Understanding wrongful death insurance can be an important part of getting fair compensation.
Bobby Jones Law explains what you need to know and how a Greenville wrongful death attorney can assist you.
Wrongful Death Insurance – What You Need to Know
- Insurance may pay compensation for wrongful death.
- The at-fault party’s insurance is often the first place to look. However, your own insurance may also pay compensation. An example is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
- Insurance policies are a contract. They’re interpreted by their plain language and any laws that apply.
- Questions of coverage, limits, subrogation, and other issues may be important to collecting for a wrongful death claim.
- Like all personal injury claims, you must prove liability.
What Constitutes a Wrongful Death Case?
A wrongful death case is a claim for compensation. It is brought by survivors when a personal injury results in death. Surviving family members seek compensation after a victim loses their life because of the negligent or wrongful act of another.
How Insurance Policies Impact Wrongful Death Claims
An insurance policy may impact a wrongful death claim by providing compensation. There may be disputes about whether an insurance policy applies and what it should cover. When there are multiple policies, the parties may disagree about what policy should pay first. Workers’ compensation benefits may be an additional consideration.
These issues are in addition to litigating liability in the case. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant is at fault and that there is an insurance policy to provide compensation. A defendant responsible for a negligent or wrongful act may also be personally liable to pay compensation.
Types of Insurance That May Cover Wrongful Death
- Car insurance – Covering motor vehicle accidents.
- Liability insurance/homeowner’s insurance – May cover accidents in the home or the personal responsibility of the policy holder; may contain an exception for death caused by intentional acts.
- Workers’ compensation – It’s not private insurance, but it may provide benefits without regard to fault.
- Life insurance – Pays for the loss of life, whether or not it was related to wrongful death.
The Differences Between Liability and Life Insurance
Life insurance is not liability insurance. Whether or not it pays doesn’t depend on a party being at fault. However, it may provide compensation when a family member loses their life because of negligence or a wrongful act. You may have taken out a policy, or an employer may provide an amount as an employment benefit.
What is Typically Covered by Insurance in Wrongful Death Cases?
Insurance in wrongful death cases may cover:
- Lost income
- Medical bills
- Funeral costs
- Grief counseling
- Loss of companionship and family relationship
- Loss of parental guidance
- Other economic and personal losses
Understanding Policy Limits and Caps on Compensation
When insurance coverage is involved in a wrongful death case, it will pay for damages up to policy limits. South Carolina law limits damages in wrongful death cases in a few specific circumstances – medical malpractice, punitive damages, and claims against government agencies. A wrongful death lawyer can help you understand if a limit may apply in your case.
Navigating the Claims Process
A few examples from South Carolina case law show how insurance coverage may be negotiated in a wrongful death case.
In Buchanan v. S.C. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Guar. Ass’n, 417 S.C. 562 (S.C. Ct. App. 2016), the claimants faced a situation where the responsible party was insured, but the insurance company was declared insolvent. The victim was in a car accident. The driver at fault had an insurance policy for $1 million. The parties agreed that the surviving wife sustained $800,000 in damages. However, the insurance company declared insolvency and was unable to pay the full amount. The plaintiff invoked the South Carolina Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association Act for the rest.
In Reeves v. S.C. Mun. Ins. & Risk Fin. Fund (SCMIRF), 427 S.C. 613 (S.C. Ct. App. 2019), a police officer shot and killed the victim in the course of their employment. The town was a member of a self-insurance pool for South Carolina municipalities. The claim alleged civil rights violations, negligent hiring, supervision, and retention of the officer. The jury awarded $7.5 million in actual damages against the defendant and punitive damages.
The question that arose in the case was whether the verdict meant that there was more than $1 million available in insurance coverage through the insurance pool. The argument was that there were multiple occurrences of negligence based on the multiple instances of fault found by the jury. In addition, the plaintiff alleged bad faith on the part of the insurance company. The court looked at the definition of occurrence for the insurance policy and found that the wrongful death entitled the plaintiff to $1 million in insurance coverage as a single occurrence.
Walker v. Cafeterias, 872 S.E.2d 68 (N.C. Ct. App. 2022), involved a car accident resulting in wrongful death. The victim was working at the time of the accident. The victim’s widow made a workers’ compensation claim, resulting in an award of $333,763. Then, the plaintiff filed a wrongful death claim against the driver of the motor vehicle. The parties reached a settlement of $50,000 in at-fault liability insurance benefits, $12,500 in uninsured motorist from the plaintiff’s own policy, and $900,000 in underinsured motorist proceeds from a policy purchased by the victim’s employer. The issue on appeal was an endorsement to the underinsured motorist policy that applied South Carolina insurance law, barring subrogation. The underinsured proceeds could not be used to recoup the workers’ compensation benefits. The parties also litigated the disbursement of the $50,000 liability proceeds and personal underinsured proceeds, with a portion awarded to the defendant’s subrogation lien.
The Importance of Legal Representation in Wrongful Death Claims
Having experienced legal counsel to pursue insurance can be critical to getting fair compensation. Issues are often legally complex. An attorney must understand the law and insurance thoroughly.
Contact
Bobby Jones is an attorney who understands insurance coverage in wrongful death cases. He can identify the issues in your case and fully litigate your interests. He isn’t afraid to take cases to court, and he’s ready to fight for your compensation. Contact us now.
