An insurer whose client drove her car into a crowd at a homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring dozens, has asked a judge to divide $100,000 from her policy’s liability coverage among the victims.
Farmers Insurance was the auto insurance provider for Adacia Chambers, who in 2015 plowed her vehicle into a crowd during Oklahoma State University’s homecoming parade, according to a report by The Oklahoman. Chambers, who pleaded no contest in January to four counts of second-degree murder and 39 counts of assault and battery, is now serving life plus 10 years in prison.
Farmers filed a request that the Payne County District Court decide how to divide $100,000 between more than 50 individual victims and about a dozen medical care and insurance providers. The victims suffered medical expenses ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. However, Chambers’ auto policy capped her liability coverage at $100,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage, The Oklahoman reported.
“Nobody’s going to get a lot of money,” Mark Smiling, an attorney for the insurer, told the paper. “…It’s totally up to the judge’s discretion how he’s going to divide those proceeds.”
Chambers had only a little more than minimum coverage, according to Smiling. He said that he hoped the incident would highlight the importance of having uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Several of the victims did have that coverage, which paid part of their damages, he said.
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