In a case handed down by the Boston Municipal Trial Court the plaintiff, Juarbe, bought automobile insurance from Commerce. Following a motor vehicle accident in which Juarbe was hurt, medical attention was needed and medical bills were generated. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which Jerube had, and which is, by law and by contract, supposed to insure such medical services, was denied to Jerube by Commerce. This has happened many times with our personal injury clients who are victims of motor vehicle accidents.
What typically happens in our cases is that we advocate for the client and the bills are worked out. Often however, the lawyer, as in the Jerube case, must file a Consumer Protection letter which provides multiple damages and attorney fees if the consumer wins the case. In the Jerube case, Commerce quickly paid the medical bills and then retained an insurance defense firm to continue to fight the injured plaintiff in court. The Court, in this case, decided that the 93A case could continue as he “plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact” regarding Commerce’s bad faith in violation of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A.
See Juarbe v. Commerce Insurance Company, Boston Municipal Court Docket Number 0907-CV-0952.