Florida Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

Motorcycle Accident On A Highway In Florida

This case bypassed the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court permits litigants to bypass the lower appellate courts in certain circumstances. This case began in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Judge Lee S. Dreyfus presiding.

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This case involves a "miss-and-run" accident where a driver wreaked havoc by making an illegal turn, and then fled and was never found. The question before the Supreme Court is whether an unidentified motor vehicle must actually hit another vehicle before the victim may collect insurance for having been involved in a "hit-and-run."

Here is the background: On Dec. 29, 2002, Richard P. Romanshek was riding his motorcycle on a highway in Florida when a station wagon made an illegal turn in front of him. He swerved, skidded, and rolled, breaking his shoulder in three places. He required surgery and has permanent injuries. The station wagon was never found.

In a traditional hit-and-run, the automobile insurer would cover the victim's claim under the uninsured motorist provision that all Wisconsin insurance policies are required to include. Specifically, the law1 requires coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.

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The law is silent on a miss-and-run scenario such as the one presented here, and Romanshek's insurer, Progressive Northern Insurance Company, denied his claim. Romanshek sued, and the trial court dismissed his claim, concluding that the language of the statute means that physical contact must occur. Still, the judge expressed reservations:

It would make sense that [a miss-and-run] would come within the definition of an uninsured motorist coverage, but we're not there yet ... the Wisconsin Legislature hasn't done that....

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in past cases, has declined to extend coverage meant for hit-and-run accidents to miss-and-runs2 precisely for the reason articulated by the trial court: the Legislature could change the wording of the statute, but has not done so. However, Romanshek points out that in the 20 years since the Supreme Court last looked at this precise issue, many states have eliminated any requirement that contact occur in a "hit-and-run" accident in order to trigger coverage. According to Romanshek, 27 states now treat miss-and-runs like hit-and-runs for purposes of requiring coverage.

Progressive Northern, on the other hand, argues that the law is clear and that it's the job of the Legislature, rather than the courts, to change the law if it sees fit. The insurer also points out the Romanshek's policy clearly limited coverage to situations involving hit-and-run accidents.

The Supreme Court will decide whether Wisconsin will require insurance companies to provide coverage in situations involving miss-and-run accidents.

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