 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Bushey v. Northern Assurance Co. of America2/3/2000
On January 25, 1997, a tragic head-on car accident caused the deaths of two sisters, Miranda and Susan Bushey. Susan was a high school senior when she was driving her grandfather's 1983 Cadillac on the day of the accident; Miranda was a high school sophomore. She attempted to pass a slower vehicle by crossing a double yellow line and was struck head-on by an oncoming vehicle. Susan died on that day and Miranda died from her injuries on January 30, 1997.
At the time of the accident, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company had issued an insurance policy for the grandfather, Earl T. Weeks, under which Susan was a named insured. The policy limited liability coverage to $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident for bodily injuries, the statutory minimum in Maryland.
Appellants, William and Linda Bushey, the girls' parents, sued Northern Assurance Company of America ("Northern") and St. Paul Insurance Company in the Circuit Court for Charles County, individually and as personal representative of Miranda Bushey's estate, for underinsured motorist coverage. Northern has a commercial insurance policy for Mr. Bushey's automotive repair business. Appellants sought a declaratory judgment that the Northern policy provided uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist ("UM/UIM") benefits. The circuit court found that the automobile was not a "covered vehicle" under Northern's policy and granted Northern's motion for summary judgment.
The appellants argue that Northern's insurance policy is not limited to covered vehicles and raise three issues on appeal, which we have reworded:
1. Did the circuit court misconstrue the uninsured motorist statute in determining that insureds may be excluded from coverage when not occupying a "covered vehicle"?
2. Did the circuit court misconstrue the personal and comprehensive coverage of the UM endorsement in determining that insureds may be excluded from coverage when not occupying a "covered vehicle"?
3. Did the circuit court err in concluding that the doctrine of parent/child immunity barred appellants' individual wrongful death claims?
For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the lower court.
Northern issued a commercial insurance policy to "William B. Bushey t/a Bushey's Automotive" that provides comprehensive coverage for appellant's automotive repair business. The policy is divided into numerous "sections," such as a property section that insures the automotive repair business's building, a crime section that insures against employee dishonesty, and a garage and dealers section. The garage and dealers section of the commercial policy is the section at issue.
In the garage and dealers section, using numerical codes, there is a "Coverages/Limits" section that allows uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage to be elected for five types of cars:
22 = owned autos only,
23 = owned private passenger autos only,
24 = owned autos other than private passenger autos only,
26 = owned autos subject to a compulsory UM law, and
27 = specifically described autos.
For UM coverage, appellant checked number 26 (owned autos subject to a compulsory UM law). For UIM coverage, appellant checked number 26 and wrote in number 32, which covers "company use" vehicles with transportation tags.
The insurance policy has a "Maryland Uninsured Motorist Coverage" endorsement, which states:
B. WHO IS AN INSURED
1. You.
2. If you are an individual, any "family member".
3. Anyone else "occupying" a covered "auto" or
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|