Experience has shown that motor vehicles occasionally collide with utility poles located along roads and highways. Causes can include driver error, icy road conditions, animal dart out, and collisions with other vehicles. Bodily injury sometimes results and that brings the prospect of litigation. Those injured may look to the utility for potential recovery. Electric cooperatives must be prepared to investigate…
Harness v. Schmitt, 924 N.E.2d 162 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) – Governmental Immunity In a recent Indiana Municipal law case, the presence of a police officer during the service of a wrongful eviction notice did not affect the police officer’s governmental employee immunity because the officer was present for the purpose of preventing a possible breach of the peace. Mark…
The health care reform package that went into law on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, most clearly will have substantial effects on the health care industry. However, the legislation will also have far reaching impact on employers. Although employers are not mandated under the health care reform package to provide insurance coverage to employees, the new legislation will penalize employers that…
How to Avoid the CBS Evening News The next question is what can employers do to protect their employees or to avoid being in the headlines for the CBS Evening News? Employees should have zero tolerance policy towards workplace violence against or by employees, whether the violence originates inside or outside the workplace. Employers should establish a workplace violence prevention…
Background According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), approximately 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year. See www.osha.gov. In 2008, homicide was the third leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death for females in the workplace. See Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational…
XI. The Insured Always Loses. The sad part about a catastrophe such as a fire is that it leaves the insured always in a worse position than they were before the fire. In addition to the obvious emotional toll, the time needed to devote to the developing of a claim is substantial and impossible to replace. Additional living expense, usually…
IX. Actual Cash Value vs. Replacement Cost. Insurance provided by any fire insurance policy is either an indemnification policy that indemnifies the insured for the loss, or a replacement policy. Depending on coverage, the loss can be based on the actual cash value of the property loss or on the replacement cost of rebuilding and replacing the lost buildings and…
VIII. Proof of Loss. Within a day or so of the fire, an insurance adjustor will provide to the insured claims forms for what is called the “Proof of Loss.” The Proof of Loss itself is a one page document in which the insured summarizes the amount of the loss and then signs it and swears to it that it…
VII. Special Investigations Unit (SIU). If, after taking the statement under oath and conversing with the fire or police authorities, the insurance adjustor calls in the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), look out. It’s time to seriously begin protecting your own interests. The insurance company’s SIU investigator is there for the sole purpose of attempting to find the cause and origin…
V. The Insurance Adjustor. There will be one, and very well may be two insurance adjustors assigned to your claim. One adjustor may specialize in structural damage while a second adjustor may deal with the loss of household goods and personal property. It is now time for you to be careful. In many instances, indeed most instances, the insurance adjustor…