LANSING, Mich. — 43-year-old Shawn Wieland was injured in a catastrophic crash when he was just 17 in December 1997. He now lives with his parents, who also act as his medical caregivers.
"He has emotional difficulties; he has cognitive issues; he has a left-sided spastic hemiparesis," says Nick Andrews, Shawn’s attorney. "[His parents] have taken it upon themselves to give Shawn as normal a life as possible for Shawn, given all of the limitations."
But when Michigan's no-fault reform bill took effect in mid-2021, it limited the number of hours a week that a family member could be compensated as a caregiver, capping it at just 56 hours a week.
"It's a medical expense, and they should be paid like anyone else,” says Andrews. “And State Farm did do that for a number of years. And then along came the amendments to the no-fault act."
Andrews says in May of last year, State Farm stopped sending any payments whatsoever, prompting them to file a lawsuit months later in October.
"This family hasn't received any payments for months and months and months, and the economic hardship is really more than they can handle," says Andrews.
In August 2021, the Michigan Court of Appeals heard a case brought by another crash survivor, Ellen Andary. They would eventually issue an order saying the new law cannot be applied to those who had policies and were injured before it was signed.
The decision was appealed, and the case is now set to go in front of the state supreme court in March.
"Obviously, we're hopeful with the supreme court upholding the appellate court decision," says MI Brain Injury Provider Council President Tom Judd. "We never thought we'd be at it, February 2023, and still fighting for this."
And it has certainly been a fight. Crash survivors and their families have spent nearly the last two years protesting for a fix at the state Capitol.
In the meantime, the state Department of Financial Services released a report this week saying the reform law has saved Michigan drivers $106 million so far, and is being touted by the Insurance Alliance of Michigan as proof that costs are going down.
For now, depending on which source you reference, Michigan remains either the most or second-most expensive state for car insurance in 2023.
"But nowhere in that report did they talk at all about access to care,” says Judd. “They didn't even have a footnote in their report, which is shocking."
According to a report conducted by the Michigan Public Health Institute and commissioned by the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, 6,857 crash survivors have been discharged from local care providers since the changes took effect, and 4,082 health care workers have lost their jobs.
According to CPAN, a group focused on preserving our previous no-fault auto system, there have been at least eight people who have died since the changes went into effect, because of losing access to some care.
"The legislature routinely relies on their independent studies when they're looking at issues,” says Judd, “but yet no footnote; no mention of those independent reports."
FOX 17's Coverage of No-Fault Auto Reform Care Crisis
May 17, 2021 — New Law Could Have Devastating Consequences
June 2, 2021 — "We're Paying the Price With Our Lives": FOX 17 Extended Coverage
June 9, 2021 — Hundreds of Survivors Protest at Capitol
June 10, 2021 — Rep. Berman Introduces Bill to Prevent Cuts
June 23, 2021 — Advocates Rally Again at Capitol
June 26, 2021 — House Approves $10M Fund
June 30, 2021 — Advocates Say $25M Isn't Enough
July 7, 2021 — Family Scared to Lose Caregivers
July 23, 2021 — Providers Begin Closing their Doors
Aug. 4, 2021 — Patients Continue to Lose Care
Sept. 24, 2021 — Changes Causing Chaos for Survivors
Sept. 27, 2021 — 'We Can't Wait' ArtPrize Entry Highlights Care Crisis
Oct. 4, 2021 — Protest Outside Business of SML Shirkey
Oct. 14, 2021 — Some Insurers Not Following Intent of Law
Oct. 27, 2021 — New Round of Bills Announced
Jan. 11, 2022 — Report Says No Fault Reform Created Crisis of Care
July 1, 2022 — 1 Year Under the New Auto No-Fault Law
Aug. 11, 2022 — 2nd Report Released on Impact of No-Fault
Aug. 25, 2022 — 35 Counties Sign Resolution Urging Legislative Changes
Aug. 26, 2022 — Court of Appeals Says Law is Not Retroactive
Nov. 14, 2022 — No-fault auto reform advocates hopeful 'fix' will happen after Election Day
