Michigan Jury Awards $3.69 million to Victim who was sexually abused for years

The American Association for Justice reported in its October 2008 Law Reporter that a Michigan woman was awarded $3.69 million, including $990,000 for past pain and suffering and the rest for future pain and suffering against a restaurant owner who had sexually abused her beginning when she was 11 years old.  At 23 the woman began suffering flashbacks and required therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorder, and depression. 

Plaintiffs like this woman, however, may suffer an additional injury when they attempt to collect their judgments.  Many insurance companies try to avoid paying claims stating that insurance coverage is excluded for these types of injuries.  Fortunately, for residents of Pennsylvania the Supreme Court held in 2006 that when a Complaint alleges injuries that could be covered under the policy of insurance, it is the duty of the insurance company to defend until such time as the claim is confined to a recovery that the policy does not cover.