LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – About 17,000 auto crash survivors and their families secured a victory today when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that those auto crash survivors would be able to receive the care that they originally were promised before the bipartisan 2019 no-fault auto insurance legislation went through.

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Michigan’s highest court had heard oral arguments back in March regarding what is referred to as the “Andary case.” The case involves 2019 amendments to the no-fault act, specifically the amendment limiting family-provided attendant care reimbursement and establishing a fee schedule that caps reimbursement for non-Medicare compensable services. The plaintiffs argued that the amendments are unconstitutional and can’t be applied retroactively to claimants who were injured before the new law went into effect.

The trial court had granted the defendant insurers’ motion for summary disposition but the Court of Appeals reversed that decision in a 2-1 published opinion Today, the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals decision in their own 5-2 decision.

In their decision, the Michigan Supreme Court said, “The insurance policies covering plaintiffs Ellen Andary and Phillip Krueger bind the insurance companies to their promise to provide PIP benefits under the law that existed at the time of injury to those individuals covered by the policies, and the 2019 no-fault amendments do not clearly convey an intent to retroactively modify these vested contractual rights.”

The opinion goes on to say, “Andary and Krueger are covered by policies under which premiums were paid with the expectation that uncapped lifetime benefits would be provided for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses. Their vested contractual right to continuation of those benefits at pre-amendment levels cannot be stripped away or diminished when the Legislature has failed to clearly state its intent to do so.”

Peggy Campbell, the founder of “We Can’t Wait,” a grassroots organization composed of crash survivors and families fighting to end Michigan’s catastrophic care crisis released a statement this morning that said, “We hope this ruling represents a new beginning and an opportunity for thousands of catastrophically injured patients and families to put our lives back together. While we don’t know all the ramifications, of the ruling, we are pleased. But it’s important to reflect on everything that has been lost. For more than two years, survivors and families have suffered from a lack of care because providers could not accept auto no-fault patients due to the 45% reimbursement fee cuts. Family members have had no choice but to provide this difficult and often-dangerous care themselves, often only getting reimbursed for 8 hours a day when they actually provide care 24/7 as ordered by a physician.”

Campbell described how families have been forced to declare bankruptcy and have lost cars and houses. In addition to that, many survivors have been forced into nursing homes which are not equipped, staffed nor educated to care for these severe injures. She said, “Unless the Michigan Legislature passes a fair and reasonable fee schedule, anyone injured after 2019 will face the same devastation we did. While today is a victory for survivors, the Legislature must correct the shortcomings of the law, and do so without delay.”

Today’s court case decision will help auto crash survivors like young Annabelle and her family, who Michigan News Source wrote about in January, breathe a sigh of relief now that the insurance coverage they counted on before the no-fault auto insurance legislation went into effect has been restored. However, the decision did not come down quick enough for some.

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According to CPAN, an organization that fights to preserve the no-fault auto system, at least eight people have died since the changes went into effect because they lost access to needed care. And, today, on the very day that the court decided in favor of thousands of catastrophically injured auto accident survivors, there is another name added to that list. His name is Brian Woodward and he passed away shortly after 6 a.m. this morning.

Woodward, an advocate for survivors of auto crashes like himself, was a “valiant warrior” and “unstoppable” in getting the word out about the devastating effects that the no-fault auto insurance changes has been having on survivors like himself. These are words used to describe Woodward by Maureen Howell, Capitol Advocate of the group “We Can’t Wait,” a grassroots organization composed of crash survivors and families fighting to end Michigan’s catastrophic care crisis. Howell’s son, Sam, was almost killed in a 2005 auto accident but became a “miracle” thanks to the benefits that the state’s old auto no-fault law and medical coverage previously offered.

Howell spoke to Michigan News Source about the court’s decision this morning. She described how the families she spoke to, who are allied with We Can’t Wait (WCW), were overjoyed about the decision and were crying and screaming on a phone call when they learned about it. Howell said that many people would be saved because of the decision. However, it also turned into a bittersweet day when she learned about the death of Brian Woodward. “I’m just so heartbroken,” she said. She described him as a fierce advocate for the survivors of auto accidents and WCW, even making sure that visitors to his facility got bookmarks and flyers about the organization and what they were doing. Howell said Woodward was going to “save them all as a picture of what has happened to people.”

In February of last year, Woodward talked with Michigan Radio and described how the changes to the no-fault auto law destroyed his life. After becoming a quadriplegic at the age of 24 after a car crash in 1983, because of his great insurance coverage, he was able to live a productive life for about 30 years. He had around-the-clock nursing care and was able to go to college and get a Bachelors degree in business and computer science.

He said, “I ended up being a contractor to one of the Big Three automakers. In that time, I paid taxes. I earned enough money to buy my own house. I was active in my community.”

He mentored children and other crash survivors, helped neighbors with groceries, sang in his church choir, coached Little League, and was even able to go hunting, fishing and boating.

But that all changed when the no-fault auto insurance laws changed. When reimbursements for care were effectively slashed in half, his care agency was no longer able to take care of him because it was unaffordable. Some of those caregivers had been with him for over 20 years. Without the caregivers, he lost his job and ended up being moved around to eight or nine different facilities. He lived in understaffed nursing homes which led him to go to the hospital many times for life-threatening issues. And although the latest facility he lived in was better than the others according to Woodward, he was still frightened that he didn’t have a caregiver with him at all times.

In a video with Charlie LeDuff, host of the “No BS News Hour with Charlie LeDuff,” posted two days ago, LeDuff talked with Woodward, who was struggling to survive in his hospital bed. LeDuff told him that if the court case came down the right way that Woodward could go home. However, Woodward, still advocating for others said, “yeah but the post acute system has to re-establish itself.”

When asked what he’d like to tell everyone, with tears in his eyes and the sound of medical machines in the background, Woodward said, “Well, I think it was totally wrong to pull the rug out from under us…they were wrongfully affected and most of Michigan does not know what happened to them.”

With the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision only covering the people who had auto insurance policies before the no-fault auto changes went into effect, WCW’s Howell said, “We have two levels of care now in Michigan” and warned that the rehab industry is still very much of risk because everyone after 2019 can’t get the care they need.

In order to offer the same protections to current Michigan drivers and those injured after 2019, new legislation would need to be put in place. That is something that WCW is going to be focused on after already fighting the the current battle for years.

Howell said about the group’s plans for the future, “I told them all, let’s use our joy and our energy that our loved ones are being protected to save the others. We have to continue the fight. You can’t just rest back on your laurels. You have to keep on this…So we’ll keep fighting for the others. That’s only right.”

The Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association (MHHA) is also fighting that fight as well. In a statement released today, the organization stated, “Following the Michigan Supreme Court decision today on a key part of the 2019 auto no fault law, legally referred to as the ‘Andary’ case, Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association (MHHA) will be reviewing the decision and consulting with legal counsel to finalize the legislative next steps needed to resolve the unfortunate mistakes made by the previous legislature and fix Michigan auto no fault  immediately when legislators return in September.”

MHHA President & CEO Barry Cargill also released the following statement, “MHHA is pleased the Michigan Supreme Court recognized the devastating consequences of the growing care crisis and unconstitutional changes to the auto insurance no-fault law. The ‘Andary’ case decision is a clear victory for catastrophic crash survivors injured before June 12, 2019 and provides tremendous hope for all Michigan crash survivors.”

Cargill continued to say, “While we support the plaintiffs to the Andary Case by making right the terrible wrong imposed on insured automobile drivers by our former legislature, we believe the courts are not the complete solution due to unnecessary suffering, unreimbursed care, and delays. The Michigan Legislature needs to fix the auto no-fault reform law FOR ALL catastrophic crash survivors. MHHA would like to see a reasonable reimbursement and fee schedule, as well as amendments to the utilization review through the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) to ensure home care companies are receiving adequate payment.”