Child's personal injury claim against city garbage truck upheld.

Facts & Ruling by Court:

 

A minor riding a school bus suffered bodily injuries when the school bus swiped a temporarily stopped city garbage truck that pulled back into the travel lane while the school bus was passing.  The Michigan Court of Appeals held that even if the garbage truck was temporarily stopped, that fact did not shield the city from liability for the minor's injuries under governmental immunity.  The truck was still in “operation” as contemplated by the law [MCL 691.1405] because temporarily stopping is carrying out the garbage truck’s designed and intended function and purpose.

 

What this means for accident victims:

 

This is good because the court followed existing law which holds governmental bodies liable for personal injury caused by the negligent operation of governmentally owned vehicles.

 

What this means for Medical Service Providers:

 

This case does not change or affect a medical provider’s independent claim for no-fault insurance to cover the injured person’s incurred charges for medical care.  The child was in the bus which was operating.  The bus could have hit any standing object and no-fault coverage would apply.  The no-fault rules of priority apply [MCL 500.3114]: submit claim to the child’s household family auto coverage; if there is no family auto coverage in the household, then submit claim to the city’s auto coverage.

 

You can read the Opinion here.

Authored by L. Page Graves