Our client was a front seat passenger in a car. The car she was in stopped after a car in front of her had stopped. An argument ensued between the occupants of the both cars. Our client stepped out of her car and walked over toward the sidewalk and was arguing with an occupant of the other car. While our client was standing on the side of the street, the defendant put her car in drive, made a U turn and drove directly into both our client and the man she was arguing with, pinning them both against a parked car and severely injuring our client.
The insurance company took the position that our client, by participating in the argument, was responsibly for her own injuries and that the defendant was simply trying to leave the scene before the argument got worse. Our position was that since our client was out of the car, on the side of the road and did not pose any threat of danger to the defendant's safety, her injuries were caused solely by the negligence of the defendant.
Bad Faith Insurance Claim in Massachusetts
We told the insurance company that we intended to sue not only their driver but the insurance company as well for not dealing in good faith as the law in Massachusetts requires. The insurance company paid their full policy limits of $100,000 within a week of receiving our written intention to sue them directly. We then then pursued additional compensation under our client's Underinsurance Coverage in her own car insurance policy.