In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Langan, a New York City lawyer was walking on Seventh Avenue near 32nd Street when a car, driven by a man seeking to kill as many pedestrians as possible, jumped the sidewalk, striking him and fracturing his leg. The car continued to barrel down the avenue, hitting 19 people in total.In a precedent setting case, the Appellate Division, Second Department ruled that the incident was deemed an "accident" for no-fault insurance purposes, even though the driver's actions were intentional. The court held that the issue of whether an automotive "event" is an "accident" should be viewed from the perspective of the victim, not the errant driver. The court went on to state that insurance "coverage is unaffected by whether the tortfeasor acted intentionally in causing the injury, provided only that, from the viewpoint of the insured, the event was 'unexpected, unusual and unforeseen' and not brought about by the insured's own 'misconduct, provocation, or assault.'". He was entitled to recover benefits under his insurance policy's personal-injury protection endorsement, as well as its death, dismemberment and loss of sight provisions, because the sections did not exclude intentional acts. However, the lawyer was not covered by his car-insurance policy's uninsured-motorist or his supplemental uninsured-motorist provision, which explicitly excludes intentional acts. http://www.foleygriffin.com/
