Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 77-4334; Unpublished
Judges V. J. Brennan, R. B. Burns, and M. J. Kelly; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Nature of Survivor’s Loss Benefits [§3108(1)]
General Rule of Priority [§3114(1)]
General / Miscellaneous [§3115]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Legislative Purpose and Intent
CASE SUMMARY:
In a per curiam decision very similar to the subject matter discussed in Belcher v Aetna (item number 77) the Court of Appeals held that the widow of a deceased uninsured motorist could not obtain survivors' loss benefits from the insurance company of the driver of the other vehicle involved in the fatal accident. The Court so ruled based upon the priority provisions of the no-fault statute (§3114 and §3115). The Court stated that even though those priority provisions only specifically discuss personal protection benefits, survivors' loss benefits are of that nature and accordingly the priority provisions apply to said survivors' benefits. The Court reasoned that inasmuch as the decedent would have had to recover PIP benefits from his own insurance company had he survived, his dependents must also turn to that insurance company for survivors' loss benefits in the event of his death. The fact that this decedent was killed in an automobile accident wherein he was uninsured does not alter the priority provisions and give his widow a right to claim survivors' benefits from the insurance company of the other driver.
The Court specifically noted that they were not considering or deciding whether this plaintiff would be derivatively ineligible for no-fault benefits under §3113(b). However, the case of Belcher v Aetna Casualty addresses that issue.
The Court also refused to consider whether or not the plaintiff could recover through the assigned claims plan. The Court did state, however, that merely because an assigned claim's insurer might be liable to plaintiff does not establish liability on the part of this particular defendant who was not assigned the claim facility.
