Ohio high court considers Trumbull insurance suit

COLUMBUS — A Trumbull County woman injured in a car accident while her husband was driving is not entitled to paid medical benefits from the automobile insurer, an attorney told the Ohio Supreme Court.

Judge Streb, who represented Motorists Mutual Insurance Co., said Elizabeth Burnett, 84, was not entitled to compensation for injuries caused by the accident because it was caused by her husband, Albert.

Burnett filed a lawsuit against the insurance company for the 2000 accident. The Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas found in favor of the company. The Burnetts then took the matter to the 11th District Court of Appeals.

The appellate court reversed the trial court’s decision and found in favor of Burnett. The matter was then brought before the Ohio Supreme Court, which recently heard arguments in the case. The top court has not said when it will rule on the matter.

“Mrs. Burnett was injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by the negligence of her husband,” Streb said.

The February 2000 accident occurred on state Route 7 in Brookfield Township. Mrs. Burnett, 76 at the time, was a passenger in the car driven by her husband.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.