Wilmers v. Gateway Transportation Co.

575 N.W.2d 796, 227 Mich. App. 339
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 26, 1998
DocketDocket 194264
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 575 N.W.2d 796 (Wilmers v. Gateway Transportation Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilmers v. Gateway Transportation Co., 575 N.W.2d 796, 227 Mich. App. 339 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

[341]*341Gribbs, J.

Plaintiff appeals from a November 18, 1994, order of the Worker’s Compensation Appellate Commission, which held that plaintiff’s employer is not required to purchase a new specially equipped van to accommodate plaintiff’s work-related injuries. This Court previously denied plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal in an unpublished order, entered May 25, 1995 (Docket No. 181602), but our Supreme Court, in lieu of granting leave to appeal, has remanded the matter to this Court for consideration as on leave granted. 451 Mich 863 (1996). We reverse.

Plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident on February 15, 1977, while in the course of his employment as a traveling traffic representative for defendant Gateway Transportation Company. His injuries were severe, resulting in paraplegia with only limited use of his right arm. For the most part, plaintiff’s claim of work-related disability was not disputed in this case and worker’s compensation benefits were voluntarily paid.1

Initially, plaintiff’s benefits were paid by Gateway’s previous worker’s compensation insurer, Carriers Insurance Company. In addition to other benefits, Carriers provided plaintiff with a van that had been modified with special equipment to accommodate his injuries, such as a lift for his wheelchair, hand controls, power seats, and automatic doors. Apparently, Carriers provided the van to plaintiff as a medical expense benefit under § 315(1) of the Worker’s Disa[342]*342bility Compensation Act, MCL 418.315(1); MSA 17.237(315)(1), which provides, in pertinent part:

The employer shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to an employee who receives a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment, reasonable medical, surgical, and hospital services and medicines, or other attendance or treatment recognized by the laws of this state as legal, when they are needed. . . . The employer shall also supply to the injured employee dental service, crutches, artificial limbs, eyes, teeth, eyeglasses, hearing apparatus, and other appliances necessary to cure, so far as reasonably possible, and relieve from the effects of the injury. If the employer fails, neglects, or refuses so to do, the employee shall be reimbursed for the reasonable expense paid by the employee, or payment may be made in behalf of the employee to persons to whom the unpaid expenses may be owing, by order of the worker’s compensation magistrate. [Emphasis added.]

Plaintiff provided gas and maintenance for the van at his own expense. When Carriers later went bankrupt, defendant Michigan Property & Casualty Guaranty Association assumed liability as Gateway’s worker’s compensation insurer.

After using the specially equipped van for a number of years, plaintiff asked Michigan Property & Casualty Guaranty Association to furnish him with a new van to replace the previously provided one, but his request was denied. At the hearing before a worker’s compensation magistrate, plaintiff testified that the van needed to be replaced because its mileage was getting quite high and it was beginning to require both minor and major repairs more frequently. Plaintiff also presented expert testimony from his treating physician who opined that because of a combination of plaintiff’s work-related injuries and his somewhat [343]*343unusual height (6’ 7”), plaintiff is unable to get in and out of a car, even a specially equipped one, and therefore use of a van is medically required.

Relying on an earlier decision,2 where the WCAC held that a van modified for handicap use does not constitute an “appliance” under § 315(1), the magistrate found that Gateway is not required to provide plaintiff with the van itself, but only the special equipment and vehicle modifications necessary to accommodate his physical handicap3. The magistrate ruled:

Plaintiff has asked for either the replacement of or substantial mechanical repairs be made to his van. Apparently, the original insurance company provided this van to him. Based upon Blake v General Motors Corporation, 1991 WACO No 98, 4 MI WCLR 1072 (1991), I will not order defendants to provide plaintiff with a van. However, I will require defendants to pay for any modifications which must be made to a van or automobile which plaintiff may purchase which are required as a result of plaintiff’s paraplegia and size. (Plaintiff testified that he is six feet seven inches tall, and therefore requires modification to the ceiling of his van because of his height).

On appeal, the wcac adopted and affirmed this portion of the magistrate’s decision, rejecting plaintiff’s attempt to distinguish the Blake case on the basis of the fact that a specially equipped van is the only [344]*344method of transportation plaintiff can use because of his unique injuries and size:

Plaintiffs argument essentially turns on the magistrate’s interpretation of the word “reasonable,” and asserts that Blake v General Motors Corp, 1991 ACO #98, relied upon by the magistrate, is distinguishable. We disagree. In order for us to reverse the magistrate on this issue, we would be obliged to characterize the entire vehicle as an appliance. We would be stretching the statute beyond the clear legislative intent if we did so. Granted, plaintiff presents some unique characteristics to be dealt with; he has a severe handicap and he is of unusual (but not extraordinary) height. We are not convinced, however, that the entire van would have to be rebuilt to accommodate these characteristics. We believe that the rationale in Blake is correct, and affirm the magistrate on this issue.

A decision of the WCAC is subject to reversal for legal error, such as when the WCAC bases its findings on a misconception of law or fails to correctly apply the law. Jones-Jennings v Hutzel Hosp (On Remand), 223 Mich App 94, 105; 565 NW2d 680 (1997). Statutory interpretation is a question of law, and while this Court ordinarily accords deference to the construction placed upon statutory provisions by the administrative agency charged with enforcement of those provisions, that principle does not control where the agency interpretation is clearly wrong. Id.

In this case we are presented with the question whether a specially equipped vehicle may constitute an “appliance” within the meaning of § 315(1) of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act, or more particularly, whether the entire vehicle itself, as opposed to merely its special modifications, may constitute a compensable “appliance.” This issue is a question of law. See Kushay v Sexton Dairy Co, 394 Mich 69, 71-[345]*34572; 228 NW2d 205 (1975). While this Court has never addressed this issue in the worker’s compensation context, we previously have held that the full cost of a specially equipped van may constitute an allowable expense for “reasonably necessary products, services and accommodations for an injured person’s care, recovery, or rehabilitation” within the meaning of § 3107(a) the no-fault act, MCL 500.3107(a); MSA 24.13107(a). Davis v Citizens Ins Co, 195 Mich App 323; 489 NW2d 214 (1992). We find no reason to employ a more restrictive interpretation to § 315(1) in the worker’s compensation context.

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Wilmers v. Gateway Transportation Co.
575 N.W.2d 796 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1998)

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Bluebook (online)
575 N.W.2d 796, 227 Mich. App. 339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilmers-v-gateway-transportation-co-michctapp-1998.