Judge rules State Farm does not have to pay for exploding corpse

[TexasTowelie]

State Farm doesn’t have to be good neighbor for a Florida woman who was unlucky enough to have a rotting corpse rudely explode in an adjacent apartment.

After six years of litigation, a Palm Beach County judge ruled in favor of the insurance company, saying it did not have pay Judy Rodrigo for damages, New Times Broward Palm Beach reports.

In 2008, an elderly woman died of natural causes in an apartment above Rodrigo’s home. No one knew she had died, so the corpse began to decompose until it ruptured and spilled its bodily juices into Rodrigo’s home.

In her lawsuit, Rodrigo attempted to get State Farm to pay for the damages through her personal property damage coverage. The insurance company denied her request, arguing her policy didn’t cover exploding corpses.

More at http://blog.timesunion.com/hottopics/judge-rules-state-farm-does-not-have-to-pay-for-exploding-corpse/19690/#20571101=0 .

[MannyGoldstein]

1. I better check my policy, pronto. nt

[TexasTowelie]

2. Are you willing to purchase the surplus lines policy endorsement?

Like a good neighbor, State Farm isn't there.

[Eleanors38]

16. Mine covers horses & feral hogs only.

[bravenak]

3. You need an exploding corpse rider, now?

Poor old lady. I'm kinda mad that she never looked in on the old lady. I look in on my land lord all the time and have called the ambulance on him before, while he was chomping on baby asprin and puking thinking it was going to stop his heart attack. If i don't see him at all one day, i put my ear to the door to make sure he's yelling at msnbc.
I haven't got much sympathy for a lady who doesn't look in on the elderly. They have all the good chisme from back in the day.

[dionysus]

11. LOL, sorry, but that is funny in a morbid way...

[bravenak]

19. You're funny.

It is though. He hates morning joe but stays up at night to watch it. Keeps him angry, and alive.

[Contrary1]

13. Your experience took me back to 1972...

We were newlyweds, (I was just 20) and had rented the downstairs apartment of a double in Providence, RI.he husband was in the Navy, stationed out of Newport, and was required to spend every 3rd night on the ship.

Enter Ollie Hamilton, the upstairs tenant and neighborhood drunk. As Ollie would tell anyone who listened, he was the great-great (maybe need another great) grandson of Alexander Hamilton and a female slave. I believed him.

On those nights that my husband was away, it scared me to death when Ollie came stumbling home. I would have been asleep around 2am, and here he comes...falling up the stairs, cursing and talking to himself. I would hear him throw himself on the bed. Five minutes later, he would fall out of bed, followed with more cursing and talking to himself. I hated it.

But, after a couple weeks, a strange thing happened. Even though I had yet to meet Ollie, I couldn't fall asleep until I heard him arrive somewhat safely at home, floor thump and all.

This house was situated on a rather steep hill. Some weeks later, I heard a lot of commotion at the top of the hill. It was winter, and the ice was so thick that one could hardly walk without falling.

Ollie had once again drank a wee bit too much. The uphill neighbors had put him in a large open cardboard box and were sliding him down the hill to me.

He had glass slivers embedded in his hands. He couldn't remember how that happened. I cleaned him up, and he told me that a lot of "white folk" wouldn't have bothered. I helped him climb the steps and get into bed. I stayed long enough to make sure he wasn't going to thump the floor again.

I came to care very much about what happened to this man.If he hadn't come home, I would have gone looking for him.

The "forever" I lived in Providence lasted all of 5 months. It was time well spent. I learned much.

Sorry for the length of my reply. I am blessed (or maybe cursed?) with a vivid memory of the past. The present? Not so good these days.

[bravenak]

18. It was a good story.

I knew a lot of men like him. There are a few around here i ask about if they are not around or a while. I always worry.

[WillowTree]

4. Rarely are "contents" covered on an "all-risk" basis.

Last edited Fri May 2, 2014, 12:31 AM - Edit history (1)

The piece makes reference to this being an apartment. If that's the case, she's only purchasing coverage on the contents of her apartment and those policies state what specific risks are covered. And decomposing corpses aren't among them.

Only the most expensive homeowners policies that cover single-family residences provide all-risk coverage (IOW, coverage for any peril that is not specifically excluded) for the contents of the home. And in general, that extra coverage isn't worth the extremely high cost.

[TexasTowelie]

5. The renter insurance policies sometime allow for some liability coverage to others that may be

injured on the premises.

I'm certain that this idea is also excluded from her policy, but maybe she could have filed a claim stating that it was flooding that caused the damage?

[WillowTree]

6. Can't say that I get your reference to liability coverage.......

.......which has nothing to do with this situation. And yes, trying to claim this is flood damage is one giant reach, that won't fly.

[TexasTowelie]

8. What I meant is if someone is injured within the apartment that isn't named

on the lease, then the insurance company will pay any medical claims to that party. On certain policies if a fire begins in your apartment and damages another apartment, then the policy will pay for the fire loss in the other apartment.

FWIW, in relation to this thread the lady involved was trying to use the liability coverage on her policy to pay for the damage for the apartment below her.

[WillowTree]

12. Actually no.

She wasn't claiming under the liability coverage of the dead woman's policy (which would also not be covered as the dead lady would not be legally liable for something that happened after her demise). And she wasn't trying to use the liability coverage on her own policy because she can't be held liable to herself (and anyway, she wouldn't be liable for something that she had nothing to do with).

Instead she was trying to claim coverage under the explosion coverage of her own renter's policy but the judge agreed with the insurance company that this situation didn't meet the definition of "explosion" intended by the policy. Nice try, but as they say, no cigar.

[TexasTowelie]

14. When I listened to the video I came up with a different impression.

Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I thought that the dead woman lived next door, bodily fluids seeped across to her apartment and then leaked downstairs to the apartment below. I'll check again since I was concentrating on another task at the time.

[TexasTowelie]

15. Checked again and you're right.

I should have been more attentive.

[Lancero]

7. You'd think she would realize something was wrong...

When the corpse started to smell.

[pnwmom]

17. She's elderly and might not have much of a sense of smell. What about the other neighbors

on that floor? Why didn't any of them notice anything?

[exboyfil]

9. This needs a Saturday Night Live parody

Like a good neighbor State Farm is there. The genie appears, but then the lawyer appears with the insurance contract in hand.

Policy online says it covers falling objects. Well a loose interpretation would be the body fluids were falling. I think I would have argued that along with the explosion. We know from one of the ads that State Farm covers a baseball coming through the window (that is not actually falling but on an upwards trajectory).

https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/home-and-property/renters/cost-factors
Personal Property

This coverage helps protect against losses to your personal property, while it is in your home or with you while you travel.

Coverage for your personal property may include losses caused by:

Fire or lightning
Weight of ice, snow, or sleet
Explosion
Aircraft and vehicles
Smoke
Sudden and accidental tearing or bulging of heating or cooling systems
Windstorm or hail
Theft
Riot or civil commotion
Falling objects
Vandalism or malicious mischief
Sudden and accidental water discharge from plumbing or appliances
Freezing of plumbing systems

[TexasTowelie]

10. Sudden and accidental tearing or bulging of heating or cooling systems

could also loosely be interpreted to fit in this situation since an exothermic reaction appeared to occur.

[GeorgeGist]

20. After 6 years of litigation ...

State Farm spent far more on lawyers than being a Good Neighbor.