A court has ordered the GEICO insurance company to pay a woman $5.2 million after she allegedly caught an STD in an insured’s car.
According to the story from CNN, the woman caught a sexually transmitted disease from her partner while in his car, which was insured by the GEICO insurance company.
The initial ruling by a Jackson County Circuit Court arbitration process was appealed, sending it to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
The story from CNN says that the appeals court upheld the decision.
Initially, the woman sent a claim to GEICO in an attempt to get them to cover her claim that her partner was negligent in giving her Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Her initial ask from GEICO was $1 million, a request that GEICO denied.
The woman’s claims of her partner “contributing to cause to be infected with HPV by not taking proper precautions and neglecting to inform and/or disclose his diagnosis”, after being denied by GEICO, were sent to an arbitrator.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
According to the story, an arbitrator found that the woman’s story checked out and, in addition to siding with the woman, made the determination that the damages were worth more than the $1 million she originally sought. A lot more.
The arbitrator determined that her damages were $5.2 million. Of course, GEICO appealed this decision, saying that the woman didn’t give the company an opportunity to “defend its interests”.
That appeal was reviewed by a panel consisting of 3 judges and they, as well, agreed with the lower courts.
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Ingram Publishing, Getty Stock / ThinkStock
The panel also said that had GEICO not denied coverage initially, they could have had a better chance of mitigating the damages.
In the comments section, people (including me) couldn’t understand how GEICO could be responsible. It was broken down for us:
The insured (the woman’s partner) knew that he was infected, and not only did he not tell her, but he also did nothing to protect her.
Others are wondering about other “results” of the same activity in which the woman and her partner had engaged:
Another example given was what happens if someone gets hurt in your home or on your property, as homeowners’ policies are usually tapped to cover those.
And as for the people who are saying, “$5.2M? NBD, they are a multi-million dollar company”, just remember what drives up premiums:
How do you feel about the ruling?
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Discovered on: 2022-06-10 18:59:12
Source: GEICO to Pay Woman $5.2M After She Caught STD in Man’s Car
