On today's show we discussed the insurance laws in the State of Michigan, and although the Plaintiff, Laura Sheldon, would have been precluded from recovering more than $500 for her car damage in the State of Michigan, Judge Pirro, in the interest of fairness and equity, decided to award Laura her actual damages in excess of $500 due to aggravating circumstances that the Defendant, Timothy Childs, was drunk, ran a traffic signal and caused the accident.

The State of Michigan operates under a no-fault system. The limited property damage liability or mini-tort provision of the no-fault law has a maximum recovery of $500. If a driver maintains the minimum insurance coverage required by the state and does not also maintain collision coverage, their only option is to resort to the mini-tort to recover any costs for automobile damage incurred in an accident regardless of fault. Currently, the other driver can only be liable for up to $500 in damages.

If you live in the State of Michigan and would like to show your support for an increase of the mini-tort limit, please click on the following link for information on how to contact your local senator.

http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp