Court Affirms No Benefits for Death of Unlicensed,
Intoxicated Teenage Driver
March 16, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an accidental death
plan's decision, and a lower court's ruling, that a plan
participant is not due benefits for the death of her son in a
car crash.
According to the court opinion, the 15-year-old boy
was unlicensed and intoxicated when he was trying to evade
police, leading them on a high-speed chase in a stolen
vehicle.
The plan determined that the boy's death was not
an accident because a reasonable person could not expect to
come out of that situation unscathed.
The mother argued, with a statement from a
psychiatrist, that her son's attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dysthymic disorder (a
type of depression) caused him to not fully comprehend or
appreciate the dangers of what he was doing. The court
pointed out that, even if it accepted that argument, she
would not be due benefits because the plan excludes from
coverage losses caused by or resulting from mental
illness.
The opinion in Pankiw v. Federal Insurance Co. is
here
.
Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com