... ...   ___________________________________________________ Insurance Bad Faith People buy insurance in a spirit of trust. They feel assured that the insurance policy will bear the heavy financial responsibility if property is damaged or a family member or friend is seriously hurt. But sometimes the insurance company views the situation from a different point of view. We have experience with insurance companies that act in bad faith against their policy holders. Over the years we have helped many people recover full payment from their insurance companies. It’s all about doing what’s right. Examples of our cases involving insurance bad faith claims: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dussault v. Midcentury Insurance Co. $2.825 million settlement Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter In one of the largest insurance bad faith cases in Washington state, our legal team facilitated a settlement arising from an auto collision that resulted in a severe closed-head injury. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Slape v. State Farm Medical benefits settlement Plaintiff’s counsel: Karen K. Koehler State Farm did not play fair when handling plaintiff’s motor vehicle collision case. State Farm insured both the plaintiff and the person who rear ended her. First, it forced her to sue the negligent driver by refusing to admit his fault. After a judge entered an order finding the driver responsible, State Farm paid modest policy limits. Its second bad act came a few weeks later when it cut off plaintiff’s medical benefits to discourage her from pursuing an underinsured motorist claim. After an arbitrator ruled that her medical benefits needed to be fully paid, a bad faith lawsuit was filed. State Farm settled for the largest amount paid in this state for a personal injury protection bad faith case. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Worley v. B&G Farms & Life Insurance Company $440,000 settlement Plaintiff’s counsel: Peter O’Neil Thick smoke from an agricultural fire blew across a road in Eastern Washington and caused a five-car collision. Horace Worley, age 79, fell from his crashed car and lay in the smoke and cinders for more than an hour. He later died from his injuries. We showed that B&G Farms was negligent in handling its mint waste, which caught fire and led to the accident. A life insurance company refused to pay Worley’s widow, claiming the cause of death was “heart disease.” We got a settlement for close to policy limits. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ernest and Kimberly Perry v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Plaintiff’s counsel: Brad J. Moore Dealing with insurance companies after a car crash was in some ways more painful for Ernie Perry than his physical injuries from the incident. Under Brad’s counsel, Ernie sued State Farm for bad faith and violations of the Consumer Protection Act. The claim said State Farm failed to properly and fairly investigate Ernie’s uninsured motorist claim, forcing it to arbitration. The jury decided in Ernie’s favor after a five-day trial. Judgment was entered against State Farm for $147,000. It had never offered to settle Ernie’s case for more than $15,000. State Farm appealed the judgment, but later dropped its appeal and agreed to pay Ernie $250,000 the night before oral argument in appeals court. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tillett v. Allstate $203,200 settlement Plaintiff’s counsel: Brad J. Moore Our legal team helped Mr. Tillett recover medical expenses and lost wages covered through his auto insurance policy. Mr. Tillett’s injuries occurred when an uninsured, drunk driver collided with his car.   Experienced trial lawyers dedicated to achieving the best possible results for injured people. Home l About l Cases l Attorneys l Resources l Contact Copyright © 2004, Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Withey Coluccio. All rights reserved. 1-888-879-8383