According to the majority, there was a "causal relationship" between the incident and the employment of the insured vehicle "as a vehicle" because Estep was not using the vehicle "in a manner foreign to its design purpose." (Credit: frankieleon/ Wikimedia Commons)
A majority of the Virginia Court of Appeals sided with an auto insurance policyholder Tuesday, upholding a circuit court order awarding him $30,000 for medical benefits for injuries he sustained while packing his vehicle in a hotel parking lot.
Bruce Estep was loading bags into his car after checking out of a hotel in Fairfax County, Virginia, before traveling home in November 2016. He was "leaning into the rear of the vehicle, bent over at the waist and reaching into the vehicle, such that his body was in the vehicle from the waist up" when a gust of wind sent the luggage cart in his direction, striking him on the right side and causing him to fall to the ground, according to the court's majority opinion written by Judge Frank K. Friedman.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Allison Dunn
Allison Dunn is a reporter on ALM's Rapid Response desk based in Ohio, covering impactful litigation filings and rulings, emerging legal trends, controversies in the industry, and everything in between. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @AllisonDWrites.
