ATRA URGES MICHIGAN HIGH COURT TO REJECT CLAIMS BY UNINJURED PLAINTIFFS

Washington, DC, August 05, 2004 -- The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) filed an amici curiae brief urging the Michigan Supreme Court to reject medical monitoring as an available cause of action for plaintiffs who have no present physical injury. ATRA filed its brief in support of the defendant in Gary and Kathy Henry, et al., v. The Dow Chemical Company. Other amici include the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, the Coalition for Litigation Justice, Inc., and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. To view brief, click here.

“The plaintiffs are not alleging injury in this case,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. “We’re asking the court to clarify perceived ambiguity in its previous rulings that rejected medical monitoring precisely because of the absence of injury.”

In the 1990s, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected two attempts by the Court of Appeals to establish medical monitoring as a compensable claim by uninjured construction workers exposed to asbestos. As a result, medical monitoring in any form has not been judicially authorized in Michigan. Some lower courts have arrived at different interpretations of the ruling and whether or not medical monitoring is allowed in Michigan, and, if so, whether it would be a cause of action or simply an item of damages.

“The Court should keep consistent with its rulings and reject the de facto judicial creation of a cause of action for medical monitoring,” Joyce said. “We’ve seen what allowing these claims can do to courts such as in the case of West Virginia, where that state’s courts are clogged and potentially delaying those with physical injuries from seeking justice.”

“Failure to reject medical monitoring as a cause of action in Michigan will result in poor public policy, leading to a flood of litigation, overburdened courts and depletion of resources that would be better used to compensate truly injured persons,” Joyce concluded.

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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.