Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #272395; Unpublished
Judges Markey, Murphy, and Kelly; 2-1 (Judge Kelly concurring); per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Lawfully Rendered Treatment [3157]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this 2-1 unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals held that even though a chiropractic service provider may have been improperly incorporated, it was entitled to payment for treatment one of its licensed therapists had lawfully provided to defendant Allstate’s insured.
The issue in this case is whether plaintiff Best Care Rehabilitation is entitled to payment for chiropractic treatment that one of its therapists rendered to defendant’s insured. Defendant argued that because plaintiff was incorporated under the Business Corporation Act, rather than the Professional Service Corporation Act, the chiropractic treatment was not lawfully rendered and defendant could not be charged for the services under MCL 500.3157. The Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for Best Care, citing its recent decision in Miller v Allstate Insurance, 272 Mich App 284 (2006) [Item No. 2785]. In Miller, the court held that, “a clinic or institution is lawfully rendering treatment when licensed employees are caring for, and providing services and treatment to, patients despite the possible existence of corporate defects irrelevant to treatment.”
In this case, because a licensed physical therapist provided the physical therapy treatment to defendant’s insured, the treatment was lawfully rendered under MCL 500.3157 and, therefore, payment was required. In this regard, the court stated:
“We conclude that Miller applies and affirm the trial court. Because a licensed physical therapist provided the physical therapy treatments to Bradley, they were ‘lawfully render[ed] treatment’ under MCL 500.3157. Whether Best Care is a lawfully formed corporation is immaterial.”
