Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 28745; Published
Judges Danhof, R. B. Burns, and Quinnell; Unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 76 Mich App 181; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exception for Loading / Unloading [§3106(1)(b)]
Causal Connection Requirement [§3106]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In the first reported decision regarding §3106(b) of the No-Fault Statute, the Court of Appeals denied no-fault benefits to a Plaintiff who was injured when he slipped and fell in a puddle of water while carrying a ceramic mold from his store to load it into a truck. The fall occurred twenty feet away from the truck and did not result in the mold landing on the Plaintiff. Pursuant to §3106(b) and the no-fault policy in effect at the time of the accident, the Court denied no-fault benefits for two reasons:
1. The Plaintiff was not lifting the mold into the vehicle when he was hurt, and
2. The Plaintiff s injury was not a direct result of physical contact with property being lifted into the truck.
The ruling is significant in that the Court of Appeals did not indicate in any way that §3106(b) requires direct physical contact with equipment permanently mounted on the vehicle as some insurance companies have suggested.
