Thousands of Lives Hang in the Balance as Michigan Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Key Auto Insurance Lawsuit
Thousands of Lives Hang in the Balance as Michigan Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Key Auto Insurance Lawsuit
Decision in the Andary case, which impacts nearly 17,000 survivors including Vladimir Konstantinov, is expected later this year
LANSING, Mich.—(March 2, 2023)—The quality of life for nearly 17,000 crash survivors and their families hangs in the balance today, after the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Andary et al. v USAA Casualty Insurance Company et al.
“The retroactive application of the changes in Michigan’s auto no-fault law have seriously and deleteriously impacted the plaintiffs and have massively disrupted the lives of thousands of Michigan survivors and their families,” said Joanne Swanson, amicus counsel for CPAN, which submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. “Thousands of motor vehicle accident victims have suffered greatly from their crash leaving them catastrophically disabled, and now are profoundly suffering from a lack of access to care.”
Last August, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in favor of the plaintiffs, determining that the benefit reductions passed as part of 2019 auto insurance reforms could not be applied retroactively to persons who were injured before this law went into effect. The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by guardians of two catastrophically injured auto accident victims, along with the nationally renowned brain injury rehabilitation clinic Eisenhower Center. The victims, on whose behalf the lawsuit was filed, are Ellen Andary, of East Lansing, and Philip Krueger, of Ann Arbor.
That decision was appealed by the defendants; a final decision from the Supreme Court is expected later this year.
One of the thousands of survivors impacted by the case is Detroit Red Wings legend Vladimir Konstantinov, who was catastrophically injured in a limousine accident in 1997, shortly after helping the Wings win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. If the Supreme Court overturns the decision in the Andary case and Konstantinov loses access to his specialized 24/7 care, his attorney and longtime friend James Bellanca said in a television interview that “I personally believe he will deteriorate and he will die.”
In addition to CPAN, a diverse constellation of medical providers, crash survivors, legislators and consumer protection organizations submitted amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs, including the Michigan Association for Justice, the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan , the Michigan Osteopathic Association, Representatives Julie Brixie and Gary Howell, the American Civil Liberties Union joined by Disability Rights Michigan, Detroit Disability Power, Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council, Legal Services Association of Michigan, and Michigan State Planning Body, and 10 injured individuals who currently have their own cases in litigation being handled by attorney Stephen Hulst of Rhoades McKee.
The Michigan Osteopathic Association’s brief featured a sworn affidavit by four physicians, who specialize in treating catastrophically injured individuals. In one affidavit, Dr. Owen Perlman addressed the devastating impact the law has had on several of his patients, including some that have died.
“I had a 47-year-old patient who sustained quadriplegia from the neck down in a 1994 accident,” Perlman wrote in the affidavit. “She had much medical morbidity. When she had consistent trained nurses, she would intermittently need to go to the hospital for treatment of significant medical problems but was always able to recover at home. More recently, during the summer and fall of 2022, she had further problems. After a surgical procedure, she ended up on a ventilator. When told she was going to require a tracheostomy, she was concerned that with less staff, she would not be able to be safely managed at home. As a result, she declined the tracheostomy. She passed away on Oct. 3, 2022.”