A Minnesota appeals court ruled that an injury caused by a stalled vehicle loaded on top of an automobile-transport trailer resulted from “maintenance or use” of the vehicle in Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Great West Casualty, No. A04-1591, 2005 WL 1088985 (Minn. App. May 10, 2005).
David Martin drove an automobile trailer carrying used vehicles to Gessell Auto Sales. One of the vehicles was stalled on the top deck of the trailer, and Martin asked Gessell to help him manually unload the vehicle. Martin sat in the stalled car to release the brake while Gessell and a friend climbed up the trailer to pull back on the vehicle. The car rolled back quickly, Gessell jumped back, and his foot slipped between two of the trailer beams, seriously injuring his leg.