Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #237052; Unpublished
Judges Markey, Saad and Smolenski; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Noneconomic Loss Liability for Serious Impairment of Body Function Threshold (Definition) [3135(1)]
General Ability / Normal Life Element of Serious Impairment [3135(7)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, decided without oral argument, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of summary disposition in favor of defendant on plaintiff's claim of serious impairment of body function. The plaintiff in this case sustained an injury described as “mildly herniated disc in his neck.” As a result of the injury plaintiff could not work for several different periods of time, all of which totaled up to approximately ten months. The Court held that plaintiff's inability to work for that amount of time “significantly affected plaintiff’s work life” and, therefore, the trial court erred in granting defendants motion for summary disposition as a question of fact was created on this issue. Relying upon the published Court of Appeals opinion in Kreiner v Fischer, 251 Mich App 513 (2002), the court held:
“A plaintiff must show that his general ability to lead his normal life has been significantly altered by his injury. . . . Where a person's normal life consists in large part of his work, an injury's impact on his work routine may establish that the impairment affects the person's general ability to lead his normal life.”