Opinion ID: 7124084
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Thoresoris Potential Impairment or Disfigurement is a Question of Law.

Text: The Michigan No-Fault Statute abolished tort liability effective as of 1973 for personal injuries arising out of automobile accidents, except for those incidents in which the plaintiff had suffered death, serious impairment of a bodily function, or a serious permanent disfigurement. In 1995, the Michigan legislature further amended the statute to convert the issue of determining whether a plaintiff satisfied an exception from an issue of fact to an issue of law: (1) A person remains subject to tort liability for noneconomic loss caused by his or her ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle only if the injured person has suffered death, serious impairment of body function, or • permanent serious disfigurement. (2)(a) The issues of whether an injured person has suffered serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement are questions of law for the court if the court finds either of the following: (i) There is no factual dispute concerning the nature and extent of the person’s injuries. (ii) There is a factual dispute concerning the nature and extent of the person’s injuries, but the dispute is not material to the determination as to whether the person has suffered a serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement. ... MCL 500.3135; MSA 24.13135. Neither party disputes that determination of Thoresoris impairment and disfigurement is a question of law. Both parties appear to agree that Thoreson suffered the injuries described in his medical reports and the affidavits attached to his motion for summary judgment. Their only real dispute lies in whether Thoresoris injuries were of such severity that they were able to meet the threshold of the statute that would allow suit against Kuntze.