The laws surrounding uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can be tricky. Did you know that you may be entitled to damages even if you were hit by a driver that carries no or very little insurance? If you have purchased uninsured/underinsured coverage on your automobile policy you can seek damages from your own insurance company and they can’t raise you rates.
- Michael Nimmo
My practice is representing people who have been injured by another person’s negligence. Sometimes this involves a car accident. Sometimes it involves medical malpractice. My clients didn’t cause their injury. My clients were not at fault. Yet I repeatedly hear expressions such as “I’m not a litigious person”, “I never thought I would do anything like this”, or some other expression bordering on guilt that they are even considering retaining a lawyer to assert a claim. I always ask them why they feel that way. I ask them who is going to stand up for them if they do not stand up for themselves. They always agree with me but usually can’t shake a feeling about how others are going to perceive them because they are, in fact, standing up to an insurance company.
Why do people feel this way? The insurance industry and the business community, with a great deal of money and propaganda, have created a picture in the media, in advertisements, and in other ways that we are a “sue happy” society. They have been very effective in doing this. They have distorted the truth about our judicial system and how it works. They have successfully portrayed insurance companies and big business as the victims rather than the real victims of other’s negligence. They have successfully portrayed anyone who stands up to them as greedy people who are looking for an easy buck. They have successfully portrayed legitimate claims as “frivolous”. My own profession has contributed to this by conduct by some which appears to be just what the insurance companies want the public to believe about lawyers. The media reports on cases that involve days and weeks of testimony and evidence and summarize the entire case in 2 paragraphs that can’t begin to tell the true whole story.
As a consequence of all this the general public looks with some disdain on lawsuits. In my experience this is true until it happens to them or a family member. Then the terrible consequences of being seriously injured or a loved one killed comes home. The cold indifference of an insurance company becomes apparent. The assumption that they will be treated fairly disappears. Reality sets in. They realize, if they don’t stand up for themselves or their family, nobody else is!
- Neil Hillyard
One of the largest verdicts in U.S. history was entered against Paul Revere/Unum Insurance for failure to pay a legitimate disability insurance claim. The jury found that Paul Revere/Unum’s conduct was egregious entitling the disabled person to compensatory damages and punitive damages for their unreasonable and bad faith conduct. Our lawyers have a history of analyzing disability insurance contracts and successfully prosecuting claims for their bad faith conduct.
- Steve Wahlberg
The American Association of Justice published a fascinating article entitled “Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse” regarding the improper denial of claims. You can view the full version of the report at www.justice.org/insurance.
Tactics included simple delay with the hopes that the injured party will lose key witnesses, allowing the statute of limitations to run and even denying claims they know are perfectly valid. There are examples of health insurance companies that have acted in bad faith for refusing to pay for medical conditions that are obviously covered by the policy. Insurance carriers owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to their insureds to pay legitimate medical expenses pursuant to the policy and you may be entitled to all attorneys’ fees for successfully pursuing a bad faith claim against an insurance company.
- Steve Wahlberg