Insurance Bad Faith
Slape v. State Farm
Medical benefits settlement
State Farm did not play fair when handling plaintiff's Automobile Accidents 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
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 "heartdisease." We got a settlement for close to policy limits.
