Silly Humans
December 17th, 2008 by Jeb Foster
Hat tip to Claire at Terms & Conditions for linking to this list of the most ridiculous insurance claims of 2008. Attorney Randy Maniloff, of the law firm White and Williams LLP, compiled a list entitled “Special Report: Coverage For Dummies.”
Maniloff explains: “Reading a lot of insurance coverage cases makes you realize that some people do really dumb stuff . Their not-to-be believed behavior causes injury, a lawsuit is filed and then comes the inevitable insurance claim. The results are mixed, but more often than not courts do not allow these tomfools to pass the buck.”
The number one Tomfool? A motivational speaker from South Carolina. The verdict?
General liability coverage not available to a motivational speaker for injuries sustained by a program participant when, at the repeated urgings of the speaker, the participant attempted to break a board with her hands. Ouch.
Here’s one of my faves:
No coverage owed under a general liability policy for an insured who injured an old friend by saying hello to him using his “signature greeting” —placing him in a headlock and squeezing while simultaneously asking how he was doing.
Huh. Guess the headlock hello hasn’t caught on yet.
If you’ve got a taste for legal writing, check out Maniloff’s review of the most significant industry-related court cases of the year. Good stuff.
Tags: funny, ridiculous claims
