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Brain Injury Association of Michigan Files Sues MCCA For Injury Data

LANSING -- The Brain Injury Association of Michigan Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to obtain vital financial information, specific claimant records and actuarial standards under the principles of Michigan's common law on behalf of all auto-insured citizens and all catastrophically injured survivors across the state.

The information is critical in revealing to Michigan citizens and Lansing lawmakers the rationale behind the insurance industry's claims that Michigan's current auto no-fault system is financially unsustainable and that the MCCA will soon go bankrupt without capping benefits and enforcing strict cost controls.

To date, the MCCA has continued to assert its claim of exemption from all attempts to secure this essential information -- including the recently filed FOIA lawsuit by the Coalition to Protect Auto No-Fault (CPAN) -- effectively blocking the ability of all concerned parties to assess the no-fault system, address its shortfalls, and collaborate on appropriate solutions to fix the system without sacrificing no-fault's core principle of immediate access to appropriate, unlimited care for catastrophically injured victims.

The suit filed by the BIAMI, however, is based on the principle of Michigan's common law, which allows for persons of demonstrable interest to have access to records of activity. The specific plaintiffs represented by the BIAMI in turn represent individuals who have or will sustain catastrophic injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents, as well as the millions of auto policy holders who are and have been underwriting the lion's share of catastrophic care in Michigan.

"The information from MCCA records will facilitate the understanding of these issues by catastrophically injured victims, policy holders, as well as individual Michigan legislators," said BIAMI president Mike Dabbs. "To not provide access to this information to the very individuals who would be affected most by its purported consequences is tantamount to a CEO of a publicly traded company refusing to share financial information with the shareholders after making forward-looking statements about imminent financial insolvency. Informational blackout is not exactly a way to win the public trust."

In fact, common law makes clear that access to records hinges on the nature of the interest - not the nature of the record. As an example, shareholders of a private corporation can examine the books of that private corporation in order to gauge the value of their shares and protect their financial interest.

"This lawsuit is about transparency and access to information," added Dabbs. "The MCCA is a public body that collects millions of dollars from millions of Michigan citizens, including our state lawmakers, and we have a right to see the records of how that money is managed."

The Brain Injury Association of Michigan was founded in 1981 by family members, persons with brain injury and persons in the brain injury profession. At the time, brain injuries were largely misunderstood and services for those affected were hard to find. In the years since its inception, much progress has been made in understanding and treating brain injuries, and BIAMI has expanded its focus to include prevention programs. Brighton-based BIAMI's mission is to enhance the lives of those affected by brain injury through education, advocacy, research and local support groups and to reduce the incidence of brain injury through prevention.

More at www.biami.org

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