PRODUCT LIABILITY & INSURER BAD FAITH
| PRODUCT LIABILITY | |
|---|---|
| Free Consultation |  |
| 15-passenger Van Accidents | |
| Ford Rollovers | |
| SUV and Truck Accidents | |
| Sudden Acceleration Accidents | |
| Tire Tread Separation | |
| Top Verdicts and Settlements | |
My law practice is concentrated on product liability litigation, but especially focused on securing compensation for personal injury caused by the manufacturers of defective 15-passenger vans, autos, suvs, trucks and tires.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
Fifteen-Passenger Van Accidents
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 15-passenger vans debuted in 1972, when Ford transformed what was built as a cargo van into a passenger vehicle by adding five rows of seats. Today, according to 2008 registrations, there are about 500,000 15-passenger vans on the roads. Too many of them leave the road, and such 15-passenger van accidents can have catastrophic consequences such as serious personal injury and death:
Read more about personal injury in 15-passenger van accidents...
Cheap Used Tires = Bad Safety Deal
Tread Separation Accidents
Perhaps because of the weak economy or higher tariffs on new Chinese tires, sales of used tires have skyrocketed. Tire sellers maximize their profits by selling used tires. An article in the trade magazine, Tire Business, asks: “What can used tires do for your dealership? Actually, what can't they do might be an easier question to answer. Used-tire trade-in programs can boost both volume and gross profits, as well as help independents compete against mass merchandisers.”
Read more about the safety risks of used tires...
| INSURER BAD FAITH | |
|---|---|
| Free Consultation | |
| Individual & Commercial | |
| Coverage Analysis | |
| Pre-Litigation Demand | |
| Bad Faith Breach of Policy | |
| Punitive Damages | |
| Top Verdicts and Settlements | |
My law practice also concentrates on individual or commercial insurance recovery representation and litigation, including securing compensatory and punitive damages for bad faith breach of policy by an insurance company.
Insurance Company Bad Faith
Breach of Your Insurance Policy
Recently, in Nunn v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., 215 P.3d 1196 (Colo. App. 2008), the court reiterated the contours of the tort of bad faith breach of insurance contract:
Colorado recognizes a cause of action in tort for an insurer's bad faith breach of its obligations under the policy sold to and bought by an insured, whether the insured is an individual or a business, even a large corporation.
Tort liability “is grounded upon the special nature of the insurance contract and the relationship which exists between the insurer and the insured.”
An insurance company's duty to its policy-holder to act in good faith includes the obligation to act reasonably in the payment and settlement of claims. Any insurer that unreasonably refuses to settle a third-party claim against its insured, or unreasonably delays settling such a claim, may be liable for bad faith breach of the insurance contract.
Recovery of damages for the tort of bad faith breach of an insurance contract is “based upon traditional tort principles of compensation for injuries actually suffered....”
A policy-holder must prove actual damages, an essential element of a claim for bad faith breach of policy, by a preponderance of the evidence; that is, the amount of actual damages sought cannot be based on mere speculation or conjecture.
Where an insurance company has violated its obligation to act in good faith, compensatory damages for economic and non-economic losses are available to make the insured whole and, where appropriate, punitive damages are available to punish the insurer and deter wrongful conduct by other insurerance companies.
Economic damages may include: (1) a judgment within policy limits payable by the insured to a victim where the insurer has unreasonably denied coverage or refused to settle; (2) a judgment in excess of policy limits payable by the insured to the victim where the insurer has unreasonably denied coverage or refused to settle; (3) attorney fees and costs incurred by the insured in defending against the victim's claim where the insurer has unreasonably refused to provide the insured a defense; and (4) damage to an insured's credit caused by the recording of the victim's judgment against the insured where the insurer has unreasonably denied coverage or refused to settle.
Noneconomic damages may include: emotional distress; pain and suffering; inconvenience; fear and anxiety; and impairment of the quality of life. These types of damages may be incurred by a policy-holder where the insurance company acted in bad faith by denying coverage, failed to settle or unreasonably delayed in settling a claim, or refused to provide a defense to its policy-holder.
Punitive damages can be recovered only if the policy-holder suffered actual damages. The policy-holder must prove compensatory damages as a threshold matter before punitive damages may be awarded.
Randy was lead trial counsel in two of the most significant insurance cases in Colorado's legal history. These two cases have opened the courtroom doors to policy-holders who have been taken advantage of by their insurance companies. Read more...