Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 113183; Unpublished
Judges Doctoroff, Hood, and Griffin; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Work Loss Benefits: Nature of the Benefit [§3107(1)(b)]
Work Loss Benefits: Loss of Earning Capacity [§3107(1)(b)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Evidentiary Issues
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of the insurance company's post-trial motion for summary disposition in a case where the jury was incorrectly instructed as to the issue of loss of earning capacity in addition to instructions on lost wages.
In this case, plaintiff was injured when he was knocked to the ground by an allegedly defective automatic tarpaulin device on defendant's trailer. Plaintiff was a truck driver employed by a construction company which had contracted to haul defendant's hot asphalt to construction sites in the trailer. The trailer was equipped with a pneumatically powered tarpaulin device which was designed to stretch a tarpaulin across the top of a fully loaded trailer so as to maintain the asphalt within a certain temperature range. Plaintiff’s injury occurred when the front arm of the trailer's tarpaulin device became stuck and he attempted to free it. When he attempted to force the bar manually, it shot at him suddenly and knocked him off the trailer and to the ground.
The trial court ruled that plaintiff’s claim arose under the No-Fault Insurance Act, and this ruling was not appealed. The only issue on appeal was whether the judgment in favor of plaintiff for economic loss damages should be reversed in light of incorrect jury instructions on the issue of loss of earning capacity.
In denying the defendant's argument for reversal, the court noted that no error was preserved for appeal, and manifesting injustice did not exist so as to allow the court to reverse the jury's decision. The Court of Appeals agreed that the error was harmless since the evidence supported a claim for actual loss of future wages in the amount awarded.
