#163 Killing the golden turkey

In Ohio, employers could be sued if an employee was injured in a non-work related auto accident and driving her own car if she didn’t have insurance to cover her injuries--called Scott Pontzer (85 Ohio St.3d 660). I was on a jury in such a case. It is referred to in one article as "the golden turkey" award because it even extended to family members of the employee with no connection at all to the employer. The Ohio Supreme Court recently changed all that in Westfield Ins. Co. v Galatis, 100 Ohio St.3d 216, 2003-Ohio-5849, according to a recent article. It now applies only if the accident happens within the course of employment. This brings Ohio in line with most other states.

The Columbus Dispatch today noted that a cow is not a car according to a recent 11th District Court of Appeals decision. A motorist tried to sue a farmer who had no liability insurance through the uninsured motorist clause of her auto insurance when she was injured hitting his cow. I couldn’t tell from the editorial if this odd law suit was because of the Scott Pontzer decision which had also been mentioned. I thought I could find this case through Google, but I actually found another Scott Pontzer case which involved a different cow and different motorist.