Montana

September 3, 2022

Montana Malpractice | Law and Settlements

Medical malpractice is a hot issue in Montana as its legislature considers various malpractice related bills. What struck me is this quote:

Robert Stears, a diagnostic radiologist from Billings, said he gets calls from doctors far too often that end with “Bob I’m sorry I had to order this test. I know it’s going to be normal, but you know how it is.” Stears said covering bases in his line of work often means exposing patients to undue radiation for tests that have a one-in-a-thousand probability of finding an illness.

So our friend Bob agrees to expose patients to undue radiation because he wants to help the referring doctor cover himself to avoid a medical malpractice lawsuit. Bob, do you realize what you are admitting here? Other than me, does anybody?

July 26, 2011

Aluminum Bat Wrongful Death Verdict Affirmed

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed an $850,000 award to the parents of a baseball player who tragically died after being struck by a ball hit with an aluminum baseball bat.

If your kids are playing baseball – particularly if they are pitching – you have thought about these facts. An 18-year-old boy is pitching in an American Legion baseball game and gets hit in the head. Just an awful case that makes you question whether or not your kids should be playing any sport. There is no completely safe game.

April 18, 2008

$5.3 Million First Party Bad Faith Verdict in Missoula, Montana

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A U.S. District court jury in Missoula, Montana awarded a Bigfork doctoral student $5.3 million, finding Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company acted in bad faith. This verdict, which included $3.5 million in punitive damages, is the largest bad-faith insurance verdict in Montana history.

Plaintiff, a 32-year-old salmon ecologist, suffered brain injuries in a head-on collision. Her insurance policy included $1.5 million in uninsured motorist benefits.

Why did the jury find bad faith in Fireman’s Fund’s refusal to pay? Well, in the four years after Fireman’s Insurance received notice of plaintiff’s, it did virtually no investigation at all. Fireman’s Fun collected one lousy page of her medical records, never sought a statement from the Plaintiff, or requested an IME or did anything to support their denial.