• $2.5M medical malpractice / bad faith award: This Kentucky medical malpractice case involved a woman who suffered a severe inner ear injury while having a simple ear wax removal procedure. She sued the doctor for medical malpractice and won $1.6 million for her injuries through arbitration, but the doctor's insurance company, Medical Protective Insurance Company, forced her to litigate even though it knew it was liable on the claim. A jury awarded her an additional $900,000 because her Kentucky bad faith insurance attorney was able to show that one of the insurer's adjusters received a bonus for reducing the number of claims for which the company was liable – a practice that is strictly against the law.
• $3.8M medical malpractice / bad faith award: In another Kentucky medical malpractice claim, a surgeon persuaded a patient to get a tummy tuck while in the hospital for a hysterectomy. However, the doctor was not trained to perform tummy tucks and left the patient permanently disabled. Although she sued the doctor for medical malpractice, his insurance company, American Physicians Assurance Corporation (APAC), waited two years to do anything and then only offered her $75,000 – even though it knew the claim was worth a lot more. She eventually settled the matter for $650,000, but sued the insurer for bad faith. A jury awarded her $3.8 million – of which nearly $3.5 million was for punitive damages against APAC its bad faith practices.

Have you been treated unfairly?

If you've been denied valid insurance benefits or, as in the cases above, are not being dealt with in good faith or being treated fairly by your insurer, contact an experienced bad faith insurance attorney who understands how insurance companies operate. If you live in Kentucky, it's important to know that juries – and not insurance commissioners – impose penalties against insurers when a patient is dealing with a doctor's insurance company.