The law firm issued recommendations that its insurance clients handle demand letters with specific guidance after the recent 4th DCA ruling.
The William McFarlane Law firm responds to Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals recently upheld the lower court’s ruling in South Florida Imaging & Diagnostic Center a/a/o Hronsky Branislav v. Progressive Select Ins. Co., sharing with its clients how this ruling affects insurance companies’ strategies going forward.
The ruling involved an insurance claim which occurred in 2013, and for which the statute of limitations is 5 years.
The plaintiff initially submitted a bill for reimbursement on May 18, 2013, which the insurance company received on June 4, 2013. The bill was reimbursed along with an explanation of benefits within 6 days.
The plaintiff then submitted a demand letter on December 11, 2017, which the carrier responded to on January 10, 2018. The carrier issued additional monetary benefits and included a demand response that read “no further payments will be issued.”
The court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the January 10, 2018, response constituted a “significant event” — and retriggered a 5-year statute of limitations. The plaintiff thus had another five years to submit additional benefits claims.
Considering this ruling, McFarlane Law has provided insurance companies with new guidance in how they handle demand letters:
Demand letters received within a 5-year statute of limitations should be responded to promptly and properly, while insurers recognize that this will retrigger the 5-year period.
Demand letters received after a 5-year statute of limitations expires should be ignored with no response given, so that a response doesn’t retrigger the 5-year period.
A spokesperson from the law firm provided further comment on the ruling: “While this ruling from the 4th DCA may be disconcerting, our role as litigators is to advise insurance companies as to how they can best protect themselves. This guidance is our general recommendation.”
McFarlane Law specializes in aggressively defending insurance companies in litigation. With offices across Florida, the firm provides attorneys, litigators and a compliance team working together to maintain the highest degree of professionalism and represent the insurance industry.
For more information about McFarlane Law, please visit www.mcfarlanedolanlaw.com.
About McFarlane & Dolan
McFarlane Law is an aggressive Insurance Litigation Defense Firm which defends and protects the rights of the insurance industry. At McFarlane Law we believe that the best defense is a good offense. We aggressively defend all claims from their inception through the appellate Courts. At McFarlane Law we maintain the highest degree of professionalism while aggressively defending the rights of the insurance industry. At McFarlane Law we seek creative and aggressive solutions in an effort to deter future litigation.