Recently, the Florida Supreme Court issued a sound ruling against an auto insurance company that tried to evade responsibility for denying and dragging on an injury claim for four years.
In Fridman v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Ill., the state high court ruled an insurer that paid the policy limits on the eve of trial – four years after the underlying car accident and two years after the injured man filed a lawsuit for determination of liability – wasn’t immune from responsibility to pay those damages or any stemming from a future bad faith action.
The case reminds our Boston car accident attorneys of one in Massachusetts several years ago. In Chery v. Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Co., the Massachusetts Court of Appeals ruled it was not enough that an insurer who violates insurance law simply pay a claim right before trial. The reason is insured victims suffer damage as a direct result of delayed payment. Continue reading