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

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

A Missouri courtroom on Tuesday upheld a judgment that awarded the money to the woman, who’s referred to “M.O.” in courtroom paperwork. M.O. claimed she caught the human papillomavirus (HPV) from having intercourse in 2017 with a male companion in his 2014 Hyundai Genesis, which was lined by Geico, in accordance to a 2021 complaint. 

The woman, who discovered she was contaminated with HPV in 2018, claimed the person knew he had HPV however failed to inform her, leaving her with “past and future medical expenses” and “mental and physical pain and suffering.”

The woman alerted Geico that she was pursuing authorized motion in opposition to the person, claiming that she was negligently contaminated in the automobile and that the automotive insurance coverage coverage ought to present protection for her accidents and losses. According to the criticism, M.O. requested Geico for $1 million. “Let me know,” she wrote.

Geico denied the protection and rejected her declare. After that, M.O. and the person entered arbitration, and the arbitrator discovered that the person had negligently contaminated her and awarded damages of $5.2 million to M.O., which have been to be paid by Geico.

Geico appealed the judgment, however the Missouri ruling on Tuesday discovered that the insurer lacked authorized grounds to enchantment on a number of factors, together with that it “had no right to relitigate” points after legal responsibility and damages had been set by an arbitrator and confirmed by a trial courtroom. 

In a assertion to CBS MoneyWatch, Geico stated, “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.

Geico fights case in federal courtroom

Geico had additionally claimed that it was “denied the right to litigate its interests before judgment was entered against its insured.” But the ruling discovered that the company had the prospect to take part and defend its pursuits when M.O. contacted Geico to declare that the insurance coverage coverage ought to cover her harm and losses. 

“Geico did not take advantage of this opportunity, and instead denied coverage and refused to defend Insured,” the courtroom famous. 

However, Geico may not have to pay the $5.2 million judgment given the associated federal courtroom case filed by the insurer, which contests that the declare is roofed by its auto coverage, according to the Kansas City Star, which earlier reported on the Missouri ruling.