Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:05:0
AHN Staff
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) - The Supreme Court of Canada removed the $200,000 insurance award of a Vancouver man because he engaged in unprotected sex that led to paralysis.
The Supreme Court ruled that Randolph Charles Gibbens' ailment is not considered an accident under his insurance policy. Unprotected sex Gibbens had in 2003 with three women caused him to contract genital herpes. It caused him to suffer from a rare complication of the ailment - transverse myelitis - which inflamed his spinal cord and caused Gibbens' paralysis from the mid-abdomen down.
The Court pointed out engaging in unprotected sex may lead to a sexually transmitted disease, but Gibbens was not aware if any of three women had genital herpes. Gibbens sought compensation from the Cooperators Life Insurance Company under a group insurance policy.
Two British Columbia courts initially favored Gibbens with a decision that declared his paraplegia qualified as a body injury caused by external, violent and accidental means and awarded him a $200,000 insurance claim.
However, the federal Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision on Friday is a decision penned by Justice Ian Binnie, reversed the BC courts' ruling.
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