WA Supreme Court Rules Plaintiffs Cannot Sue Individual Adjusters for Bad Faith & CPA Violations

By Ember Law | October 26, 2019

Facts The actions of the adjuster in this case are pretty egregious: Moun Keodalah was hit and injured by an uninsured motorcyclist. Investigations by both Allstate (Mr. Keodalah’s insurer) and the Seattle Police Department showed the following: That the motorcyclist was speeding between 60 – 74 m.p.h. in a 30-m.p.h. zone and had split lanes; That the bike’s excessive speed...

The “Made Whole Doctrine” and Settling for Less Than 3rd Party Limits

By Ember Law | September 30, 2019

The Washington Supreme Court recently decided Group Health Cooperative v. Coon, a highly contested case regarding the applicability of the Made Whole Doctrine. First, a brief overview of the facts. Mr. Coon developed a serious fungal infection after surgery. While it was unclear what the exact cause of the infection was, the hospital where the surgery was performed settled with...

An Introduction to Subrogation – I.E. Paying Back Your Insurance Company

By Ember Law | September 17, 2019

Subrogation is a concept in law that essentially states that you cannot be paid twice for the same injury. So what does that have to do with your personal injury case? Let me explain: In the typical vehicle collision case, the injured person’s medical bills are usually paid by their car insurance (PIP), and/or their health insurance. Essentially, this counts...

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and “Maximum Medical Improvement”

By Ember Law | August 5, 2019

Many Washington drivers have PIP as part of their car insurance coverage. Generally, PIP pays for medical treatment and lost wages, regardless of whether or not you’re at fault. Washington law regulates when insurance providers can terminate PIP benefits. According to WAC 284-30-395(1), an insurer can only deny claims if they are not (1) reasonable, (2) necessary, (3) related, or...