All across the country, government officials, especially elected officials and those who hope soon to be elected, are trying to curry favor with the public by calling our attention to the thousands of Americans who were killed seven years ago today. It’s very convenient to trot out the honored dead every once in a while to stir up positive sentiment for you by showing how much you really care. You can say anything you want, and they never protest. Placing a wreath in Arlington (with the assistance of a Marine guard) is a lot more reliable than visiting a Vietnam vet living under the bridge, or even going to the local VFW to talk. And, unfortunately, even as elected officials are invoking the dead, there are survivors of 9/11 who have been treated in a very shameful manner.
Last year, we wrote in this blog about the troubles of first responders who were suffering as a result of inhaling toxic contaminants on 9/11 and following days. Today, I want to write about a 9/11 survivor who faced the most outrageous example of bad faith insurance surrounding his claim of injury on 9/11.
A Princeton chiropractor was disabled by falling debris on 9/11/2001, so, after paying insurance premiums to AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company for 20 years, he filed a disability claim with Equitable and another insurance company in addition to an SSDI claim. Initially, his claim was granted, and Equitable paid him, for four years, then, suddenly, it reversed its decision. Did the insurance company claim he was not really disabled or that he had recovered and therefore did not merit the payment? No, Equitable charged that the chiropractor had lied on his application. Equitable alleged that he had mistakenly represented himself as a hands-on chiropractor when he was actually an owner/administrator and therefore was not eligible for insurance coverage.
What followed was a life in turmoil for the chiropractor as Equitable subpoenaed over 10,000 pages of documents and had private detectives follow him everywhere in the hopes of catching him in some violation that would allow them to continue the denial or possibly even get back funds already paid. “They really made me feel like a criminal through this whole situation,” the chiropractor said. He retained a lawyer to handle his case, then, after having spent $85,000 in counsel fees and costs, he was abruptly informed that the insurance company was going to pay him after all. He says he believes the cessation of payment and the following subpoenas, investigations, and delays were designed to bankrupt him and make him drop his case. He notes that if he had not had other insurance and a wife working as a lawyer, Equitable might have succeeded.
The chiropractor has since filed a bad faith insurance lawsuit against Equitable, saying it had “breached its duty to investigate the claim in god faith.” He also says his lawsuit is partly in honor of those he had seen while practicing chiropractics, people with serious, debilitating injuries forced to settle for nickels out of every dollar they deserved, and his lawyer added, “It is time that insurance carriers in this state be called to task when they abuse their insureds and engage in tactics designed to bring their clients to their knees.”
If you have been a victim of bad faith insurance practices, contact the Mobile, Alabama bad faith insurance lawyers at Long & Waite, Attorneys at Law, P.C. today for a free initial consultation today.
