First Party Bad Faith in UM Cases

We always have a few cases going on in the office involving car accident injuries caused by uninsured motorists. One of these cases had something interesting happen today.

The defendant insurance company had identified two doctors as expert witnesses. They secured an order compelling plaintiff to submit to an “independent medical examination” (three lies for the price of one, since it’s not independent, nothing medical takes place, and there’s barely any examination). After obtaining opinions from both doctors, the insurer withdrew one as a witness. Unsurprisingly, it was the one whose opinion was more favorable to the plaintiff.

There’s a real argument to be made that this practice exhibits a lack of good faith. Shouldn’t the insurer have to stand by the “independent” opinion they asked for?

Ultimately, it may not matter since there is a real chance we will call this doctor as our own expert now.