Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

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.

Attorneys Hired By The Insurance Company

June 18, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

An attorney in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Azle, Peaster, Millsap, Brock, Poolville, Springtown, or anywhere else in Texas may be a good attorney to help someone with their case. When an insured gets sued he may want one of these attorneys to help him with his case and would expect their insurance company to pay the costs because that is one of the benefits of having insurance. Most of the time the insurance company pays for defense costs. Right?

The answer is no. The insurance company will pay for defense costs but they get to chose who the lawyers are going to be.

The Texas Supreme Court decided a case in 2004 styled, Northern County Mutual Insurance Co. v. Timoteo Davalos. Here is some background.

Insurance Company Slow Paying Claim

June 16, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Brock, Millsap, Peaster, Azle, Cool, Cresson, or anywhere else in Parker or Palo Pinto Counties might wonder – How long do I have to give an insurance to pay a claim before I can do something about it? The lawyerly answer to that is – It depends.

First, if an insurance company is being too slow in paying a claim, a person should not have any hesitation in approaching an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

Second, there is a section of the Texas Insurance Code titled the “Prompt Payment of Claims Act” which gives guidance to the question, – When is too long – too long?

Insurance Policies And Punitive Damages

June 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insured’s in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Burleson, Crowley, Benbrook, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, and other places in Tarrant County and Texas rarely understand what is covered in their auto insurance policy and what is not.

Here is a case decided in 1989, discussing exemplary damages. The case was decided by the El Paso Court of Appeals and is styled, Emigdia C. Manriquez, Individually and on Behalf of all Statutory Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Jorge Ramon Manriquez, Deceased v. Mid-Century Insurance Company of Texas.

Here are some facts of the case.

Exemplary Damages In Insurance

June 12, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Texans in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Duncanville, De Soto, Cedar Hill, Mesquite, Richardson, Garland, and other places in Dallas County will rarely find themselves in a position wherein they are making a claim for exemplary damages but would be surprised how often they are close to being able to make that claim. Think about this – If someone injures you in a car wreck and the person has been drinking, then you have a claim against that person for your injuries plus a claim for exemplary damages. So how does that work?

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals had a case in December 2004, which discussed exemplary damages. The style of the case is Westchester Fire Insurance Company v. Admiral Insurance Company. Here is some background.

In 1994, PeopleCare Heritage Western Hills, Inc. (PeopleCare), the owner of Heritage Western Hills Nursing Home had a primary policy with Admiral with limits of $1,000,000 and an excess policy with Westchester with limits of $10,000,000. Beulah Cagle was a patient at Western Hills. In December 1994, Beulah (Beulah had been allowed to lie in a urine soaked bed for extended periods of time) and her daughter Lola sued PeopleCare under several legal theories including gross negligence.

Sueing An Insurance Company

June 11, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington. Fort Worth, Keller, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Richland Hills, Saginaw, Lake Worth, Benbrook, or anywhere else in the Tarrant County area would only be normal to think about sueing an insurance company someday. Particularly if they are doing you wrong.

Here is a case where a business that works with one insurance company got screwed around by apparently not sueing the insurance company correctly. One way to lessen the chances of this happening is to work with an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

Here is some of the background of the case.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

June 9, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Lots of insureds in Weatherford, Aledo, Willow Park, Mineral Wells, Millsap, Brock, Azle, Peaster, Cool, Hudson Oaks, and other places in Parker County will have Personal Injury Protection benefits included in their auto insurance policies.

Here is an article that discusses an antic one company was using to save money on these PIP claims.

The article was published by the Houston Chronicle on May 13, 2011, and is authored by staff writer, Patrick Danner. The title of the article is, USAA Sued Anew Over Medical Payouts In Crashes Plaintiffs Say Insurer’s Reviews Are “Shams”; Firm Defends Practices.