AUGUST 2026 | 23 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL shooting could not be characterized as an “accident” for purposes of insurance coverage. Because the evidence was disputed as to whether Officer Willard expected or should have expected to have been fired upon, the question of the insured’s intention was for the jury. That was a rather unusual case; in most instances there will be no basis to determine that the UM insured somehow intended their own injuries and so intent will not generally be a concern in UM coverage. Willard is interesting for the above, but also for its illustration of at least two other useful UM rules. One rule is that a UM insured need not be occupying or using any vehicle for coverage to apply. If the at-fault party was “using” a vehicle, the UM insured has access to the insured’s own UM coverage. The leading Oklahoma case on this rule adopts the Louisiana perspective: “[UM] covers the insured and the [insured’s resident] family members [both called ‘Class 1’ insureds] while riding in uninsured vehicles, while riding in commercial vehicles, while pedestrians or while rocking on the front porch”10 (Class 2 insureds, by contrast, are those who are UM insureds solely by virtue of occupancy of an insured vehicle). Willard illustrates this rule because Officer Willard was not in his squad car when he was shot but was standing next to it taking cover behind the door. Another useful rule from Willard pertains to what acts on the part of another driver count towards UM coverage. Thus there is definitional leeway allowing one to argue that the UM insured’s injuries were caused by an uninsured (or underinsured11) motorist. Indeed, the uninsured driver in Willard was not driving his car when he caused Willard’s injuries, nor were the acts that caused Willard’s injuries related to an obvious driving purpose (notably, UM coverage applies to injuries arising out of the “ownership, maintenance, or use” of an uninsured vehicle). The court noted, however: 1) the bad guy was resting his gun on the car’s “windowsill,” 2) he never left his vehicle, 3) the vehicle remained running during the altercation, and 4) the perpetrator drove away in the vehicle after the incident. That was sufficient to raise a jury question as to whether the shooting was related to the perpetrator’s “use” of his car. Notably, Willard holds that a “UM-covered use” is not limited to the car’s “driving operation nor to [a] lawful[] … use,” (Emphasis original.) Though Willard is still good and useful law, later cases focus on finding a “transportation use” of the tortfeasor vehicle as a UM trigger.12 At least one (very good) attorney applied the above rules to access his client’s UM when the client hit a shredded tire on a roadway.13 Additionally, most UM policies define Class 2 occupant UM coverage to apply to anyone “in, on, getting in, or getting on” an insured vehicle. Relevant case law interprets that clause as meaning something like “somewhat close to the insured car.” For instance, in Wickham v. Equity Fire & Cas. Co.,14 a passing motorist stopped to assist a stranded driver with a flat tire. The good Samaritan helped search the trunk of the stranded vehicle for tools, putting his knees on the bumper of the car to do so, and was then later hit by an uninsured motorist while kneeling next to the car to tighten lug nuts. That was sufficient “occupancy” of the stranded motorist’s car for the good Samaritan to access the stranded driver’s UM. That’s good lawyering and great creativity with UM. As a result of the various cases and rules pertaining to insurance coverage for MVAs, the personal injury attorney should check for and evaluate all the following potential sources of insurance coverage: Liability coverage on the at-fault vehicle(s) (including coverage on the vehicle occupied by any injured passengers if his or her driver shares any blame) Separate liability coverage on the at-fault driver(s) Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.
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