 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Wasserman v. Wharton3/2/1988
[223 NJSuper Page 395] This controversy arises out of the unilateral deletion by an automobile liability insurer, defendant Newark Insurance Company/Royal Insurance Company, of the underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) it had theretofore included in the policies it had issued to its insured, plaintiff Leonard Wasserman. The questions raised are whether under the circumstances defendant's notice of deletion of UIM benefits previously afforded was effective to deprive the insured of those benefits and whether
his insurance broker had a duty, with which it failed to comply, to advise him to purchase available optional UIM coverage.
The triggering event occurred on July 16, 1983, when plaintiff Leonard Wasserman, a retired businessman, his wife Miriam, and their grandson Russell Schwartzman were crossing Ocean Avenue in Bradley Beach, where the Wassermans were then living. According to Wasserman, they were forced to step backwards while in the center of the roadway in order to avoid an unidentified speeding vehicle. As they did so, the Wassermans were struck by a taxicab driven by Robert Guy and owned by Louis Robertson. Mrs. Wasserman suffered fatal injuries. Mr. Wasserman was seriously injured. Russell sustained no serious physical injury but did suffer serious emotional injury.
At the time of the accident, Wasserman was insured by defendant Newark/Royal under an automobile liability policy which provided, among other benefits, liability limits of $100,000/300,000, uninsured motorist coverage (UM) in the same amount, and personal injury protection benefits (PIP). That policy, whose effective date was March 25, 1983 was a six-month renewal of a policy which had been originally issued on September 25, 1982. The September policy, like Wasserman's previous policies, had also provided underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) in the amount of $100,000/300,000. The March 1983 renewal purportedly provided no underinsured coverage at all. As we are given to understand, since the March 1983 coverage was a six-month renewal and not issued at the inception of a policy year, no new policy was then sent to the insured. He received only the declaration page and a notice, of which we will say more hereafter, which is alleged by the insurer to have explained the import of UIM coverage, to have advised him of the deletion of that coverage, and to have informed him of the availability of UIM coverage as an option.
Wasserman on his deposition admitted receiving the notice, asserted that he did not understand it, and conceded that he
never discussed it with his insurance broker, defendant Wharton, Lyon & Lyon, either on his or its initiative. It was also his deposition testimony that he had been a client of that broker for some 20 years, that he obtained all of his insurance from it for both his personal and business needs, and that he had always relied on his broker to attend properly to all his insurance requirements. Wasserman had never graduated from high school and had jobs as a factory worker and clerk before he purchased and operated a fish market in Newark, which he sold following the Newark riots when he retired and moved to Bradley Beach.
The July 1983 accident was followed by a multiplicity of legal actions, the first of which was commenced in October 1983 against the owner and driver of the taxicab by Wasserman and Maxine Schwartzman, who sued as executrix of Mrs. Wasserman's estate and as Russell's guardian ad litem. The taxicab was, unfortunately, minimally insured by Aetna Insurance Company under a policy providing for liabili
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|