Injury from stepping out of parked pickup found to be a 'motor vehicle accident'
A man was injured when his foot became entangled as he got out of his pickup truck. No other vehicle, person or object was involved in the incident. The pickup was stopped and turned off at the time, and no part of the man's body struck the pickup.
The man filed a claim for personal injury protection benefits under the terms of his no-fault auto policy. After his insurer denied the claim, the man sued the carrier. A trial court subsequently ruled that the man's injuries resulted from a “motor vehicle accident,” as that term was defined in his insurance policy, and found for the insured. The carrier appealed.
The man's policy required the insurer to pay personal injury protection benefits because of bodily injury: “1. resulting from a motor vehicle accident; and 2. sustained by a covered person.” “'Covered person' is defined to include any person occupying the covered auto.” “'Occupying' means in, upon, getting in, on, out (of) or off” the vehicle, according to the policy.
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