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Colbert v. Conybeare Law Office2/4/2000
FOR PUBLICATION
Updated Copy April 14, 2000
Plaintiff appeals by right from the trial court's order granting summary disposition to defendants pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10) with regard to plaintiff's claims of legal malpractice and breach of contract. We affirm.
I.
On June 23, 1992, plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which he sustained serious injuries. As a result of his injuries, plaintiff was unable to return to work. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was employed by a construction company as a heavy equipment operator and was on his way to a job site when the accident occurred. Plaintiff was driving his own vehicle at the time of the accident, but in the vehicle he had an electric drill that a superintendent for the construction company had asked plaintiff to carry back and forth for use on the job site. The superintendent, who was also a volunteer fireman and a son of the company owner, was called to the scene of the accident, helped extricate plaintiff from the wreckage, and later retrieved the electric drill from plaintiff's vehicle. The company owner also came upon the scene of the accident on his way to work and saw plaintiff in the wreck.
Two days after the accident, plaintiff filed a claim with his automobile insurer for first-party benefits under the no-fault automobile insurance act, MCL 500.3101 et seq.; MSA 24.13101 et seq. He began receiving the benefits shortly thereafter and continued to receive them until June 1995. Plaintiff also applied for social security disability benefits, which he has been receiving on a monthly basis since December 1992.
On July 8, 1992, plaintiff retained defendants to represent him in claims and legal proceedings arising out of the accident, including a third-party claim under the no-fault act against the driver responsible for the accident, a potential worker 's compensation claim, and medical malpractice claims arising from plaintiff's injuries. Defendants assisted plaintiff in settling the third-party claim for the amount of the other driver's policy limits. In a letter to plaintiff dated September 28, 1992, defendants informed plaintiff that they would not represent him in a possible medical malpractice action and advised him of the statute of limitations applicable to such a claim. Defendants also advised plaintiff that he could not successfully bring a worker 's compensation claim because he was "simply on way to work" at the time of the accident. Defendants stated that the fact that plaintiff was carrying tools owned by his employer at the time of the accident did not make his injuries work related. Defendants did not advise plaintiff of the time limitations for filing a worker's compensation claim.
Plaintiff subsequently retained different counsel and did file a claim for worker's compensation benefits. The claim was filed on December 28, 1994, approximately 2 1/2 years after the accident. In January 1996, plaintiff settled the worker's compensation claim for a lump-sum payment of $215,000. Plaintiff then sued defendants for legal malpractice and breach of contract, alleging that defendants' erroneous advice regarding the viability of a worker's compensation claim deprived him of the opportunity to pursue his worker's compensation claim in a timely manner. Plaintiff alleged that his ability to obtain worker's compensation benefits as a result of the accident was compromised because the delay in filing his claim resulted in a loss of plaintiff's bargaining leverage in settlement negotiations with his employer and insurer that led to a settlement that was less than plaintiff could have received had his claim been timely filed. Plaintiff further all
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