Texas court considers insurer's liability

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The Texas Supreme Court is considering whether an insurance company must pay for a child's injuries even though the insurer says a driver violated the policy.

The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Friday that the lawsuit centers on a 1999 wreck that left 7-year-old Roney Tanner comatose for a week, in the hospital for a month and in physical therapy for five years.

The boy was injured when Richard Gibbons, who was fleeing police in San Marcos, Texas, allegedly ran into Greg and Maribel Tanner's car in an intersection east of town.

Gibbons was charged with using his red Ford F-350 truck as a deadly weapon. He jumped bail and disappeared, the report said. The Tanners hoped that the man's $300,000 auto insurance policy would pay for their son's medical bills.

But Nationwide Insurance declined to pay since Gibbons violated his insurance contract by leading police on a chase.

The case's outcome will depend on how the state Supreme Court's nine justices interpret Gibbons' insurance policy, which included a standard "intentional acts exclusion" that voided coverage if he deliberately caused an accident.