Michigan Mother Who Saw Son Die in Crash Entitled to Auto Benefits

An Ohio insurance company must pay benefits to a Detroit-area woman who suffers from witnessing the death of her son on a motorcycle.

The Michigan appeals court said Gale Boertmann of Clinton Township can collect on her auto policy because nightmares and other problems were due to her being in a car when another vehicle struck her son Chris in 2007.

Boertmann has been seeking money for wage loss, medical care and other expenses from Cincinnati Insurance Co. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel at the appeals court upheld a decision by a Macomb County judge.

The insurance company said Boertmann shouldn’t be allowed to collect benefits because she had no role in the crash that killed her son. She was driving behind him.