Social Media Supports Geico After It is Told to Pay $5.2 Million to Woman Who Caught STD From Having Sex in Insured Car

Insurer Geico has been ordered to pay $5.2 million to a Missouri woman after she claimed to have got sexually transmitted disease from having sex in the car of her boyfriend. The car, Hyundai Genesis, was covered by Geico.

The incident dates back to 2017. However, it was only a year later when the woman came to know that she has contracted human papillomavirus (HPV) from her ex-boyfriend.

Woman Wrote to Insurance Company Seeking Damages

CBS reported that the woman, who was identified as M.O in the court documents, stated even though her ex-lover was aware about having HPV, he failed to inform her. As a result she was left with "past and future medical expenses" and "mental and physical pain and suffering."

In February 2021, the woman wrote to Geico informing them about her intent of seeking damages after contracting HPV. The woman said that she was taking legal action against the man, asserting that she was negligently infected in the vehicle and that the car insurance policy should provide coverage for her injuries and losses. According to the complaint, M.O. asked Geico for $1 million. "Let me know," she wrote as per the outlet.

The New York Post reported that an arbitrator later found that sex act in the car, "directly caused, or directly contributed to cause" the HPV infection. The outlet reported that a three-judge panel found that the lower court did not err by denying Geico's motions, saying the company did not have a right to "relitigate those issues."

One of the judges said that the company was offered "no meaningful opportunity to participate" in the lawsuit and existing law "relegat(es) the insurer to the status of a bystander."

Mixed Reactions on Social Media

The outcome of the case received mixed reactions on social media.

There were several who stood by the insurance company.

"Arbitration of court cases is a major Swampy issue, that I've talked about a few times. But getting your boyfriend & an arbitrator to agree to a negligent case of sexually transmitted disease in his car & then forcing your auto insurance to pay her it?" tweeted a user.

"If this goes through every hooker in the US is gonna start asking for proof of insurance Get that bag, ladies," wrote another user.

"Let's all have unprotected sxx in the car! This is ridiculous!" wrote a user as another added, "Uh, WTF!?! A lawsuit about an STD. A woman sued because she got an STD from a man while in a car insured by Geico. An appeals court upheld the $5 million lawsuit.