A Delaware court has rejected an insured's claim for personal injury protection ("PIP") benefits under his automobile insurance policy for injuries he said he suffered while cleaning his vehicle at a self-serve car wash, holding that his vehicle was not an "active accessory" in causing his injury.
The Case
Frank Lesniczak alleged that he was injured when he stepped into a drainage hole while cleaning his vehicle at a self-serve car wash. Mr. Lesniczak said that he was using a power washer/water wand to remove pollen and debris from the motor and radiator of his vehicle and that, to clean his vehicle, he parked approximately half way into the wash bay, which exposed him to the danger of an open drain.
According to Mr. Lesniczak, his vehicle was running while he was cleaning it and he stepped into a drainage hole, twisted his body, and fell onto the concrete, injuring the right side of his body.
Mr. Lesniczak applied for PIP benefits with his insurance carrier, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, claiming that his injuries fell within the scope of Delaware's PIP statute, 21 Del. C. § 2118. He based his claim on the theory that his vehicle was an active accessory in causing his injury and that there was no intervening act of independent significance that broke the causal link between the use of his vehicle and the injury he suffered.
For its part, State Farm argued that Mr. Lesniczak's vehicle was not an active accessory in causing his injuries but, rather, was a mere situs to the injury.
Mr. Lesniczak sued, and State Farm moved for summary judgment.
The Court's Decision
The court granted the motion.
In its decision, the court explained that, to determine if Mr. Lesniczak was eligible for PIP benefits, it had to first determine whether he was an occupant of the vehicle subject to his PIP policy. Then, it had to determine whether the accident involved a motor vehicle.
The court decided that Mr. Lesniczak was an occupant of the insured vehicle because he was within a "reasonable geographic perimeter" of the vehicle at the time of the accident.
It then ruled, however, that because Mr. Lesniczak's vehicle was not an "active accessory" in causing his injury, his claim for PIP benefits had to be denied.
The court reasoned that Mr. Lesniczak's vehicle was not an active accessory in causing his injuries because he was "merely cleaning his vehicle." The court found that no facts supported the argument that Mr. Lesniczak had to clean his vehicle to continue using it.
It concluded that although Mr. Lesniczak may not have fallen in the drainage hole if he had chosen to park elsewhere, his claim did not meet the threshold to qualify for PIP benefits under Delaware law because his vehicle was "not more than a mere situs to his injury."
The case is Lesniczak v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., No. S18C-10-032 RFS (Del. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2019). Attorneys involved include: Frederick S. Freibott, Esq. and Dennis Mason II, Esq., The Freibott Law Firm, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Jeffery A. Young, Esq., Young and McNelis, Dover, Delaware, Attorney for Defendant.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].