When genuine disputes arise between businesses and individuals, the parties involved rely on their adversaries making honest attempts to fulfill their obligations and resolve their differences. Occasionally, some parties may make promises with no intention of keeping them; in other words, they act in bad faith. Doing so is both illegal and damaging to effective business practices, as it undermines the assumptions on which our entire system of business is based.

It can be daunting to seek resolution in such a situation, since proving another party's bad faith can be difficult. At Golomb & Honik, we tackle these challenging cases. Here are some examples of our successes:

• $1 Million for Paraplegic Victim of Bad Faith After a man was rendered a paraplegic in a motor vehicle accident, he required extensive medical care on both an in-patient and outpatient basis. At a certain point in his recovery, he was home and receiving physical therapy on a daily basis; his rehabilitation specialist prescribed outpatient physical therapy at the rehabilitation hospital where he had spent months as a patient. The outpatient physical therapy would allow him to transfer himself from his bed to a wheelchair and, ultimately, teach him how to drive a specially equipped van so that he could be self-sufficient. His insuring HMO, while agreeing to pay for the outpatient physical therapy, refused to pay for the transportation services to and from that therapy, and paratransit service was unavailable. The HMO's refusal to pay for the transportation for outpatient services essentially left the patient alone at home without treatment. As a result, he suffered extensive bedsores and required hospitalization on five separate occasions. Bad faith litigation was instituted against the HMO by Golomb & Honik attorneys, who overcame preliminary objections and motions to dismiss based on various "HMO immunity" statutes. During the course of discovery, it was clearly determined that the HMO administrators who denied the claim did so in bad faith by misapplying their own policy language. Upon completion of depositions, the case settled for $1 million.
• Confidential Settlement for Injured Surgeon A surgeon who was insured against disability suffered multiple herniated discs resulting in multiple surgeries; he became totally and residually disabled in 2001. Although his condition was a serious one, he returned to work in a matter of months but was unable to perform some strenuous surgeries as before his injury. Once the waiting period on his policy expired, the surgeon made a claim on his own for residual disability benefits; the insurance company denied his claim. Golomb & Honik instituted suit on his behalf and included counts for breach of contract, bad faith, and violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act as well as other consumer laws. Golomb & Honik lawyers were able to establish bad faith on the part of the insurance company, including the way in this individual case was handled. They also demonstrated a company-wide pattern and practice in misinterpreting their own policy language for the sole purpose of denying claims. The case settled shortly before trial for nearly ten times the compensatory claim for residual disability benefits.