Michigan Court of Appeals Opinion: Dillon v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

On May 3, 2016, the State of Michigan Court of Appeals handed down a ruling that is another victory for car accident victims seeking compensation for their injuries from insurers. The issue in Dillon was whether or not the plaintiff needed to give notice of the specific injury he or she suffered within one year of the accident. The Court of Appeals ruled that, no, you do not not need to be specific about the injuries as long as you do give notice of injury or the insurance company has made a payment previously.

What Was Dillon About?

In Dillon, a woman had been hit by a car while crossing the street in 2008 and taken to the hospital. She complained of pain to her upper and lower back. She did not mention any pain to her hip. She was checked but had no major injuries. In 2011, she was treated for hip pain, and after diagnostics were done on her, she was found to have a tear or detachment in her hip. She underwent arthroscopic surgery to correct the problem in 2012. The victim attributed the injury to the car accident from 2008. And subsequently, she sought PIP benefits from her insurance company, State Farm.

State Farm denied her coverage for the hip injury, arguing that she had not given notice of the hip injury within one year of the injury. The accident victim argued that she did give notice of injury within one year, and that it was not necessary to be specific about the kind of injury as long as injury was noted.

Michigan Court of Appeals Sides with Car Accident Victim

The court agreed with the accident victim. The court noted that that the plain language of the statute itself did not point to needing the level of specificity State Farm argued was necessary. The court reasoned that the statute said one needed to give "notice of injury", not "notice of the injury." Other case law also stood for the proposition that giving notice of injury in general was sufficient.

What Dillon Means for You

The ruling in Dillon is another win for accident victims who want to recover for their injuries, but it is also commonsense when you think about it. Sometimes injuries are not caught early on or develop much later after the accident. The full consequences of an accident often are not known at the outset and can take years to come to light. If accident victims had to give notice within one year of the accident of every injury stemming from the accident, they could be left without recourse for a significant number of latent injuries, some of which can be quite severe such as traumatic brain injury.

Sachs Waldman is a Detroit personal injury law firm representing car, truck, and motorcycle accident victims across Michigan. Our experienced attorneys will fight for you and your family so that you can recover for your injuries and get back to your normal lives. We understand how difficult and stressful dealing with insurance companies can be after a car accident, but you don't have to go it alone, and we'll fight for you every step of the way. Call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (313) 965-3464.