Steven M. Gursten Automobile Accidents Law Blog on Lawyers.com

A Michigan drunk driver with a .30 blood alcohol level slams head-on into the oncoming car of an 11-year-old boy.  The drunk driver walks away. The boy doesn’t walk away at all.  He isn’t able to walk again for at least another month after the car accident, due to multiple fractures to his foot, wrist, hand and ribs. He also loses consciousness and requires in-home nursing care while recovering from his injuries. He misses two more months from school, and has to drop out of the many activities he participated in before the car crash, such as playing on the football team.

How does a drunk driver, who is speeding and barrels into another car, injuring a child, face no civil consequences whatsoever for his actions?

It’s because of a law that most Michigan lawyers and judges feel is badly broken and needs fixing.  This law now shields drunk drivers who cause car and truck accidents and hurt people. And people who drink and drive now have civil immunity if they don’t injure their victims enough.

This stems from a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court decision called Kreiner v. Fischer. Kreiner establishes the medical precondition plaintiffs must meet before they can sue for non-economic damages in such a way that many people who suffer serious injuries have virtually zero rights. In Kreiner, the Court interpreted the Michigan No-Fault Law’s definition of “serious impairment of body function,” and said that an accident victim’s injuries must seriously affect his or her general ability to lead a normal life.  Cases since Kreiner have raised the bar higher each year; causing cases of people who have suffered fractures and surgeries, and who have missed months from work and school, to be thrown out of court.

These are cases like young Anthony's. On June 23, 2009, the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed Anthony’s case.  The drunk driver was speeding with a blood alcohol level of .30, crossed the center lane, and struck a car carrying Anthony, an eighth grader. Anthony’s family filed a civil lawsuit for his many personal injuries.

The Michigan Court of Appeals threw it out.

The Court held that Anthony’s injuries and impairments were not serious enough according to Kreiner, and that therefore, the drunk driver was given immunity for the injuries he caused Anthony.  In other words, a drunk driver gets civil immunity for getting behind the wheel intoxicated and Anthony, an innocent and badly injured victim, gets nothing.

Sadly, Michigan’s auto accident law has evolved (most lawyers and judges would say devolved) to protect drunk drivers like this one. The public policy and message this sends to Michigan drivers could not be worse.

The driver's disregard for others could have killed someone that day.  As it was, Anthony couldn’t walk for an entire month while he was recovering, and yet the drunk driver walked away without any civil penalty. This is because we have lost our focus. In Michigan, the courts only focus on the victim. Yet drivers who cause these injuries - no matter how neglectful the drivers’ choices and actions are before they get behind the wheel - are ignored.

We’ve lost our common sense. By focusing only on the accident victim, and not the perpetrator, the courts say that drunk drivers get immunity because Anthony was not “impaired enough.” We are continuing to protect drunk drivers from civil lawsuits.  Will it take another accident, where he injures someone so badly or kills someone, to finally hold him accountable?

Our Michigan auto accident law was not supposed to create results like this one. It was originally created to protect drivers from clearly “frivolous” injuries; not to shield drunk drivers who cause serious injuries.

To learn more about the legal requirements of a car or truck accident case visit the Michigan Auto Law guide Do I have an Auto Accident Case in Michigan which includes a video with more information for auto accident victims.

Also check out my Michigan Auto Lawyers Blog for more examples of cases that are constantly thrown out because of unfair Michigan laws.

 Steve Gursten is recognized as one of the nation’s top experts in serious car and truck accident injury cases and automobile insurance no-fault litigation. Steve has received the largest jury verdict for an automobile accident case in Michigan in four of the past seven years, including 2008.