The Harper Law Blog
The Harper Law Blog offers news, announcements, thoughts and articles on life, law and our practice areas of emphasis.
Personal injury practice
Posted Saturday, April 26, 2008 by Ed Harper.
Ed practices in all areas of personal injury law. This includes the investigation of accidents wherein someone is injured due to the fault of someone or something else. These days, the vast majority of cases have to do with investigating claims for people who are injured in highway accidents ~ through no fault of their own. However, Ed has represented people who are injured in many different ways, and it would be impossible to list all the various circumstances. However, some additional types of claims Ed has handled are injury cases caused by construction accidents, dog bites, Medical malpractice, bicycle accidents, pedestrian collisions, traumatic brain injuries, product liability (such as a defective lap band used in surgery or a malfunctioning wheelchair leading to a fall and resulting in head trauma), and any on the job injury where someone other than the employer can be deemed at fault, to name just a few. We also review insurance claims for people to help them understand their policies, benefits and coverage. This often has to do with interpreting motor vehicle insurance policies, but can also include health insurance and disability policies. The scope of Ed’s practice includes primarily people who have been injured in the state of Washington, but Ed is also licensed to practice law in California. In addition, he has helped people who were injured in Mexico, Scotland, Arizona, , Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas.
If you know of a loved one who has been injured, please have them contact our office before they sign any liability release for any insurance company. The insurance companies are very anxious to have injured people sign away their rights before the injured person has a chance to seek the advice of an attorney who practices in personal injury law.
Good Faith, Bad Faith and Insurance Profits
Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Ed Harper.
As an insurance policy holder, an insurance company is supposed to act in Good Faith. This means an insurance company has a duty to act in the following manner:
Honor your requests and assist you in resolving your claim
Pay or deny you claim within a reasonable period of time
Respond promptly to your requests
Provide notification in writing of the reasons they are not paying your claim
Bad faith insurance practices can include any of the following:
Not investigating your insurance claim
Unreasonably delaying the investigation of your claim
Not paying promptly benefits you are entitled to receive
Making an unreasonable low payment offer on your claim
Not disclosing policy limits
Not renewing your insurance policy after a claim has been filed
Terminating your insurance policy after a claim has been filed
Treating the insured as an adversary
Additionally, profits are up for insurance companies. Reports indicate that profits are at $73 billion for 2006. This is up 50% over last year and come on the backs of insured’s premium checks.
Can I get my vehicle repaired at the place of my my choice?
Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 by Ed Harper.
WAC 284-30-3903
(1) The insurer must make a good faith effort to honor your request for repairs to be made in a specific repair shop and cannot arbitrarily deny your request.
(2) A denial of your request solely because of the repair shop’s hourly rate is arbitrary if the rate does not result in a higher overall cost of repairs.
(3) If the overall cost of repairs cannot be agreed upon, the insurer will:
(a) Provide you with the names of reputable repair shops reasonably close to you that can satisfactorily complete the repairs for the amount of their estimate; and
(b) Make an appropriate notation in its claim file setting forth the reason it has rejected your request.
(4) If you choose to take your vehicle to a repair facility in which the overall cost for a satisfactory repair is higher than the insurer’s estimate, you may be liable for any additional amount above their estimate.
Being dropped by your insurance carrier
Posted Wednesday, November 14, 2007 by Ed Harper.
Recent article in LA Times. Health Net, a California based insurance company, bonuses a high-level analyst based on her meeting or exceeding annual targets for revoking policies.
Practices leave policyholders without health insurance coverage when they need it most – when they face dire medical consequences and/or medical emergency. Health Net disclosures provided an inside look at an insurer’s practice of providing monetary compensation for employees who were able to cancel policies when major medical claims were looming on behalf of one of their insured.
Former LA Superior Court Judge Sam Cianchetti provided the La Times with ability for records to be made public. Barbara Fowler, Health Net Senior Analyst in charge of rescission review, had a monthly average in 2002 of 23 policies cancelled. In 2005, her employee compensation was based on 301 policies cancelled.
California state law forbids insurance companies from tying any compensation for claims reviewers to their claims decisions. R-67 in Washington State will provide legal authority to monitor 1st party insurance company practices in automobile claims.
Evaluating Claim Value (per Washington State Jury Instruction)
Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2007 by Ed Harper.
It is the duty of the court to instruct you as to the measure of damages. By instructing you on damages the court does not mean to suggest for which party your verdict should be rendered.
If your verdict is for the plaintiff, then you must determine the amount of money which will reasonably and fairly compensate the plaintiff for such damages as you find were proximately caused by the negligence of the defendant.
If you find for the plaintiff, your verdict must include the following undisputed items:
(List undisputed past economic damage amounts.)
1. In addition, you should consider the following past economic damages elements: (Including but not limited to the reasonable value of medical expenses incurred to date and the disability and disfigurement experienced to date.) (See 30.07.01, 30.08.01, 30.09.01 and 30.10 through 30.16.)
2. In addition, you should consider the following future economic damages elements: (Including but no limited to the present cash value of medical expenses to be incurred with reasonable probability in the future and the present cash value of earning capacity with reasonable probability to be lost in the future.) (See 30.07.02, 30.08.02, and 30.09.02.)
3. In addition, you should consider the following noneconomic damages elements: (Including, but not limited to the pain and suffering experienced to date and with reasonable probability to be experienced in the future.) (See 30.04 through 30.06.)
The burden of proving damages rests upon the plaintiff. It is for you to determine, based upon the evidence, whether any particular element has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence.
Your award must be based upon evidence and not upon speculation, guess, or conjecture.
The law has not furnished us with any fixed standards by which to measure noneconomic damages. With reference to these matters you must be governed by your own judgment, by the evidence in the case, and by these instructions.
WPI 30.01.01
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