61st District Court; Docket No. 89-GC-1070;
Judge Paul Sullivan;
Official Reporter: Not Available; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Allowable Expenses for Medical Transportation Mileage [§3107(1)(a)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
This case involves a jury verdict on plaintiff’s claim for medical mileage reimbursement under §3107(a) of the statute. A summary of the issue and verdict is taken from the MTLA Newsletter, July, 1990, page 16 and states:
"State Farm's archaic policy of only paying nine cents per mile for no-fault medical mileage reimbursement resulted in a jury verdict of $350.12 plus an award of $7,526.77 in attorney's fees and costs. Other no-fault carriers voluntarily pay their no-fault medical mileage claimants somewhere between 20 and 25 cents per mile."
Prior to commencing his lawsuit, plaintiff sent State Farm a chart of his mileage for various physician appointments, and requested reimbursement at the State of Michigan travel reimbursement rates. Thirteen months later, plaintiff received a reimbursement check for mileage calculated at nine cents per mile.
During discovery, State Farm representatives admitted cars depreciate when driven but refused to pay for depreciation costs. Additionally, State Farm admitted their rate had been set some 16 years earlier when the no-fault law was enacted. Lee Czarapata of Runzheimer International, Rochester, Wisconsin, a nationally recognized expert in transportation reimbursement costs testified as to plaintiff’s actual travel costs for the vehicles plaintiff used, including depreciation and other ownership costs.