Georgians Injured in Michigan May Have Second Chance to Recover Damages

My good friend Steve Gursten in Michigan just called to my attention a Michigan Supreme Court decision that s overturned  the nation’s harshest auto accident threshold law.

Under former Michigan case law, attorneys had told many people they had “no case” because Michigan law required that a bodily function be completely altered. Thus, people with severe injuries and debilitating pain were unable to recover damages for injury in a motor vehicle accident if they were eventually able to return to their ordinary activities.

Now, under the case of McCormick v. Carrier, people who seek compensation for injuries and pain and suffering have a better chance at a fair recovery. The McCormick decision say a person can qualify for pain and suffering damages if his or her normal life is affected — not completely altered, by an injury in a car wreck. 

Steve and I have talked for several years about how much better Georgia law is for people who are seriously injured through no fault of their own than is the law of Michigan. I’m glad to see that Michigan law has become a little less harsh.

Ken Shigley, author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation & Practice, is  a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has been listed as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), among the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He practices law at the Atlanta law firm of Chambers, Aholt & Rickard, and has broad experience in catastrophic personal injury, spinal cord injury, wrongful death, products liability,  brain injury and burn injury cases. He is also president-elect of the State Bar of Georgia. This post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.