Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #251543; Unpublished
Judges Murray, Markey and O’Connell; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion decided without oral argument, the Court of Appeals reversed summary disposition for plaintiff on the issue of whether the decedent’s fatal heart attack was caused by pushing his vehicle a half mile to the gas station after it ran out of gas and therefore arose out of his ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle within the meaning of § 3105(1) of the No-Fault Act. In holding that there was a question of fact whether the decedent’s death was directly linked to pushing the car, the Court of Appeals noted that the death certificate identified “arteriosclerotic coronary disease” as the cause of death. In this regard, it stated:
“While the evidence did not preclude a finding that exertion from pushing a car aggravated the decedent’s condition and caused death when death was not previously imminent, the evidence attributing the decedent’s death to an ongoing disease, rather than an acute event, establishes factual support for defendant’s theory that the decedent may have died of a preexisting condition that was only fortuitously linked [to] his using an automobile. Further, while there was evidence that the decedent experienced symptoms consistent with a heart attack after pushing his vehicle, e.g., profuse sweating and shortness of breath, there was also evidence that he vomited blood, which, . . . was not a symptom of a heart attack. Viewed in a light most favorable to defendant, the evidence raised a question of fact whether there was a sufficient nexus between the decedent’s pushing his car and his subsequent heart failure. Therefore, summary disposition was improperly granted under MCR 2.116(C)(10).”
