An Indiana appeals court has decided that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company must pay for injuries sustained by a pedestrian who was struck by an electric scooter. This ruling, made on April 23, 2025, arose from an incident in November 2022, when Michelle DiPego was walking in Muncie, Indiana, and was hit from behind by a woman riding an electric scooter. The rider briefly stopped but did not provide her identity before leaving the scene. DiPego suffered a wrist injury and filed a claim with State Farm under her uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.
Initially, State Farm denied her claim, arguing that the scooter did not qualify as a “land motor vehicle” according to the terms of DiPego’s insurance policy. This led DiPego to take legal action, seeking clarification on whether her injuries were covered under her policy.
The central issue in the case was the language of the insurance policy. State Farm’s policy promised to cover damages for injuries caused by accidents involving uninsured "land motor vehicles," but it did not clearly define this term. The company referenced Indiana’s Motor Vehicle Code, which excludes electric scooters from its definition of a motor vehicle. However, the court pointed out that insurance policies should be understood in plain language, rather than relying solely on legal definitions unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Using everyday definitions, the court concluded that the scooter, being a self-propelled device operating on land, fits the common understanding of a "land motor vehicle." Additionally, the court noted that State Farm had missed its chance to argue whether the scooter was uninsured, as they did not properly raise that issue during earlier court proceedings.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling, allowing DiPego to pursue UM benefits from her State Farm policy. This case illustrates how new forms of transportation, like electric scooters, are challenging traditional insurance policy language and definitions.
The case is officially titled State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Michelle DiPego and Michael DiPego, under Case No. 24A-PL-1268 in the Court of Appeals of Indiana.