Thomas v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co.

1 Citing case

  1. Catledge v. Aetna Life Ins. Co.

    594 F. Supp. 2d 610 (D.S.C. 2009)   Cited 4 times
    In Catledge, the court, after concluding that Aetna improperly denied a claim, found the record inadequate to support the payment of benefits and therefore remanded the matter for further review.

    At the same time, the coroner's determination that the death was "accidental" is not determinative of whether the death is an "accidental" death as that term is intended in the policy. See Thomas v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 487 F. Supp. 2d 697, 702 n. 3 (D.S.C. 2007) (determination that death was "accidental" as shown on death certificate "does not determine whether the death was an 'accident' for purposes of an accidental death policy, and a coroner's report or similar finding does not bind a plan administrator's examination of the evidence"). This is because, even absent a Plan definition, that determination may be subject to considerations such as those addressed in Wickman.