Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 73279; Published
Judges Gribbs, Hood, and Kuhn; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 139 Mich App 57; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to No-Fault PIP Benefits: Bodily Injury Requirement [§3105(1)]
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [§3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals denied no-fault first party benefits to a plaintiff who suffered back injury as a result of "wear and tear" on his back sustained pursuant to his employment as a yard man for a trucking company. Plaintiff s job responsibilities included loading and unloading trucks which carried new automobiles. Plaintiff was required to drive the automobiles to and from a large parking lot on his employer's premises. He rode to and from these automobiles in a van supplied by his employer. On one particular day, Plaintiff began experiencing back pain each time he had to bend in and out of these vehicles. Plaintiff did not recall suffering a specific accidental injury which precipitated the back pain.
For purposes of the appeal, the Court was willing to accept the fact that the plaintiff injured his back while entering or exiting a motor vehicle. However, the Court ruled that plaintiff was not entitled to recover benefits under §3105(1) because his injury did not arise out of the use of a motor vehicle "as a motor vehicle." The Court stated, "we agree with the trial court that the motor vehicles in question merely provided the situs for plaintiff’s injury... we agree with the trial judge that plaintiff’s injury, suffered 'through accumulated use of his body in a certain way in the course of his employment', was not an injury from a motor vehicle accident under the No-Fault Act."