State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Peiffer

955 P.2d 1008 (1998)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Peiffer (P) was injured in an automobile accident. P was insured by D that included coverage for PIP benefits in accordance with the No-Fault Act. D was responsible for payment of up to $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation treatments that were reasonable, necessary, and causally related to the automobile accident. P began receiving extensive treatment from multiple health care providers. They all deemed P’s treatment necessary. D instructed P to submit to several independent medical examinations. The chiropractor indicated that P should be weaned from chiropractic treatment and massage therapy because they were unnecessary. A psychiatrist/neurologist stated that P's psychiatric therapy was no longer reasonably related to the accident. An orthopedic spine surgeon also found that P had reached maximum medical improvement. D refused to pay for further treatment other than pool therapy. P sued D for breach of contract for failure to pay PIP benefits, and for the tort of bad faith breach of an insurance contract. During her testimony, P admitted that she failed to inform the examining physicians that she received substantial chiropractic treatment before the accident. D presented experts to testify that P's subjective complaints greatly outweighed her physical injuries. The district court gave the jury a 'thin skull' instruction per P's request and D's objection. The jury awarded P $ 10,068 for breach of contract and $10,000 for bad faith breach of an insurance contract. The court of appeals rejected D's argument and affirmed the holding of the district court. D appealed.