Alleged Legal Negligence in a Construction Site Injury Insurance Claim

Case Overview

This case study delves into an incident involving a construction worker who sustained injuries on-site. The employer had procured two insurance policies to cover such eventualities - a primary General Liability Insurance policy with coverage up to $1 million, and a secondary Excess policy valued at $5 million.

The General Liability policy stipulated that notification must be given within a reasonable timeframe once the insured party was aware of any impending legal action. Conversely, the Excess policy required notice when it became evident that the primary policy would be exhausted. However, the law firm representing the injured worker allegedly failed to inform them about the exhaustion of their general liability policy. This oversight resulted in the inability to trigger the excess policy.

It is claimed that this negligence by the law firm cost the injured party the value of the excess policy. An expert in forensic economics has been sought to review this case and provide an opinion on damages before mid-April 2023.

Questions to the Forensic Economics expert and their responses

Could you describe your professional background in forensic economics, particularly as it pertains to evaluating insurance policy losses?

I am a former tenured Professor of Finance at a prestigious institute in New York and previously served as a Professor of Economics and Finance at another university in New Haven. I hold a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgetown University. Since 1988, I've been working on assignments for attorneys involving damage computations.

Have you ever reviewed a similar case? If yes, could you elaborate?

Yes, I have handled similar cases where allegations were made that a law firm's actions resulted in a party being unable to recover economic damages. In one such case, I prepared an analysis of economic loss, specifically earnings loss, that the plaintiff could have potentially recovered. In another instance, I computed investment returns on a delayed award due to a lawyer's actions.

About the expert

This expert boasts over three decades of experience in forensic economics, with a strong academic background including a BA in Economics and Mathematics from a prestigious university, as well as an MA and PhD in Economics from Georgetown University. They have held significant roles such as a research analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice, manager of regulatory economics at a major telephone company, department chair of economics and finance at a university, and professor and director of risk management at an institute of technology. Currently, they serve as the principal of a forensic economics consultancy firm and are active members of several professional organizations, underscoring their relevance to this case study.