In a 4 to 3 vote,. The case hinged on how a person get out of his or her car and whether  the car door is attached to the vehicle or a part of the entire automobile its self. The plaintiff in the law suit against Allstate Car Insurance was awarded a large cash payment in accordance with Michigan’s zero fault system.

The women was getting ready to leave for work in 2005.  She had placed her purse and a cup of coffee into her car from the passenger side. She was closing the door when she fell to the ground and broker her ankle. She immediately contacted Allstate and filed a claim under the Personal Injury Protection of her auto insurance policy and was initially covered by Allstate Car Insurance. Under Michigan’s zero fault law, Personal Injury coverage is only applicable in cases where someone hurts themselves from direct contact with pieces of equipment permanently affixed to the car. The coverage also comes into effect if the person is in the car, or just getting into or out of the car, when they get hurt.  After the Claims and Legal Department reviewed the claim, Allstate decided to canceled her PIP payments. The customer filed a law suit against the car insurance company and the court decided  the customer was correct.  The Michigan State court ordered Allstate to pay $500,000.00 in restitution and damages for canceling her PIP Coverage Payments.. Allstate Car Insurance filed an appeal and once again the court agreed with the Auto Policy holder, upholding the ruling of the first court case.

Convinced both the county court and the appeals court was wrong, Allstate Insurance filed an appeal with the Michigan State High Court which decided against the plaintiff and turn the case back over to the appeals court for a second look. The court found against the insured stating that the contact with the car door when she hurt herself constituted touching the car “as a result”.  In addition; since she was outside the car at the time, the court decided that she had in fact  already left the car.  The bottom line is; the customer fell and the car had nothing to do with the fall.   Author’s Note: InsureDirect.com represents Encompass Insurance Company which is an Allstate Insurance Company. Regardless of the InsureDirect.com insurance carrier you choose; all you need to do is” Insure Direct and Save”