Twice in the last year we have obtained awards for cases involving serious infec- tions that developed after a collision that at first blush caused relatively minor injuries. We had clients who developed internal infections months after a collision. These infections required significant surgical and hospital care. We succeed in medically linking those infections to injuries caused in the collision. Injuries can surface over time and that is why insurance companies always rush people to sign a release shortly after a collision.
This year we concluded an automobile collision case in which we negotiated additional insurance coverage for the collision through a homeowner’s policy. Homeowner’s insurance provides broad liability coverage to cover the insured for any liability arising from their negligence. Homeowners’ policies then list pages and pages of exclusions that carve out many situations and usually all situations involv- ing an automobile. In the end, the blanket coverage of home- owners insurance coverage looks like a moth eaten blanket. In this case, a person was fatally injured in an auto collision and died. We succeeded in proving that the homeowner’s insurance coverage also applied to the collision. We also argued that the homeowner’s insurance policy was in excess to any other coverage. The insurance company argued that the maximum coverage available was the $100,000 limits under the automobile insurance policy. Ultimately, the insurance company paid the complete amount of insurance available, $200,000. This repre- sented an additional $100,000 from the homeowner’s policy. Results like this are achieved by attorneys who are willing to do a thorough investigation and think resourcefully. This also illustrates why it is worth considering carrying large limits on your own auto and homeowner’s policies. $200,000 may not sound like much for someone’s life, but there was no other insurance available. Uninsured/ Underinsured coverage could pay more if coverage existed in excess of $200,000. Do you know what is in your policy?
Recently, in another hard-fought case, our office successfully obtained additional coverage for a young woman who sustained serious permanent spinal injuries in an auto collision. The driver who caused the collision only had $50,000.00 in cov- erage, which did not even cover the victim’s medical bills. We argued that she was covered under an additional policy of insurance issued to her stepfather, who resided in her household. The insurance company strongly disagreed, but the Court ruled in our favor and we reached a settlement, putting additional compen- sation in the hands of our client. Are you fully insured?
