EMPLOYER ORDERED TO PAY ATTORNEY FEES ON UNPAID MEDICAL BILLS The Michigan Supreme Court issued its opinion in Petersen v Magna Corp (Case No.s 136542, 136543), on July 31, 2009. In a 4-3 decision, the Court interpreted the provision in §315(1) of the Workers’ Disability Compensation Act that provides that attorney fees on medical bills may be prorated. The Court held that “employers and their insurance carriers are the only parties subject to a proration of attorney fees under §315(1).” The Court held that health care providers and allegedly injured workers were not intended to be subjects of proration of attorney fees under §315(1). In the Petersen case, the defendant employer was voluntarily paying wage loss benefits, but refused to pay for plaintiff's alleged work related medical treatment. The total amount of medical bills incurred for the medical treatment was $153,448.54. The Court held that the attorney fee on medical bills could not be prorated among the employee and/or health care providers. The Court ordered the defendant employer to pay the entire attorney fee on the bills to plaintiff’s attorney. The majority opinion was written by Marilyn Kelly. Justice Cavanaugh concurred. Justices Hathaway and Weaver concurred in the result. The three “conservative” Justices, Justices Young, Markman, and Corrigan, dissented. The decision is also notable because the “new” majority of the Supreme Court overruled a prior Supreme Court decision regarding holding that statutes are to be interpreted according to the plain language of the statute. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the implications of this case, please do not hesistate to contact us. NOTICE: This is a privileged and confidential communication. If you have received it in error or are not the intended recipient, please delete it and destroy all copies. Thank you.