Medical Provider to Uber Driver Injured in MVA Denied Michigan Auto Injury Benefits
The Plaintiff in this case was a medical transportation service provider which rendered services to a policyholder injured in a motor vehicle accident. The Plaintiff medical transportation service provider sued the injured party’s insurance company seeking to be paid for those services. The case was filed with the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.
In Michigan, an injured party generally receives auto related medical, wage loss and replacement service benefits from his or her own auto insurance company under Michigan’s auto no-fault law. These types of benefits are known as personal injury protection (PIP) benefits in Michigan. In this case, however, the injured party was working for Uber at the time of his accident. The Defendant insurance company’s auto policy specifically excluded coverage for vehicles while they were being operated for services like Uber or Lyft. Given that the defendant insurance policy did not provide PIP benefits to the policyholder under the circumstances, the District Court judge summarily dismissed the claim.
Given the facts of the case and the language in the auto insurance policy which excluded coverage while a vehicle was being used to transport goods or persons for hire, the Trial Court sided with the insurance company and found that the Plaintiff medical transportation service had no claim.
Click on the link to read the case: BWB Reasonable & Reliable Transp., LLC v Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co.
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Alexander & Angelas, P.C. represents defendants in civil liability litigation across Michigan and Northern Ohio. The firm’s practice areas include insurance defense litigation, premises liability, motor carrier (trucking) defense, corporate and commercial litigation, construction defect litigation, auto negligence, insurance coverage disputes, emergency casualty response services, alternative dispute resolution, subrogation claims, workers’ compensation, employment law, and liquor liability.
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