Hinds v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.

155 A.2d 721 (1959)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was a beneficiary of an insurance policy on his late father. There was no dispute over the fact that the father had died, but the jury awarded double indemnity. However, a blood test of the father shortly after death showed an alcoholic content of .267%. Evidence showed that the father was found slumped unconscious in a chair at his kitchen table. He was taken to the hospital and died without regaining consciousness. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head with all the characteristics indicative of suicide. The first witness called was the wife of the father. She refused to testify taking the Fifth Amendment. The police officer who investigated was prohibited from telling what the wife said to him during his arrival on the scene. That evidence was excluded as hearsay. The jury awarded double indemnity.