Insurance Company Attempts to Use ‘Soldiers & Sailors Act’ to Deceive and Delay …and Loses
It’s not all that unusual; a teen borrows a parent’s full size 4X4 pick up and along with a few friends, decides to have some off-road fun in a corn field. As these stories often go, fun turns to tragedy and someone gets seriously hurt. Such was the case in Lake County, July of 2002.Even after Horwitz demonstrated that the insurance company was not entitled to the protection of the Act, and locked-in the driver’s liability, the insurance company continued to delay.
As the driver took a sharp turn within moments of entering the field, the 4X4 suddenly rolled. Our client, a sixteen-year old passenger, the driver’s friend, was ejected and pinned beneath the truck, his pelvis crushed with multiple fractures.
Following the incident, the driver of the 4x4 gave a recorded statement in which he admitted fault. He, of course, never meant for his friend to be hurt. Several months later, he joined the army. This case became one against the driver’s insurance company, Auto Owner’s Insurance Company, rather than one against the driver himself, who had by all accounts, acknowledged his responsibility.
Initially, the insurance company indicated a desire to settle the case. Knowing that its insured was in the military for an indefinite length of time, Auto Owners Insurance Company contradicted their own client, denied liability of the driver and offered our client a mere $150,000; nowhere near an amount sufficient to compensate him for his medical bills and lost earning capacity.
Initially the insurance carrier represented to Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates that the liability coverage on the vehicle was a single, basic auto policy; insufficient to compensate the Plaintiff for his injuries.
After investigation, Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates, Ltd. uncovered that the defendant had not disclosed a $1 million dollar umbrella policy, which had been concealed by the insurance company. The primary policy and the umbrella policy combined totaled $1.5 million in coverage, enough to provide for the teenagers needs and those he will surely face over the span of his lifetime.
While Horwitz pushed to resolve the case, the insurance company sought to delay it. Despite the recorded statement in which their insured admitted fault, the insurance company contended its insured was not at fault. Despite x-rays showing his fractured pelvis never properly healed and records showing he was in traction for months, the insurance company contested the injuries were serious.
To perpetuate the delay, and keep the money owed our client in its account as long as possible, the insurance company first sought to delay the case by attempting to use a law intended to protect our servicemen and women, the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, for its own benefit.
The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act was intended to protect servicemen and women from having to testify on their own behalf in a civil lawsuit while on active duty. The Act provides for a court-ordered stay of the case if a serviceman or woman could be impacted financially.
The insurance company attempted to have the case stayed indefinitely for their own protection, not that of the driver, claiming that the driver’s participation was essential to defending the case. Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates argued to the court that Auto Owners Insurance Company was violating the purpose and intent behind the statute because the driver already admitted he was at fault. The court agreed with Horwitz and lifted the stay on the proceeding.
Even after Horwitz demonstrated that the insurance company was not entitled to the protection of the Act, and locked-in the driver’s liability, the insurance company continued to delay. Nearly seven years after the incident, and without ever speaking to any of our client’s treating doctors, it hired a medical doctor to examine our client to dispute his injuries.
With trial less than two weeks away, after delaying the case for seven years, Horwitz finally recovered in excess of one million dollars for the teenager.
In many cases, persons severely injured in vehicle crashes do not recover fair compensation because so many people carry low liability limits. Few people know that their liability coverage can be increased to provide substantial coverage to protect themselves from liability for only a few extra dollars a year.
“For as little as $10 per month in added premium, many policies will increase coverage for medical costs and general liability to $1 million on a standard policy, over the typical $100/$300 plan. Even fewer people know that an umbrella policy (costing as little as $20 in additional premium) typically provides a minimum of $1 million or more in additional coverage for both home and auto, capable in most cases of meeting the full extent of injuries suffered by others. Without the added benefits to your standard policy, someone else’s insurance may not begin to cover your medical expenses and/or you can be sued personally for expenses beyond what your limited, basic policy provides if you are at fault. “ said, Mike Wierzbicki.
This case speaks to the twisted lengths insurance companies will go to deny, delay and avoid paying injured parties despite the acute nature of their injuries …even in cases where the insured has accepted responsibility.
It also speaks volumes about a subject we’ve written about many times; the need for all consumers to obtain sufficient insurance coverage to protect them from personal financial liability beyond the medical coverage provided in a basic auto policy.
Personal Injury Trial Attorney, Michael Wierzbicki and Managing Partner and Lead Trial Attorney, Cliff Horwitz, welcome your comments on this article and can be reached at (866) 228-5016, or by visiting http://www.horwitzlaw.com.