Resource Tag: INSURANCE

This article outlines the techniques attorneys can employ to obtain life insurance proceeds when the insured has committed suicide. The author discusses the legal advantages available, such as the presumption of the law against suicide and the burden of proof on the insurance company. Other factors which can be used in a legal case are […]

This article provides an overview for the investigation and trial of a suicide insurance case from the defense standpoint. The authors assert that prompt, professional investigation and the preservation of all circumstances perinent to the death are essential. Numerous suggestions are included beginning with the “bull’s-eye” investigation through analysis of the proof, and other legal […]

This article discusses the psychological autopsy, the main function of which is to clarify the intentions of the victim. The author describes 6 judical cases which went to trial because insurance benefits were at issue. He also discusses the extent which mental disorders might impair the capacity for intentional self destruction.

Presents 3 clinical vignettes that illustrate the potential clinical consequences for psychiatric patients of restrictions on insurance benefits. These suicidal subjects were prematurely discharged because their insurance companies insisted, resulting in disruption of progress made in treatment & danger to the subjects. Hypotheses are generated for use in future prospective studies of the cost effectiveness […]

Reports on a California lawsuit in which the decedent’s estate sued the insurance companies who had decided, after a utilization review, not to pay for further inpatient care of the decedent. The patient left the hospital because he had no other insurance coverage. Some weeks later he completed suicide. This decision does not follow a […]

The authors analyzed data from a level I trauma center in Los Angeles County to find out why similar institutions had closed. Data was reviewed for two separate 1-year periods. Financial data was available for 561 of 624 intentional injury patients. 456 of the 561 (81%) had no financial means to pay for treatment costs. […]

This paper discusses a study which analyzed suicide among an insured population. The author voices his objections to the policy of insurance companies of not paying benefits if a suicide occurs during the first two years of the policy. The study the author is examining laid out guidelines for insurance companies to determine suicide proneness […]

In this chapter, the author reviews the legal aspects of suicide using examples form both criminal & civil law. He concludes that if those who try to deal with suicidal patients were allowed to do so without legal assessment, they might do a better job. Even more serious is the pervasive attributing of blame to […]

The author discusses the legal view of accidental death with reference to the definition of accident, rules of evidence, hearsay, public documents, burden of proof, policy contract exclusionary clauses, suicide clause, instructions to jury on rules of law, presumption against suicide, & policy contract intervention. Numerous legal cases are cited as examples. (LH)

The author presents an overview of legal issues related to youth suicide. He feels that people in the legal process should be more aware of suicide risk & be able to identify this behavior in children. He cites several criminal & civil laws that address suicide. 22 states in the U.S. have criminal penalties for […]

The certification of suicide as the mode of death is often contested in court by the survivors, particularly if life insurance benefits are at stake. Certification of suicide must meet the standard of proof required in law if it is to be sustained by the courts. Standard of proof & contingent common law doctrines are […]

This paper discusses 3 unusual legacies of a determination of insanity by the law: (1) inheritance cases (permitting insane killers to inherit from their own victims), (2) life insurance cases (permitting the beneficiary to recover when the insured completes suicide while insane), & (3) the effect of insanity on publication rights agreements in sensational criminal […]

The certification of suicide as the manner of death can result in either the complete loss of or a significant reduction in life insurance benefits to the victim’s survivors. These beneficiaries often contest suicide as the manner of death using insanity as a defense. This article discusses the common law doctrines upon which the insanity […]

Canadian Federal and Ontario Provincial statutes are reviewed as they relate to suicide and attempted suicide. Issues addressed include involuntary committal to psychiatric facilitities, death by suicide as a legal cause of action, insurance exclusionary clauses and coroner’s inquests.

The majority of American courts follow Sponatski’s case when industrial injury has caused pain or depression leading to subsequent suicide. The case referred to required recovery under workman’s compensation if suicide was the result of an uncontrollable impulse or committed in a delirium of frenzy without volition to produce death. The author examines the inconsistent […]

A discussion of New York State law that determines whether an insurance poilicy holder’s death from suicide is legally insurable. (NBB)

A discussion of recovery in wrongful death where the deceased has taken his own life. (NBB)

A physician relates his experiences during a malpractice suit: a patient had committed suicide & as a result the victim’s insurance company refused to honour his $50,000 life insurance policy. The victim’s wife then brought a malpractice suit against the physician. The physician’s insurance carrier settled the suit for $40,000, to the resentment of the […]

The authors examined the outcome of 217 malpractice actions against psychiatrists from 1974-1978. Claims against psychiatrists represented only 0.3% of the 71,788 claims against all physicians. Over 1/3 of the claims were closed without payment; the average paid indemnity was $31,000. Diagnostic errors & suicide were the major sources of loss. Only a few cases […]

The President of the International Claim Association discusses the problem of suicide in relation to insurance claims, stating it would be appropriate, in the light of increasing suicide rates, to insure this cause of death as is done with all other causes of death.(NBB)