Court upholds summary disposition of man's back injury claims after being rear-ended

In Mehdi v. Gardner, the plaintiff argued that he had pain in his spine and headaches after being struck at a red light.  The Macomb County Circuit judge summarily dismissed his claim, holding that he did not demonstrate a threshold injury (a "serious impairment of bodily function").  He appealed, arguing that his medical treatment and testimony created a question of fact regarding "serious impairment."  The appellate judges pointed out that his physicians found other medical problems but no objective basis for his "whiplash" symptoms.  They noted that he didn't present any medical testimony of a motor vehicle-related injury more severe than "neck strain and whiplash," and upheld the dismissal of his claim.  It ruled that his other "medical abnormalities" (i.e., a bulging disc, degenerative changes to the spine and fluid within his shoulder tendon, along with nerve abnormalities in his wrist) "account[ed] for his complaints of continuing pain."

The Court went on to cite reasons for deeming his account of his injury and damages unreliable.