Category Archives: Workers Compensation Bad Faith

The 61st Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, Judge Al Bennett presiding, on December 17, 2010, entered Final Judgment on the jury’s verdict for injured Continental international flight attendant Sue Ann Stinson for $1,785,729.60, plus additional attorneys’ fees and interest if appealed by Defendants Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. and AIG insurer The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania. 

Doyle filed a workers’ compensation bad faith lawsuit on January 14, 2011, against Wal-Mart (a self-insured employer) and its adjuster on behalf of an employee who was injured while working when she fell in June 2009. Instead of providing appropriate medical treatment, Wal-Mart denied the extent of the employee’s injury, delaying her ability to return to full-duty work. To make matters worse, Wal-Mart then fired the employee for her inability to return to full duty work.

On January 21, 2011, Doyle filed suit against Zurich American Insurance Company and its adjusters on behalf of an injured employee who was denied medical care under his employers’ workers’ compensation policy.  Zurich approved surgery for the employee’s hernia, but then denied follow-up treatment that his doctors requested, leading to severe and permanent damage to his reproductive system.

The Texas Department of Insurance on January 14, 2011, released final disciplinary decisions for violations of Division of Workers’ Compensation rules.  Among these fines were the following insurer violations:

Doyle filed suit against Travelers Insurance Company and its adjuster on January 31, 2011, in a workers’ compensation bad faith action. The suit was filed on behalf of an employee who was injured while working in January 2009. Without any appropriate investigation, Travelers denied that the employee had been injured, delaying his medical and income benefits. Even after agreeing that the employee had been injured at work, Travelers continued to deny the severity of his injury, forcing him to go through an administrative hearing with the Texas Department of Insurance and unreasonably delaying his recovery from the injury and his return to work.