A Missouri woman was awarded $5.2 million, according to court documents, in a settlement from insurance company GEICO after contracting a sexually transmitted disease from her partner in his vehicle, which was insured by the company. This week, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the award.
According to court documents, the woman, a Jackson County resident, claimed she contracted Human papillomavirus (HPV) from her partner. The Missouri Court of Appeals issued an opinion on Tuesday that upheld the initial Jackson County Circuit Court arbitration award against GEICO.
The woman, identified in documents only as M.O., submitted a petition to GEICO directly in February 2021. According to court documents, she claimed that her sexual partner negligently caused or “contributed to cause her to be infected with HPV by not taking proper precautions and neglecting to inform and/or disclose his diagnosis,” and that his “insurance policy provided coverage for her injuries and losses.”
She made a final settlement offer of $1 million to resolve her claims, according to the documents.
According to the Missouri Court of Appeals filing, GEICO denied coverage and refused her settlement offer in April 2021. After that, the case was assigned to an arbitrator.
According to the filing, the arbitrator determined that “sexual activity in (insured’s) automobile” “directly caused, or directly contributed to cause” the woman to be infected with HPV, despite her former partner’s knowledge of his positive HPV diagnosis.
Following that, the arbitrator argued that $5.2 million would fairly compensate the woman for her damages and injuries. GEICO then filed an appeal against the Jackson County Circuit Court’s confirmation of the arbitration award, claiming that the court failed to provide GEICO with “a meaningful opportunity to defend its interests,” according to the filing.
According to the filing on Tuesday, the three-judge panel responsible for reviewing the appeal confirmed the circuit court’s settlement decision of $5.2 million, despite GEICO’s appeal efforts.
“At the time of Geico’s intervention, an arbitrator had determined liability and damages, which the trial court had confirmed. GEICO had no right to rehabilitate those claims “the stated viewpoint
The panel also stated that Geico could have protected its interests by defending the insured individual. “GEICO did not take advantage of this opportunity, instead denying coverage and refusing to defend Insured,” according to the opinion.
CNN contacted the attorneys for both the woman and GEICO but did not receive a response.