Could Your Doctor’s AI Notes Hurt Your Michigan Injury Claim?
If you have been to a Michigan emergency room or follow-up clinic since the start of 2024, there is a strong chance an AI tool listened to your visit and wrote the note your doctor signed. That note becomes the official record. Insurers read it word by word looking for any line that helps them deny your claim, lowball your pain, or pin your injury on something else. Here is what that means for your case and what you can do about it.
What an AI scribe actually is
Hospitals and doctor offices across Michigan now use AI scribes (also called ambient AI documentation tools). They listen to your conversation with the provider, summarize it in real time, and produce a draft chart note. The doctor reviews and signs the note, often quickly between patients. The technology saves clinicians time. It also creates a record of your visit written by software that may have heard you wrong, missed a key complaint, or smoothed out your description of pain into something cleaner than what you said.
How a bad chart note becomes a weapon against you
Once a chart note is in your medical record, the insurance company treats it as evidence. If the AI summary downplays your pain, omits the radiating numbness in your hand, or says the visit was for an old condition, the insurer will quote it back at you. In Michigan, that note can show up in a PIP denial under MCL 500.3107, a serious-impairment fight under MCL 500.3135, or a defense argument that your injury was pre-existing.
Three things to check at your next visit
- Confirm the visit summary in plain English. Before you leave, ask your provider to read back the key complaints and how the injury happened. If anything is missing or wrong, ask to correct it on the spot.
- Get your records often. Michigan patients have the right to request and inspect their medical records. Read each visit note while events are still fresh. Patient portals usually post notes within days.
- Flag errors in writing. If a note misstates your pain, your work limits, or how the crash happened, send the practice a written request to amend the record. Keep a copy. Errors caught early are easier to fix than mistakes the insurer has already quoted at you.
What you may be owed regardless of a bad note
A messy chart does not end your case. It just makes the case harder to settle without a lawyer. PIP medical benefits, replacement-services benefits, and wage loss are still available under MCL 500.3107 and 500.3107a if the underlying injury is real. Pain-and-suffering damages are still available under MCL 500.3135 if the impairment meets the threshold the Michigan Supreme Court explained in McCormick v Carrier, 487 Mich 180 (2010). Treating-provider testimony, imaging, and consistent follow-up usually outweigh an early AI-generated summary that got the story wrong.
Why timing matters
Two clocks run from the date of the crash. Written notice of your PIP claim is generally required within one year under MCL 500.3145. Suit for pain and suffering against the at-fault driver must be filed within three years under MCL 600.5805. Fighting a bad chart note in year three is a lot harder than fixing it in month one. The sooner a real attorney is on the file, the cleaner the medical story stays.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I tell my doctor I do not want an AI scribe?
In most clinics, yes. Many systems ask for consent. Either way, you can ask the doctor to dictate or type the visit themselves and to confirm the note before signing.
How do I correct a wrong note in my record?
Send a written amendment request to the provider listing exactly what is wrong and what the correct version is. Keep a copy. Most Michigan providers will add an amendment to the record even if they do not delete the original.
Does an error in my chart end my case?
No. It complicates the case but does not end it. An attorney can usually rebuild the timeline with treating-provider testimony, imaging, and follow-up records that show what really happened.
How long do I have to act?
Generally one year for PIP notice under MCL 500.3145 and three years for the lawsuit under MCL 600.5805. Earlier is always better when chart errors are in play.
What does it cost to talk to you?
Nothing. The case review is free. We work on contingency and only get paid if we recover money for you.
Worried a chart note is being used to deny your claim? Get a free review.
Attorney Manny Chahal can help you correct the record and pursue every benefit you are owed. No fee unless we recover.
Call 1-844-MCHAHAL for a free case evaluation