If you, a loved one, a friend, or anyone has had an insurance claim in the past 10 years, you may now be entitled to bad faith penalties under Louisiana law. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in Beverly Smith v. Citadel Insurance Company, et. al. 2109-CC-00052 that stated policyholders in Louisiana have a personal and contractual right to pursue bad faith penalties against insurance carriers who treat them unfairly, without probable cause, and/or in a “vexatious or arbitrary manner.”
What Does the Court’s Ruling Mean for You?
Basically, the decision means that if you had any type of eligible insurance claim in the last 10 years, you may be entitled to a lot more money than you might think.
Types of claims covered in the Louisiana Supreme Court decision include but are not limited to:
- Property claims for hurricanes, fires, storms, sewer overflows, burglaries, hail damages, tornados, etc.
- Life insurance claims
- Wrongful denials
- Personal injury claims involving car accidents, slip and falls, etc.
Have you filed any claims lately due to these natural disasters?
- Hurricane Isaac
- Hurricane Barry
- Tropical Storm Bonnie
- Tropical Storm Lee in New Orleans
- Tropical Storm Debby
- Tropical Storm Bill
- Tropical Storm Cindy
- Hurricane Harvey
Countless other tornadoes and hailstorms that have hit the Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, and Northern Louisiana areas in the last 10 years may have also caused you to file a property damage claim. Plus, for life insurance claims, even if the carrier paid you something, they may have delayed payment or not paid you enough, which gives you a right to obtain 50% of the penalties on the owed amount, double damages sustained, and attorney’s fees to be paid by the carrier directly.
What Should You Do Now?
At LaHatte Law Firm, we can evaluate your potential case for free, and likely take it on a contingency fee basis if we decide to pursue it. Using this system, you pay us nothing upfront and may only owe attorney fees if we win your case. Time and time again, insurance companies in Louisiana treat their carriers in a ridiculous and disrespectful fashion by failing to timely pay and/or pay claims at all people who suffer catastrophic property damage and personal injury. Others experience a devastating business interruption and related losses, only to be brushed aside by their insurance providers.
If you’ve found yourself in such an unfair situation, please click on our chatbox in the bottom-right corner of your screen now to tell us what happened. You can also set up an appointment with someone from our bad faith insurance team by using an online contact form. Of course, you can also dial (504) 309-2996 and speak to us directly, if you prefer.