ATTORNEYS WINNING INSURANCE BAD FAITH CASES FOR OVER 35 YEARS
The law in California provides substantial legal protections to insurance policyholders and to third parties whose injuries and other damages may be covered by an insurance company’s policies. In this state, if an insurance company is failing to meet its obligation to you – that is, if you have been targeted or victimized by what the law in California calls “insurance bad faith” – you have the right to take legal action against that insurance company. The attorneys at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell can help you seek the justice you need.
In most cases, if you have been injured in a traffic collision or almost any other kind of accident, you should be swiftly reimbursed for your medical bills. Although most injury victims are entitled to some type of insurance coverage, many victims who are seriously injured face an insurance company’s inexplicable delays, obfuscations, and other barriers to obtaining the compensation they are entitled to – even here in California.
An insurance company should reimburse you right away, for example, if you are injured in a traffic accident, but to obtain that compensation, far too many injury victims have to take legal action – while simultaneously suffering and recovering from a significant injury. An experienced Pasadena insurance attorney at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell can review your situation, explain your legal rights and options, and recommend your best course of action – which in some cases will mean suing the insurance company for insurance bad faith.
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WHAT IS BAD FAITH IN INSURANCE LAW?
When an insurance company mishandles your claim through negligence or by intention, that company is acting in bad faith. Insurance bad faith can include needlessly prolonging the claim investigation process, trying to coerce or threaten you into accepting an inadequate settlement amount or denying your claim for a false or invented reason. Simply hiring a lawyer to represent you, and showing the insurance company that you mean business, is sometimes enough to make the difference and compel the insurance company to meet its obligation.
Bad faith claims may arise from the specific actions or inactions of an insurance company. Obviously, every insurance bad faith case will be different, so if an insurance company deceives or victimizes you or someone you love, consult right away with an experienced Pasadena insurance attorney at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell. For over thirty-five years, our attorneys have aggressively and successfully fought for the rights of injury victims in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and across Southern California.
HOW DO YOU FILE AN INSURANCE BAD FAITH CLAIM IN PASADENA?
How can you take appropriate and effective action against an insurance company that is operating in bad faith in California? There is no reason not to submit a formal complaint to the California Department of Insurance, but there are at least three good reasons why you should also seek an experienced insurance attorney’s help when you decide to file an insurance bad faith claim:
- First, only a California insurance attorney will be able to determine if the insurance company has actually operated in bad faith and if you have grounds for a lawsuit.
- Secondly, if your bad faith lawsuit goes to trial and prevails, a court will order the insurance company to provide you with the adequate compensation you need.
- Finally, in California, when your insurance bad faith lawsuit succeeds, you also may be able to win your legal fees along with your compensation for your original injury claim.
Every policyholder has the right to expect his or her insurance company to operate in good faith. In fact, insurance companies owe good faith to every injury victim, whether that injury victim is a policyholder or a third party filing an injury claim. Particularly if you are recovering from a serious injury, and an insurance company victimizes you – a second time – by acting in bad faith, you will want your claim to be handled by an experienced insurance attorney you can trust.
IN CALIFORNIA, HOW DO YOU PROVE INSURANCE BAD FAITH?
How can you prove that you are the victim of an insurance company operating in bad faith? A bad faith claim against an insurance company must consist of specific facts. After any accident, and especially any accident with injuries, make copies of any pertinent insurance documents and any correspondence with the insurance company. Make a record of all conversations with the insurance company and take abundant notes including the date, time, and the name of the person you spoke with. A plaintiff must prove that the insurance company’s withholding or denial of benefits was not merely an honest mistake but was, in fact, negligent or intentional bad faith.
HOW CAN A PASADENA INSURANCE ATTORNEY HELP WITH MY BAD FAITH CASE?
An experienced insurance attorney at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell will scrutinize every detail of your insurance bad faith claim. Your personal injury attorney may ask the insurance company to provide all of the documents relating to the insurer’s adjustment of the claim as well as other pertinent documents regarding the company’s policies and procedures. The adjuster or others representing the company may be deposed or asked to testify in court. In some cases, an insurance attorney may also ask an insurance expert to provide testimony regarding the industry’s practices.
If the insurance company failed to comply with its own guidelines, and if you and your insurance attorney can prove it, your insurance bad faith claim is likely to prevail. If you are a victim of insurance bad faith – whether you hold an individual or a business policy or you are part of a group plan – speak about your legal rights and options with an experienced Pasadena insurance attorney as swiftly as you can.
Insurance bad faith cases are about trust and betrayal. Particularly if you are a policyholder, you trusted your insurance company, paid the premiums, and expected the service you paid for. If the insurance company has treated your injury claim negligently or intentionally with bad faith, an insurance attorney with Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell will do what it takes to prove it, to hold the company accountable, and to win the compensation you seek and the justice that you deserve. Help is here for insurance bad faith victims, but you must take the first step, make the call, and speak to an experienced insurance attorney at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell.