An American who contracted a sexually transmitted disease, in romantic encounters in her partner’s car, was compensated with 5.2 million dollars by the vehicle’s insurance company.
The womana resident of the state of Missouri, successfully claimed that her partner negligently infected her with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and that her policy covered her for “injuries and losses.”
Referenced in court documents only as MO, the woman had requested compensation of 9.9 million dollars, before an arbitration determined that a sum of 5.2 million would cover the damages.
“The insured should have disclosed his diagnosis to MO before the sexual activity occurred, but failed to do so,” the arbitration award explains.
GEICO, the insurer, had rejected the company’s initial settlement offer. womanand last year he appealed the award, but it was upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals this week.
The HPVfor which a vaccine is available, is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States, and some of its high-risk variants can cause cancer.
In the initial settlement offer, the woman said he contracted HPV during unprotected sexual encounters in his partner’s vehicle at the end of 2017, despite the fact that he “was aware of his condition”.
The referee found that the couple in the woman “He had been informed that his throat cancer tumor had been diagnosed positive by HPV“.
The woman requested compensation for “past and future medical costs” as well as “past and future mental pain and suffering.”
Coverage over the bug quickly turned viral provoking reactions of humor and indignation.
“Wrong damage claims like this are a big part of why insuring vehicles costs so much,” Tesla boss Elon Musk wrote on Twitter.
“It should be possible to sue law firms for seeking absurd damage claims.”
