Auto Insurance Claims: parental death, university of louisville hospital, bardstown rd

Question
Copied from police report:
Unit one, a pedestrian, had just been involved in a non-injury collision. Those two vehicles were pulled off on the left hand side of the road with emergency flashers on. Unit one stepped out into left lane of southbound Bardstown Rd. to examine his vehicle for crash damage. When he stepped out into the driving lane he failed to see unit two, which was traveling southbound. Unit two applied brakes sharply and attemped to stop but was unable to do so. Unit two struck unit one. Unit one was transported to University of Louisville Hospital. He remained there being treated for his injuries, but died from them on friday 10/23/09 at 14:44 hours.

My question:
Pedestrian was struck and killed by car. Why does it matter if pedestrian had insurance on his car when he was not in vehicle when struck?

Please and thanks.
Misty

Answer
Misty,

The answer is specific to each state's laws.  In general a person is covered when they are exiting or entering their car or even loading their car.  My guess is that a person might also be covered as he examines his car or tries to effect a repair (like change a flat tire).  To be sure you'd have to do some case research in your state to see how far coverage has been extended.

If you are a family member of the deceased you should speak to an attorney as soon as possible.  An expert can examine the scene and determine from the skid marks and impact points what actually happened.

Best regards,

Ernest Ferraro