Geico must pay $5.2M to woman who caught STI in man’s insured car

The woman says she was was negligently infected with HPV after having unprotected sex with a man in his Geico-insured Hyundai Genesis.

Geico may have to pay US$5.2 million to a woman who caught the human papillomavirus (HPV) after having unprotected sex in the insured Hyundai Genesis of her then-partner.

The decision was reached Tuesday by the Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri, which ordered the insurance company to pay the multi-million-dollar legal settlement to the woman, identified only as “M.O.” in court filings.

The woman said she “engaged in unprotected sexual activities in Insured’s vehicle” in November and December 2017 and learned that she had contracted HPV, a common sexually transmitted infection, a year later during a regularly scheduled gynecology exam, according to a 2021 complaint.

M.O. claimed that her male partner knew he had HPV but did not inform her. She argued that his lack of disclosure caused “mental and physical pain and suffering” and left her with a bill for “past and future medial expenses.”

The woman notified Geico that she was pursuing legal action against the man, identified as “M.B.,” and asked the insurance company for a settlement of $1 million. She claimed that she was negligently infected in M.B.’s vehicle and his car insurance policy through Geico should cover her injuries and damages.

“Let me know,” she wrote.

Geico turned down the claim and M.O. went to an arbitrator to settle her case against M.B. The arbitrator found in her favour and awarded her $5.2 million in damages, to be paid by Geico — a figure that was upheld by the Jackson County Circuit Court.

Geico appealed the settlement, and claimed it never had the chance to defend itself, calling the arbitration between M.O. and M.B. “collusive and a sham,” according to court filings.