Case Studies

Amy was riding on an ATV with a friend. She lost control and she sustained substantial facial scars. She was treated at St. Anthony's by a plastic surgeon. There was health insurance coverage. She consulted a Hillsboro lawyer to handle the Uninsured Motorist case against Shelter, her father's auto carrier. Her claim was denied by Shelter due to a clause which denied coverage for a person riding on an ATV. Her lawyer sent her a letter turning down the case on those grounds.

She contacted me and I found appellate decisions invalidating that clause. Shelter paid the entire $50,000 policy limits within one month.

II.

Mrs. Decker was driving her mechanic's car when a drunk hit her, fracturing her ankle and breaking her arm. I collected the $25,000 limits on her mechanic's Uninsured Motorist policy and the Uninsured Mororist coverage of her own car. $50,000 was in hand. This wasn't enough, given her injuries.

Her son lived in a mobile home about 50 yards away. His Uninsured Motorist policy showed that "resident relative, residing in the same household" was entitled to coverage on each of his two $50,000 policies. She was a relative, but was she a resident of the same "household"? I was able to prove that they shared the same water well, garden sheds and meals. They lived on her land. Even though they had different addresses and mailboxes, I was able to secure 1/2 of the son's $100,000 coverage by way of settlement because I made a good case that I would win at trial, given the evidence gathered.

III.

Mike was riding an uninsured motorcycle and was cut off by an unidentified driver. He had to have his ankle fused. In the 7th year following his crash, his case was mentioned to me by my neighbor. Since an unidentified driver is "uninsured" by statute and policy, he had coverage. Unable to remember the carrier on his other vehicles from 7 years ago, I obtained copies of old checks from his bank and determined that American Family had coverage on two trucks at the time of the crash. I collected $25,000 on each policy within 3 months of getting the case.

IV.

Mrs. W. lost her husband when a State Highway truck backed over him. She collected workers' compensation. Two years later, her son mentioned the accident to me. I informed him that the State of Missouri is uninsured. I got the case and found that the W. family had 5 cars at the time of the accident. Each was with Allstate and each had $25,000 coverage. Each policy contained a "government vehicle" exclusion clause. Allstate denied coverage. It took three months of trying to get a simple deposition of Allstate's adjuster and I had to get a judge to order it. The night before the adjuster's deposition, Allstate agreed to pay the $125,000. The case of Martin v. State Farm invalidated these government exclusion clauses in 1988, but Allstate ignored this law until I could force them before a court reporter at deposition.

Erin was severely injured while a passenger in her boyfriend's car. Her boyfriend was at fault and had no insurance. Over three years later, I met her and found that she had consulted lawyers and had been told she had no case. I realized that she could avail herself of her parents' Uninsured Motorist Coverage. A claim was made and her parents' insurance company tried to deny coverage saying she was not a resident of her parents' household at the time of the crash. Proof of voter registration, witness statements and other evidence was gathered and within 4 months, her company agreed to pay the entire $275,000 of coverage."