Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog
The law office of Mark S. Humphreys, P.C. is pleased to announce a settlement in a case involving a disability policy.
In this case the insured lady had purchased a disability policy through an advertisement she had received in the mail. The lady paid on the policy for a number of years when one day she was involved in a one vehicle automobile accident. This lady was severely injured and was in a hospital for about a week. Her injuries among other things included paralysis to one side of her body. This paralysis to one side of the body is called hemiplegia. Another term used to describe this condition is hemiparesis. However, from a medical perspective, these two terms have distinct meanings.
Hemiplegia is total paralysis to one side of the body, while hemiparesis is a partial paralysis to one side of the body.
The policy at issue paid 100% for a diagnosis of hemiplegia but only 10% for the condition of hemiparesis.
The medical records seemed to use the two terms interchangeably even though the two conditions are distinct. This occurs with all too much frequency, another example being back injuries, where the medical records may use the terms herniated disc and bulging disc interchangeably even though the two are two distinct and different types of injury.
Mark’s office deposed one of her treating doctors who testified favorably for Mark’s client. The insurance company deposed four doctors who testified against the injured lady.
The case settled favorably for Mark’s client after the second mediation and a week before trial.