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No. 136542, 136543
| Rick Petersen, |
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John A. Braden |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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| v |
(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Worker's Comp Appellate Comm) |
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| Magna Corporation and Midwest Employers |
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Daryl Royal |
| Casualty Company, |
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Robert W. Macy |
| Defendants-Appellants, |
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| and |
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| BCN Transportation Services, Inc.; Koleaseco, Inc. |
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| and Citizens Insurance Company of America; |
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| Koleaseco, Inc. and Accident Fund of America; |
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| BCN Transportation Services and TIG Insurance |
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Marc A. Kidder |
| Company; Magna Corporation and TIG Insurance |
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| Company; and SERTA Restokraft Attress |
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| Company, Inc. and Harleysville Lake States |
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| Insurance Company, |
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Defendants-Appellees. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendants-Appellants' Brief on Appeal>>
Defendants-Appellees' Brief on Appeal>>
Accident Fund Insurance Company of America's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
American Insurance Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Association for Justice's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Health & Hospital Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Self-Insurers' Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan State Medical Society's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Workers' Compensation Placement Facility's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co.'s Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Rick Petersen was injured when he fell off his truck in 1997. A worker’s compensation magistrate found Magna Corporation and Midwest Employers Casualty Company liable for Petersen’s worker’s compensation benefits, including his unpaid medical expenses. Magna and Midwest appealed the magistrate’s ruling to the Workers’ Compensation Appellate Commission, which affirmed. The Court of Appeals denied Magna and Midwest’s application for leave to appeal, but the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for consideration of several issues, including “the issue of awarding attorney fees on unpaid medical expenses.” MCL 418.315 provides that “the worker’s compensation magistrate may prorate attorney fees at the contingent fee rate paid by the employee” on unpaid medical expenses. In a split unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals held that, under Section 315(1), the employer or carrier must pay any assessed attorney fee on top of themedical expense itself. The lead opinion explained: “The plain language of the statute does not mandate that the health care provider assume responsibility for any portion of those fees.” One judge concurred, stating that “while one would expect that it would rarely be appropriate to do so, I do not read § 315(1) as precluding the proration of a portion of the attorneys fees to the provider.” The dissenting judge disagreed with the majority’s reading of the “proration” sentence in Section 315(1). The dissenter would have held that the statute only permits a worker’s compensation magistrate to prorate any attorney fee awarded between the medical care provider and the employee who received the medical treatment. Magna and Midwest appeal.
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