A girl who was injured in a horrifying ATV accident in 2011 was awarded $4.5 million in an insurance lawsuit.
The insurance company in question, Cincinnati Insurance Co., declined to initially cover for Haley Belt’s injury claim reasoning that it was not required to do so.
A Bullitt County jury recently ruled that the insurer violated Kentucky’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act and ordered the company to pay for the victim’s medical treatment, as well as for other costs.
Belt, who was 16 years old during the time of the incident, was at a birthday party hosted by the company her mother worked for, K2 Catering. The ATV in question was the property of the company, which used the vehicle to ferry supplies to places larger vehicles cannot reach.
During the party, at the home of company owners Patrick and Melissa Kersnick, their son was giving guests rides on the then brand-new ATV when the accident occurred.
Since the incident, Belt has had 13 surgeries to repair the damage to her leg and hip. The damage was so severe that doctors initially proposed amputating the limb.
Cincinnati Insurance, K2 Catering’s insurer, refused to cover for Belt’s then $400,000 in medical bills. The insurer asserted that the Kersnicks personally owned the vehicle, thus excluding it from company coverage, and that the accident happened during Melissa Kersnick’s birthday party, which was not a company event.
The Kersnicks claimed that their insurer was responsible, arguing that while the party celebrated Melissa’s birthday, business clients and past workers were invited.
It was in 2014 that Bullitt Circuit Judge Rodney Burress finally ruled that the party was a business-related event and that Cincinnati Insurance had to pay for Belt’s medical costs. By the end of 2014, however, K2 Catering had been forced out of business. Moreover, Belt’s family had filed for bankruptcy during the same period, with her medical expenses putting incredible strain on her family’s finances.
Although Belt’s mother had medical insurance through the United Food & Commercial Worker's Union, her family was still left to shoulder 10% of the medical costs—still a significant amount, considering the number of treatments she had to undergo.
"These were middle-class people; they had a mortgage and bills to pay," said Louisville-based Jennifer Moore, Belt’s lawyer. "You add $40,000 or $50,000 to pay for prescriptions, surgeries and therapies and they just couldn't do it."
At some point, Cincinnati Insurance offered to settle the claim for $250,000 despite Belt’s medical bills far exceeding the amount and continuing to grow.
“Their position was, 'Get zero or take $250,000,'” Moore remarked.
In total, Cincinnati Insurance was ordered to pay Belt $3.5 million in punitive damages, $1 million to compensate Belt for emotional damages, and $43,472 for litigation fees, reported
Courier Journal.
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