OLYMPIA – An Everett woman’s fight with her insurer following a near-fatal car accident last spring spurred legislators Wednesday to pass a new law making it clearer when coverage is required.
Ethel Adams of Everett was an innocent victim in a road rage incident in March on Aurora Avenue N. near 185th Street in King County. A man, who was later arrested, allegedly rammed his vehicle into the rear of his girlfriend’s pickup, and the truck careened across the centerline, slamming into Adams’ car.
Adams, 60, spent nine days in a coma and five months in a hospital and nursing home. She is still affected by that day’s trauma.
Her insurer, an affiliate of Farmer’s Insurance, initially refused to pay her medical expenses, claiming the crash was the result of an intentional act, and not an accident. Insurers are only required to pay bills incurred from accidents. The firm later relented.
Legislation passed 96-0 Wednesday by the House of Representatives revises the definition of an accident to include any occurrence that is unexpected and unintended from the view of the person with the coverage. The bill, dubbed “Ethel’s Law,” was sent to the Senate for action.
“I was shocked we ever had to draft the bill,” state Rep. Steve Kirby, D-Tacoma, said on the House floor before the vote. “Here’s our part for justice.”
Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell, sponsor of the legislation, said: “The fix is clear. Our intent is to prevent other ‘Ethels’ from happening.”
Ericks carried the legislation on behalf of Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who pressed the insurer to pay. Kreidler said Adams’ case was “particularly egregious” and generated more e-mails and phone calls to his office than any other issue.
“Virtually everyone could put themselves in Ethel Adams’ shoes and say, ‘What if that happened to me?’ ” Kreidler testified in hearings last week.
The original bill was amended. Insurance companies worried that the law might inspire some people to stage accidents to defraud firms with false claims of injuries.
Ericks agreed to add language requiring people to submit an accident report with a claim or cooperate with police in any investigation of the crash.
In Adams’ case, the investigation would have sufficed.
“There was a wrong done here, and it will be right with this bill,” said Gary Strannigan, director of government relations for Safeco.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360- 352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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