The woman, a resident of the state of Missouri, successfully claimed that her partner negligently infected her with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and that her policy covered her for “injuries and losses”.
Referred to in court documents only as MO, the woman had sought damages of $9.9 million, before an arbitrator determined that a sum of $5.2 million would cover damages.
“The insured should have disclosed his diagnosis to MO before the sexual activity occurred, but did not do so,” the arbitration award explains.
GEICO, the insurer, had rejected the woman’s initial settlement offer, and appealed the award last year, but it was upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals this week.
HPV, for 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 she contracted HPV during unprotected sexual encounters in her partner’s vehicle in late 2017, even though he “was aware of her condition.”
The arbitrator found that the woman’s partner “had been informed that her throat cancer tumor had tested positive for HPV.”
The woman requested compensation for “past and future medical costs” as well as “past and future mental pain and suffering.”
Coverage of the ruling quickly went viral, sparking reactions of humor and outrage.
“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.”
