Crowley v. Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange

407 N.W.2d 372, 428 Mich. 270
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided June 22, 1987·No. 77380, (Calendar No. 6)·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinions

Levin, J.

The question presented is whether . medical care provided a member of the armed forces pursuant to 10 USC 1071 et seq. is a benefit provided under the laws of the federal government required to be subtracted from medical no-fault benefits otherwise payable where neither the injured person, his spouse, nor a relative domiciled [273] in the same household owns an automobile insured under the no-fault act. We hold that amounts paid by the United States government for medical care furnished a member of the armed forces are benefits required to be provided under the laws of the federal government required to be subtracted from medical no-fault benefits otherwise payable where neither the injured person, his spouse, nor a relative domiciled in the same household owns an automobile insured under the no-fault act, and affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.

i

Chad Crowley, while in the service of the United States Navy, was seriously injured when an automobile, in which Crowley was riding as a passenger and which was owned and operated by Richard Belloni, struck a tree in Detroit. Medical care was provided and paid by the United States government pursuant to 10 USC 1071 et seq.

The circuit court ruled that the defendant, Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange, the no-fault insurer of Belloni’s automobile, was obligated to pay the reasonable charges1 incurred for providing Crowley’s medical care in the amount of $145,149.50, plus accrued interest without deduction for the value of the medical care provided by the United States government.

The Court of Appeals held, relying on earlier decisions of that Court,2 that military medical benefits are benefits provided by the federal government within the meaning of § 3109(1)3 of the [274] no-fault act.4 The Court reviewed this Court’s decision in LeBlanc v State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins Co, 410 Mich 173; 301 NW2d 775 (1981), where this Court held that benefits paid under the Medicare program are "other health and accident coverage” within the meaning of § 3109a of the no-fault act (requiring a no-fault insurer to offer coordinated health care benefits at reduced premiums), and that where a no-fault policy is issued to the injured person without coordinated benefits he may recover for the reasonable charges incurred for his medical care without reduction pursuant to § 3109(1) for Medicare benefits paid in respect to the automobile accident that gave rise to the claim for no-fault medical benefits.

The Court of Appeals said that it had concluded it should not extend LeBlanc to military medical benefits because this Court in LeBlanc had specifically limited its holding to Medicare and had stated that this Court would not "express an opinion with regard to the inclusion of other possible forms of health and accident coverage within the purview of § 3109a.”5 The Court of Appeals added that it found the Medicare and military medical care programs distinguishable, and concluded that the circuit court had erred "in awarding duplicate benefits,”6 stating that the test for determining whether the benefits were within § 3109(1) was stated by this Court in Jarosz v DAIIE, 418 Mich 565, 577; 345 NW2d 563 (1984), that "military benefits serve the same purpose as no-fault benefits,” and that "[b]oth benefits would be for plain[275] tiffs medical care from the same injury for the exact same procedures, tests, care and doctors.”7

ii

Section 3109(1) of the no-fault act provides:

Benefits provided or required to be provided under the laws of any state or the federal government shall be subtracted from the personal protection insurance benefits otherwise payable for the injury.

This Court has held that workers’ compensation benefits,8 social security survivors’ benefits,9 and social security disability benefits10 are required to be subtracted from no-fault benefits otherwise payable because they were benefits provided or required to be provided under the laws of this state or the federal government. In Jarosz, this Court held that social security retirement (old age) benefits were not required to be subtracted pursuant to § 3109(1) because they do not serve the same purpose as no-fault work loss benefits and are not provided or required to be provided as a result of injuries received in a motor vehicle accident giving rise to a claim for work loss benefits. In so holding, this Court said:

We conclude that the correct test is: state or federal benefits "provided or required to be provided” must be deducted from no-fault benefits under § 3109(1) if they:_
[276]*2761) Serve the same purpose as the no-fault benefits, and
2) Are provided or are required to be provided as a result of the same accident. [Jarosz, supra, p 577.]

We agree with the Court of Appeals that medical benefits provided by the United States government to a member of the armed forces pursuant to 10 USC 1071 et seq. in respect to injuries suffered in an automobile accident in Michigan serve the same purpose as no-fault medical benefits, and that such benefits are provided as a result of the same accident.

Crowley asserts that military medical coverage does not serve the same purpose as no-fault benefits because military medical coverage is not limited to automobile accidents, includes family members of a member of the armed forces, is provided as a fringe benefit contingent upon the employment relationship, and is designed to improve employee morale. Recognizing these possible distinctions, we are persuaded that a purpose of both the military medical care program and of no-fault medical benefits is to provide for the medical care of a member of the armed forces, as well, indeed, as of other persons, who might be injured in an automobile accident that occurs in this state, and for that reason both programs "[s]erve the same purpose.” Similarly, while Crowley would have been entitled to military medical care benefits without regard to whether his injury was the result of an automobile accident in this state, the military medical benefits provided to him were in fact required to be provided "as a result of the same accident” that gave rise to his claim for no-fault medical benefits.

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Crowley v. Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange, 407 N.W.2d 372, 428 Mich. 270 (Mich. 1987).

407 N.W.2d 372 (Crowley v. Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Crowley v. Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange
407 N.W.2d 372 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1987)