Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Co-operating With Insurance Company

July 5, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is one for people in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, Richardson, Farmers Branch, and other places in Texas to think about.

What if you get sued but do not tell your insurance company but the person who sued you does tell the insurance company, does the insurance company have to defend you in the lawsuit?

In 2008, the Texas Supreme Court in the case styled, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburg, PA. v. Beatrice Crocker, issued an opinion dealing with this issue. Here is some background and a discussion.

Personal Injury Protection

July 3, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie residents and residents of Arlington, Mansfield, Burleson, Crowley, Benbrook, Fort Worth, Lake Worth, Hulen, and other areas of Tarrant County who have automobile insurance coverage are always given the opportunity to purchase, with their automobile insurance, Personal Injury Protection, otherwise know as PIP.

PIP coverage is required to be offered along with automobile insurance coverage pursuant to the Texas Insurance Code, Section 1952.152. Here is a case dealing with that coverage.

The style of the case is, Texas Farmers Insurance Company v. Carabell Fruge. This is a case decided by the Texas Court of Appeals, Beaumont, in 2000. Here is some background information.

Car Wreck And Drivers License

July 2, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Residents of Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Millsap, Brock, Willow Park, Mineral Wells, Springtown, Cool, Peaster, Poolville, and other places in Parker County would be surprised by the fact that driving without a drivers license and being involved in a wreck does not mean the unlicensed driver is at fault.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case in 1959, that is still good law today and is interesting reading. The style of the case is, James Eugene Flanigan et al v. Jack Carswell et al. The issues and the facts in the case are kinda complicated and confusing but we will focus on the part dealing with a drivers license.

Carswell was the owner and operator of an ambulance which had been issued a permit as an emergency ambulance by the Texas State Board of Health. At trial, a jury found that at the time of the collision Carswell was on an authorized run, and that the ambulance was traveling at a rate of speed in excess of 30 MPH, but less than 40MPH. It was undisputed that Carswell had only an ordinary Texas operator’s license while driving the ambulance. Flanagan and the other plaintiffs argued that because Carswell was operating the vehicle with only an ordinary license rather than a chauffeur’s license when he was exceeding the 30 MPH speed limit, that his actions were negligence per se. So the jury had no choice but to find as a matter of law that Carswell’s action in exceeding the 30 MPH limit was negligence. Understand the argument by Flanigan was that as an ambulance driver Carswell could have been operating legally up to 40 MPH. But because he did not have the chauffeurs license, he was breaking the law and negligent per se.

Homeowners Insurance And Medical Payments Coverage

June 30, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Most homeowners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Fort Worth, Dallas, Duncanville, De Soto, Cedar Hill, Mansfield, and other Dallas County and Tarrant County cites will have a policy of insurance on their home. Most of the time that homeowners policy is going to have a medical payments coverage in the policy.

Medical payments coverage will usually provide payments for “reasonable and necessary” medical expenses up to the limits of the coverage which is usually $1,000 to $5,000. It is coverage that should pay medical bills without regards to who is at fault for the injuries sustained.

Here is a case dealing with the coverage. The case is styled, Cynthia Farris, as next friend of Vidal de Jesus Farias, a minor v. Allstate Insurance Company and Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company. This opinion was issued by the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals on June 2, 2011.

The Wrong Way To Sue An Insurance Company

June 28, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Persons living in Fort Worth, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Mesquite, Garland, Richardson, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, and other places in Texas might enjoy this case. It tells us how someone who does not consult with an experienced Insurance Law Attorney is just wasting their time doing a lawsuit by themselves.

The opinion in this case was issued on June 2, 2011, by the Austin Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Cynthia Ulett Lynch v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Lynch was appealing from a summary judgment against her based on res judicata.

Here is some background.

Accused Of Arson

June 26, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Homeowners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Duncanville, De Soto, Cedar Hill, Dalworthington Gardens, Fort Worth, Dallas, and other places in Texas might be interested in this story. It has to do with insurance and arson.

The story is from knoxnews.com and was written by Jamie Satterfield. The article was published on May 27, 2011, and is titled “Vonore couple accused of arson: Insurance firm sues, claiming pair blamed neighbor as cover-up.”

The article tell us that the insurance company, American National Property and Casualty Company, a Missouri based insurance company, is accusing a lesbian couple of being arsonists who burned down their own home to receive the insurance proceeds. The couple say they are victims of hate crime.

Insurance Law And Legal Procedure

June 25, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Most homeowners in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Azle, Peaster, Brock, Millsap, Cool, and other communities in Parker County would not be very interested in the legal technicalities associated with an insurance dispute. Instead they would hire an experienced Insurance Law Attorney and let that person handle the legal aspects of dealing with the insurance company. However, knowing a little about how it sometimes works can be informative.

The 14th Texas Court of Appeals in Houston issued an opinion on May 26, 2011. The style of the case is “In Re Liberty Mutual Group, Inc.” This case is called a “mandamus proceeding” and arises from a dispute over the amount of the covered loss under a homeowner’s insurance policy. On April, 18, 2011, Liberty filed this action asking the appeals court to compel, the Honorable Mike Miller, Judge of the 11th District Court of Harris County, to abate the underlying lawsuit until an appraisal to determine the amount of the covered loss had been completed. This appeals court denied the request.

Here is some background information. After Hurricane Ike, the homeowners filed a claim under their insurance policy with Liberty. A dispute arose over the amount of the covered loss. Liberty invoked the appraisal process pursuant to the terms of the insurance policy. The appraisal was underway when the lawsuit was filed against Liberty. Liberty answered the lawsuit and then filed a motion to abate the case until the appraisal process was completed.

Insurance Company Denies Claim

June 23, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Grapevine, Colleyville, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Keller, Flower Mound, Roanoke, Haslet, Saginaw, and other places in the state of Texas would naturally be upset if their claim were denied. But next, they would want to hire an experienced Insurance Law Attorney and pursue a lawsuit against their insurance company to make them pay.

Here is a case where an attorney tried to get the insurance company to pay but most of the lawsuit was almost thrown out of court. The style of the case is, Rosa Garcia and Augustin Garcia v. Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company. The opinion in this case was issued on May 16, 2011, by the United States District Court, S. D. Texas, Houston Division.

Here is what is going on in this situation:

How Much Does An Insurance Company Have To Pay On A Claim

June 21, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

A natural question for someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Dallas, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, and other places in Texas would be – How much does an insurance company have to pay on a claim? The answer is – It depends on many things?

A Fort Worth Court of Appeals case, decided in 2000, gives some insight into how much an insurance company may have to pay on a claim. The style of the case is, Thomas Carter, Mary Carter, and Ed Carter v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Here is some background.

In April of 1997, Thomas Carter, Kari Brunson, Jeff Goodman, Michelle Keeffe, and Craig Derrick were traveling west on I-30 in an Isuzu. At the same time, Jennifer Puterbaugh was traveling the same direction at a high rate of speed weaving through traffic and struck the Isuzu from behind. The collision caused the death of Kari Brunson and injured the four other occupants of the Isuzu. State Farm insured Michelle Keeffe, the Isuzu’s owner, against loss caused by bodily injury under a $50,000 per person up to $100,000 per incident uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) policy.

Insurance Fraud

June 19, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance payers in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, De Soto, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Irving, Cockrell Hill, and other places in Dallas County and Tarrant County do not like insurance fraud.

The Los Angeles Times published an article on May 20, 2011, dealing with insurance fraud in the state of California. The article is written by Marc Lifsher and the title to the article is, Quest Diagnostics Settles Medi-Cal Whistle-Blower Suit.

The article tells us that Quest Diagnostics, Inc., the biggest provider of medical lab services in California, has agreed to pay $241 million to settle a whistle-blower’s lawsuit that accused it of overcharging the state Medi-Cal program. The lawsuit also alleged that the Madison, N.J., company paid illegal kickbacks to doctors, hospitals, and clinics that sent patients their way.