INSURANCE COVERAGE / SUBROGATION

Representative Cases

Farm worker injured when her hair was caught in a conveyor belt while sorting olives. The worker had not been properly trained to be a sorter and her primary job was picking fruit elsewhere on the farm. The worker was employed by a farm labor company that had been hired by the owner of the farm. The farm’s insurance carrier denied coverage under the “special employee” doctrine.

Multi-vehicle car accident with undisputed liability. The insurance carrier for the at-fault party denied coverage stating that the driver was the son of the policy holder but did not live full-time in the same household.

Insurance carrier sued their insured for reimbursement of funds paid to third parties for property damage for a loss caused by a vehicle being driven by the named policyholder’s son. The carrier stated that the insured had committed fraud by failing to list the son as a driver on the policy. The insured filed a cross-claim against the carrier for failure to cover certain property damage to her vehicle.

Insurance carrier sued large freight company for breach of contract and fraud claiming that the freight company intentionally failed to include hired trucks in the vehicle listing of the policy application in order to obtain a lower premium.

Defendant ran a red light causing serious personal injury to the plaintiff. The Plaintiff was driving within the scope of employment at the time of the loss. As a result, the workers’ compensation carrier for the Plaintiff’s employer paid for a substantial amount of the medicals and lost wages. Plaintiff sued the Defendant for available damages and workers' compensation carrier intervened in the case for reimbursement.

Plaintiff insurance carrier paid over $75,000 because their insured’s parked luxury vehicle had been totaled as the result of the defendant’s admitted negligence. The defendant only carried the state required minimum amount of insurance.

Plaintiff was within the scope of employment as a mover when he fell due to what he claimed to be an unreasonably dangerous condition on the Defendant’s premises. The workers’ compensation carrier for the Plaintiff’s employer intervened in the case for reimbursement of medicals and wage replacement paid to the injured worker.

Plaintiff was injured by Defendant in parking lot while waiting for employer’s bus to pick her up for work. Workers' Compensation carrier denied coverage stating that the Plaintiff was not within the scope of employment at the time of the loss.

Refrigerator malfunction caused substantial damage to the insured’s home. The manufacturer filed cross claim against the installer.

Sink’s water filter malfunctioned causing extensive property damage to the home of the Plaintiff’s insured.

Defendant rear-ended Plaintiff’s insured causing substantial property damage and personal injury. Defendant had a lapse in insurance coverage. Plaintiff paid their insured for personal injury through the uninsured motorist bodily injury clause of the policy and filed a subrogation claim against the Defendant.

Defendant driver ran a red light causing serious bodily injury to Plaintiff. Liability for the loss was not disputed by the Defendant driver, but he claimed that his personal auto insurance should not pay since he was within the scope of employment delivering newspapers on his regular route at the time of the accident. The newspaper’s carrier also denied coverage claiming that all delivery people are independent contractors.