MONEYWATCH A woman got an STD in a car. Now Geico may have to pay her $5.2 million.

CBS News ^ | JUNE 10, 2022 | AIMEE PICCHI

[Abathar]

Geico may be on the hook for a $5.2 million legal settlement after a woman alleged she contracted a sexually transmitted disease in a car insured by the company.

A Missouri court on Tuesday upheld a judgment that awarded the money to the woman, who is referred to "M.O." in court documents. M.O. claimed she caught the human papillomavirus (HPV) from having sex in 2017 with a male partner in his 2014 Hyundai Genesis, which was covered by Geico, according to a 2021 complaint.

The woman, who learned she was infected with HPV in 2018, claimed the man knew he had HPV but failed to inform her, leaving her with "past and future medical expenses" and "mental and physical pain and suffering."

[JoJo354]

Maybe Geico should pay her so much a week and all in pennies. Or dimes. I think that would be hilarious.

[unread]

"We officially live in a world gone mad."

The bible tells us that, if we are Christians, we are not part of this world. We are indeed aliens, sojourners. Or home is in Heaven and we are just passing thru... :)

[Engedi]

After Michigan changed from no fault to regular insurance, my auto carrier suggested we get a 1M umbrella because people were going to select cheapest insurance and they could sue you, take your house, any money you have should you have an accident with one of the low insurance people and they get injured, die, etc. We took his advice.

[BipolarBob]

Steve Lehto has a good YouTube video on this. They had the opportunity to intervene and represent the man for a million dollar claim and they refused. They didn’t want to get involved and said no way were they going to pay. Big mistake. The two parties agreed to arbitration (something insurance companies push on consumers) and the arbitrator ruled against the man( and insurance company) and awarded higher damages. Now when presented with a claims to settle by court order, NOW they want to intervene. Too little, too late. By now car companies are adding new exclusions to every policy they issue to avoid this in the future.

[Bratch]

A Missouri court on Tuesday upheld a judgment that awarded the money to the woman, who is referred to "M H.O."

Fixed!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Next she’ll be suing for catching an STD from a storm. She’ll say it was thunderclap.

[bigfootbob]

You’re truly deranged.

[max americana]

“Who has an auto insurance policy with a liability limit high enough to pay a $5.2 million claim?”

Geico is my vehicle insurer, and they treat me well (so far). I have to re-read my liability and see if I can get a settlement for a foot sprain. s/

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

So now she has a gecko in her vajajay?

[Yo-Yo]

Apparently there is more to the story. There is a federal lawsuit filed by Geico to challenge their liability for transmitting an STD in an insured vehicle as a covered "accident" under the car policy.

In spite of the phrasing of the quoted portion of the story, all the Missouri judge did was to say that Geico had no standing to relitigate the $5.2 million finding by an arbitrator, and Geico said that the issue will be settled in federal court via the federal lawsuit already filed.

The woman alerted Geico that she was pursuing legal action against the man, claiming that she was negligently infected in the vehicle and that the car insurance policy should provide coverage for her injuries and losses. According to the complaint, M.O. asked Geico for $1 million. "Let me know," she wrote.

Geico denied the coverage and rejected her claim. After that, M.O. and the man entered arbitration, and the arbitrator found that the man had negligently infected her and awarded damages of $5.2 million to M.O., which were to be paid by Geico.

Geico appealed the judgment, but the Missouri ruling on Tuesday found that the insurer lacked legal grounds to appeal on several points, including that it "had no right to relitigate" issues after liability and damages had been set by an arbitrator and confirmed by a trial court.

In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Geico said, "The question of whether there is coverage for this matter will be determined" by a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

[Yo-Yo]

After Michigan changed from no fault to regular insurance, my auto carrier suggested we get a 1M umbrella because people were going to select cheapest insurance and they could sue you, take your house, any money you have should you have an accident with one of the low insurance people and they get injured, die, etc. We took his advice.

We've always had a $1 million umbrella policy on our homeowners' insurance. We upped it to $5 million after the law changed.

As this story shows, $1 million ain't what it used to be in terms of lawsuits.

[sphinx]

Then there's this:

However, Geico may not have to pay the $5.2 million judgment given the related federal court case filed by the insurer, which contests that the claim is covered by its auto policy, according to the Kansas City Star, which earlier reported on the Missouri ruling.

I have no idea what the status of that case may be, but it would seem to join the issue squarely. The woman's attorneys somehow persuaded the arbitrator to broaden the definition of a vehicle related "injury" to include the negligent transmission of an STD while in a car. That is insane but very much in tune with the insanity of the age, not to mention the longstanding dogma of the ambulance chasing sleazebag branch of the legal tribe (as opposed to honest lawyers) that any fantasy that gets them into the deepest pocket is ok. Juries are unreliable on this point. Arbitrators and judges are supposed to be more disciplined. But if that dam breaks ... well, we are already well on the way to institutionalizing political risk across the economy. At the rate we're going, the only real question will soon be who can buy the judges, or who has the most ruthless gunmen.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

I haven’t read anything about the case but I can tell you how it might work in California.

Woman has a claim against insurance company. Woman has a million dollars coverage. Woman demands that the insurance company pay her the full million. Insurance company refuses with no good reason. Woman brings an “insurance bad faith” action against insurer. Court finds not only that insurance company had a duty to indemnify, but insurance company wrongfully denied coverage. In other words, it wasn’t a close call, it was just the insurance company stonewalling.

Woman is awarded full cost of injury, even if it’s two or three times the million she would have settled for, and punitive damages on top of that. Possibly also attorneys’ fees.

If the woman had been forced to sue the insurance company, pay lawyers, and at the end of the day gets ONLY what the insurance company was supposed to cough up with no hesitation in the first place, she would never challenge the insurance company.

[Yo-Yo]

I found a picture of the victim "M.O.":

[I-ambush]

If this holds up, what does it mean for every hotel chain out there ?

[Candor7]

Thats a lie. “M.O.” caught an STD way before 2017.

[SaveFerris]

It’s definitely not difficult to feel like a stranger and a sojourner these days...

🛐🙏✝️

[maxwellsmart_agent]

This is so silly it does not even warrant a response. Let us hope Geico takes this one up to the Supreme Court.

[teeman8r]

15 seconds can get you 5.2 million from geico...

[dynachrome]

“Pay up or the lizard gets it!”