Mike Sand, TLC '02 Grad. TLC List Serve, April 19, 2012.
TLC warriors Mike Abourezk (TLC '96 Grad) and Daniel
Bidegaray (TLC '04 Grad) helped Montana
Jurors hold an insurance company accountable for their mistreatment of an
elderly Alzheimer's patient.
Arlene Hull, 90 and her husband, Bill spent most of their
lives farming, ranching and raising a family near Billings, Montana. In 1997
they bought a long-term care policy from Medico Insurance Company. Bill died in
1998 and Arlene continued paying premiums so she would not be a burden to her
family if she became disabled.
In 2007 Arlene was
diagnosed with dementia. She became unable to care for herself and moved int
St. John's nursing home. Medico paid for Arlene's care until they were
purchased by Ability Resources Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska. In January 2010 Ability quit paying for the
level of care that Arlene required claiming that she did not need
"continual supervision due to a severe cognitive impairment".
Jurors in Federal Court in Billings, Montana disagreed.
After a 4 day trial, they sent a message to Omaha that our parents and
grandparents deserve to be treated with dignity. Mike asked the jury to award somewhat more
than ten million dollars damages including punitives.
After several hours of deliberations the jury awarded
thirty four million dollars damages, the largest verdict in Montana history.
Here is a link to
the Huffington Post article about this case: Insurance Company Ordered toPay $34 Million For Kicking 90-Year-Old Arlene Hull Off Plan
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