Insurer Ordered to Pay Mother Who Saw Son Die in Motorcycle Crash

An Ohio insurance company must pay benefits to a Detroit-area woman who witnessed the death of her son on a motorcycle. A 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 is seeking money for wage loss, medical care and other expenses from Cincinnati Insurance Co. The insurer 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.