Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP: Santa Clara Jury Holds Insurance Company Accountable for $6.9 Million Verdict to Motorcycle Accident Victim

PR Newswire

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A Santa Clara jury upheld a verdict of $6,945,526 to a man injured in a motorcycle accident in 2012 against Geico Insurance Company.

In this bad faith jury trial, Geico was sued for failing to properly settle a claim within its $100,000 policy limits. In December of 2012, Malte Selck was operating a Yamaha motorcycle on the 101 Highway in San Jose, CA when he was rear ended by a Honda Accord. The resulting collision caused Malte to suffer catastrophic injuries, including spinal fractures, a femoral neck fracture, a clavicle fracture, rib fractures, foot fracture, and other injuries.

The driver of the Accord had Geico insurance and Malte made a policy limit demand to Geico to pay for the medical expenses that resulted from the accident that well exceeded Geico's $100,000 policy. However, Geico rejected the offer, claiming that its insured was not at fault, but that Selck was at fault for his own injuries.

At the initial personal injury trial in November of 2017, a separate jury awarded Malte Selck $6,945,526. In this bad faith trial, a Santa Clara jury found Geico to have acted in bad faith and unreasonably failed to settle the claim within its $100,000 policy limit. The bad faith jury awarded the entire underlying judgment of $6,945,526 as damages against Geico.

"We are grateful that this jury found Geico to have acted in bad faith and to hold it accountable to pay for the entire underlying judgment," said Ricardo Echeverria of Shernoff Bidart Echeverria. "This legal battle has been ongoing for nearly 11 years, and we are very pleased that the jury finally put an exclamation point on it."

The case is Malte Selck, Van Tran v. Geico Casualty Company, Santa Clara Superior Court, Case No. 18CV336755.

About Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP

At Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP, we lead the nation in protecting policyholders from insurance companies' refusal to pay claims. The firm has been protecting the rights of insurance consumers, both individuals and businesses, for over 40 years after having set the legal precedent requiring insurance companies to act in good faith.

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