 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Progressive West Insurance Co. v. Bateman7/25/2005
Marjorie Bateman submitted an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim to her insurance company, Progressive West, after she injured herself getting out of her car on the shoulder of the freeway following a collision caused by Roger McCombs. Progressive sought a declaratory judgment that McCombs was not legally liable for Bateman's injuries, so that Progressive would not have a duty to pay her UIM claim. Bateman brought a cross-claim for bad faith, and the parties moved for summary judgment on both issues. The trial court granted Progressive's motion and Bateman appeals.
Because Bateman could not open her car door all the way as a direct result of the hazardous situation she was placed in by McCombs' negligence, her injuries are sufficiently causally connected to McCombs' negligence to submit the question of cause in fact to a jury. And because there is no public policy reason to deny recovery, we decline Progressive's invitation to hold there is not legal causation. Finally, there are genuine issues of fact about whether Progressive conducted its UIM claim investigation in a reasonable and prompt manner, so we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
FACTS
On August 17, 2002, 85-year-old Marjorie Bateman was driving northbound in the right lane on Interstate 5 near Bellingham. A vehicle driven by Roger McCombs entered the freeway from an on-ramp, failed to yield right of way, and collided with the passenger side of Bateman's car. Both drivers then pulled onto the right shoulder of the freeway and got out of their vehicles to exchange information and inspect the damage. When Bateman got out, she did not fully open the driver's side door because she was parked very close to passing traffic. State Highway Patrol Officer Lance Engle arrived on the scene and cited McCombs, but he did not write a full report. Bateman told both McCombs and Officer Engle that she was not injured.
According to Bateman, she gouged the back of her left leg on the corner of the door when she got out of her car, but she did not realize it until she got back into her car and saw blood 'everywhere.' Bateman then drove to her hair appointment, where the owner of the salon looked at the cut and Bateman realized the severity of the injury. Bateman's daughter, Janet Ingham, picked Bateman up at the salon and took her to the hospital emergency room. Because the hospital was busy, Bateman went across the street to a walk-in clinic where she got nine stitches to close the wound. The cut never properly healed, and eventually Bateman's left leg had to be amputated above the knee.
At the time of the collision with McCombs, Bateman had car insurance through Progressive West Insurance Company (Progressive). McCombs was insured by State Farm. Bateman's policy included personal injury protection (PIP) and underinsured motorist bodily injury (UIM) coverage. The UIM provision contained standard language: Subject to the Limits of Liability, if you pay the premium for Underinsured Motorist Coverage, we will pay for damages, other than punitive or exemplary damages, which an insured person is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an underinsured motor vehicle because of bodily injury:
1. sustained by an insured person;
2. caused by an accident; and
3. arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of an underinsured motor vehicle.
Progressive paid the PIP policy limit of $10,000 toward Bateman's medical expenses. State Farm paid Bateman $25,000, McCombs' liability policy limit. By September 15, 2003, Bateman submitted a claim to Progressive for payment of the UIM policy maximum of $500,000.
In March 20
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Washington Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|