Geico Off The Hook In $5M Payout To Woman Who Got STD In Car

Geico is off the hook, at least for now, from paying $5.2 million to a Missouri woman who alleged she contracted a sexually transmitted disease in a car insured by the company.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously to overturn a lower court’s ruling that favored paying the woman. Instead, the state Supreme Court judges said Maryland-based Geico should have had a chance to weigh in sooner and sent the case back to the lower court for further deliberation.

The case drew attention last year for its unusual legal strategy, with the woman claiming she caught the human papillomavirus (HPV) from having sex in 2017 with a male partner in his 2014 Hyundai Genesis, which was covered by Geico, according to a 2021 complaint.

The woman, identified as "M.O." in the court documents, claimed the man was aware he had HPV but failed to tell her, leaving her with "past and future medical expenses" and "mental and physical pain and suffering."