Insurance Coverage Disputes
Insurance coverage is a technical and confusing area of the law. Attorneys who practice insurance law represent either clients who have made premium payments to an insurance company for financial protection against certain types of loss (insureds), or the insurance companies themselves. The attorneys at GD have extensive experience representing insureds in cases involving coverage, claims, and contracts related to health insurance, homeowners’ insurance, automobile insurance and commercial general liability insurance, among others.
Many insurers are fair and professional in their handling of claims. However, when a dispute arises between an insured and the insurer, or in cases where the insurer is unreasonable in its conduct toward its insured, it is important to have experienced legal counsel on your side to advise and represent you in obtaining the best outcome. GD attorneys are well-qualified to negotiate with recalcitrant insurance companies. We have represented insureds in “bad faith” litigation and have successfully enforced our clients’ rights to obtain appropriate financial recoveries. Some insurance policies have language requiring the insured and the insurer to engage in arbitration, as an alternative to litigation in court. The attorneys at GD are experienced in both court proceedings and arbitration forums, and can ably assist you either way. Contact the attorneys at GD today to discuss how we can assist you with your potential insurance-coverage dispute.
Insurance Coverage Disputes
GD Accomplishments in Insurance Coverage Disputes Cases
- September 2012 In a complex insurance coverage dispute with Fireman’s Fund, David Driscoll, and Kenneth Morris,, together with their co-counsel at Jenner & Block LLP’s Washington D.C. office, prevail in their appeal from the Boulder County District Court’s 2011 dismissal of their clients’ claims on claim preclusion grounds. In a unanimous decision, a three judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and remanded the matter with directions to reinstate the clients’ claims against their insurer.
- David Driscoll successfully represented a client in a coverage dispute arising out of a motorcycle accident. After the client’s insurance carrier refused to provide a defense in the lawsuit, David Driscoll filed a bad faith action against the insurer and obtained an insurance-funded defense for his client. David Driscoll then successfully fought off the insurer’s attempts to have the court determine the scope of the client’s insurance coverage before the underlying lawsuit went to trial. Finally, David Driscoll successfully negotiated a settlement with the insurance company to cover all of his client’s defense costs and liability exposure.
- David Driscoll and Kenneth Morris currently represent a subsidiary of the nation’s largest supplier of building materials in a major insurance coverage dispute in U.S. District Court.
- After successfully obtaining an insurance-funded defense for his client in a tort action, David Driscoll fought off efforts by the insurance company to resolve the issue of whether the claims were covered before the tort action went to trial. Then David Driscoll negotiated a settlement with the insurance company to cover all of his client’s defense costs and liability exposure.
- David Driscoll recovered $250,000 for a 40-year old Broomfield, Colorado woman in an insurance bad-faith lawsuit against the woman’s own auto insurer. The case involved claims that that the insurer, which was responsible for the payment of the woman’s medical expenses after an auto collision, unreasonably delayed a needed low back surgery. The settlement followed depositions taken by David of insurance company adjusters and a supervisor in Houston, Texas. (All cases are different and the firm does not mention this result to guarantee similar results in other cases.)
- David Driscoll and Alex Garlin represented a woman in claims against her own insurance company for its denial of medical benefits related to injuries that she suffered in an automobile accident. The Colorado Court of Appeals decision in this case, Loza v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co, 970 P.2d 478, which followed a favorable jury verdict that included punitive damages, is one of the leading decisions in Colorado dealing with wrongful withholding of benefits by an insurer for an alleged pre-existing condition.
