in Auto No-Fault
Michigan-Supreme-Court-Hall-of-Justice

On November 19, 2018, Stephen Sinas argued an out-of-state no-fault case at Michigan Supreme Court. Sinas Dramis appellate attorney, Joel Finnell, took the leading role on the appellate briefing. The issue in the case was whether our clients, who are Michigan residents, could recover no-fault insurance benefits when they were injured in a motor vehicle crash that occurred in Florida. Furthermore, they occupied a vehicle purchased and used exclusively in Florida at the time of the accident. This vehicle was insured under a Florida insurance policy. However, our clients had no-fault insurance coverage that covered several vehicles they used in Michigan. Home-Owners Insurance Company...

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01 February
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Extending Michigan’s “One-Year-Back Rule” Will Help Reduce No-Fault Litigation

Posted by lmurphy
in Auto No-Fault
no-fault-medical-bill

By Stephen H. Sinas As the Legislature debates revising the Auto No-Fault Insurance Act, there is one simple change that will vastly improve the no-fault system: extending Michigan's “one-year-back rule." If people have more time to resolve payment disputes with their auto insurance companies, it will help reduce unnecessary no-fault litigation. The one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145 says that, for any medical expense unpaid by a no-fault insurance company, if a lawsuit is not filed against the insurance company within one year from the date the medical service was rendered, the insurance company will never have to pay the expense. This is...

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24 January
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Can Victims Of Michigan Semi-Truck Crashes Get No-Fault Benefits?

Posted by lmurphy
in Auto No-Fault, Motor Vehicle Crashes, Semi-Trucks
michigan-semi-truck-crashes

Michigan semi-truck accidents are some of the deadliest accidents on the roadways. Every year, there are often over 10,000 heavy trucks and buses involved in collisions on Michigan highways. Nationwide, studies show that 98 percent of semi-truck crashes result in at least one fatality — and about 86 percent of these deaths are not the semi-truck driver. To help reduce fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have proposed a “speed limiter” rule for new vehicles that weigh more than 26,000 pounds. Speed limiters would cap the speed of large vehicles at 60, 65 or 68...

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18 December
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Coordinated No-Fault Benefits: No More Payment Delays For Medical Providers

Posted by lmurphy
in Auto No-Fault
medical-providers-no-fault-benefits

Michigan Court of Appeals decision makes it faster and easier for medical providers to claim PIP benefits under a coordinated no-fault policy.  In St. John Macomb Oakland Hospital v State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins Co (Docket No. 329056, issued 12/8/2016), the Court of Appeals held that medical providers are not required to appeal a health insurer’s denial of benefits before seeking payment of no-fault personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits for the services they've rendered. The St. John decision clarifies last year's ruling in Farm Bureau Ins Co v Blue Cross Blue Shield, 314 Mich App 12 (2015), where the Court said that,...

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