COA Opinion: Transportation expenses that are not related to medical treatment, and minimum mileage charges not associated with actual tranportation, are not recoverable no-fault benefits
An individual injured in an automobile accident, which left him unable to drive, hired a transportation service to take him to medical appointments and to take him on personal errands. The fees associated with this transportation service included wait time charges and minimum mileage charges (i.e. a charge for 20 miles for a round trip, even if the round trip was less than 20 miles). In ZCD Transportation Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., the Court of Appeals held that the transportation charges for personal trips were not an allowable expense under the No-Fault Act as they were related to maintaining the injured individual’s quality of life and were not necessary for that person’s care, recovery or rehabilitation. Additionally, the court concluded that while actual mileage charges and wait time charges associated with transportation to the individual’s medical appointments were recoverable under that standard, the portion of the “minimum” mileage fee associated with miles that were not actually driven were not recoverable, as it sought payment for services that were not actually rendered.
