60th District Court for Muskegon County; Docket No. 80-C-1672; Unpublished
Judge William J. Cole; Written Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Work Loss Benefits: Nature of the Benefit [§3107(1)(b)]
Wage Loss for Temporarily Unemployed Persons / Qualifications [§3107a]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this case, the question for determination was whether the plaintiff was entitled to wage loss benefits where, six months following her injuries in an automobile accident, she recovered from her injuries and was released to go back to work by her doctor. However, she was immediately terminated from her employment because of her poor work record with her employer. In a written opinion, Judge Cole held that under §3107(b) and §3107a, the legislature intended that work loss benefits would be due and payable only to an injured person and that a person who was not injured is totally outside the scope of no-fault personal protection insurance benefits. In addition, the Court held that as a matter of fact, the plaintiff in this case lost her job because of excessive absenteeism unrelated to her injuries in the automobile accident. Therefore, she is factually entitled to no benefits.
[Author's Comment: To the extent this opinion holds that a person must still be "injured" in order to receive no-fault benefits, it is at odds with the Court of Appeals opinion in Nawrocki v Hawkeye Security, item number 76. In Nawrocki, a plaintiff was entitled to continue receiving no-fault benefits where his physical disability had ended but his loss of income continued by virtue of the fact that he lost his job to another while disabled.]
