Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 225640; Published
Judges White, Murphy and Fitzgerald; unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 256 Mich. App. 680, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Noneconomic Loss Liability for Serious Impairment of Body Function Threshold (Definition) [3135(1)]
Objective Manifestation Element of Serious Impairment [3135(7)]
General Ability / Normal Life Element of Serious Impairment [3135(7)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous published opinion by Judge Murphy rendered after the Supreme Court remand of April 9, 2003, the Court of Appeals affirmed its earlier ruling, and in the process, held as follows: (1) The statutory definition of serious impairment of body function as set forth in §3135(7) can be broken down into three (3) requirements that must be established in order to find a serious impairment of body function. First, there must be an objectively manifested impairment. Second, the impairment must be of an important body function. Third, the impairment must affect a person's general ability to lead his or her normal life; (2) the trial court correctly found that plaintiff's lumbar injuries were objectively manifested; (3) the opinion in Kreiner #1 did not state, nor was it intended to imply, that any effect is sufficient to satisfy the threshold definition--rather the effect must relate to a person's general ability to lead his or her normal life; (4) a person's general ability to lead his or her normal life can be affected by an injury that impacts the person's ability to work at a job, where the job plays a significant role in that individual's normal life, such as in the case at bar; (5) the documentary evidence in the case at bar revealed that plaintiff's ability to work a full eight (8) hour day was reduced by twenty-five percent (25%), that he could no longer do roofing jobs, that ladder work was limited, and that there were weight and movement restrictions. “These limitations, if proven, are significant enough to support a finding that plaintiff's impairment affected his general ability to lead his normal life.” Based on the foregoing, the court remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether there were any material issues of fact regarding plaintiff's claims relative to the effect of the injury on his general ability to lead his normal life. If the trial court determines that there are no material factual disputes regarding plaintiff's claimed limitations, the trial court was instructed to grant summary disposition to plaintiff on the threshold issue of serious impairment of body function. If the trial court determines that there are factual disputes regarding plaintiff's claim limitations, then the matter should be submitted to the jury for resolution.
