USAA class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is facing a class action lawsuit related to its handling of automobile personal injury protection and medical payment claims.
- Why: USAA is accused of delegating its claims to a third party company’s computer program that improperly reduces or denies USAA claims.
- Where: USAA’s counsel petitioned to have the case removed from Clark County, Washington, court and moved to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma.
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that it uses a third party company that improperly reduces or denies claims related to automobile personal injury protection and medical payments.
USAA is accused of using third-party Auto Injury Solutions as part of a multi-faceted USAA claims scheme to implement a computer program called Medical Bill Audit (MBA) for denying claims.
“The MBA process is designed, largely through automated computer processes, to categorically and systematically, without human input, eliminate, abate and/or reduce the amount USAA pays for its insured’s health care expenses based upon its treatment of various codes,” the USAA lawsuit says.
USAA customers claim insurance adjusters never look at denied claims
The USAA lawsuit plaintiffs Caryn Jennings and Tricia Harder are both Washington residents who had automobile accidents and are part of a class stating that USAA did not investigate their claims and instead used Auto Injury Solutions’ computer model to deny or reduce claims.
USAA has used the program to avoid having a USAA insurance adjustor review the claim or conduct an investigation into the validity of those claims, the USAA class action says.
A September class action lawsuit claims USAA did not properly protect the personal information of clients, resulting in the USAA data breach.
Have you had a personal injury or medical claim denied by USAA? Let us know in the comments.
The defendants are represented by Kimberly A. Reppart and Kara A. Tredway of Forsberg and Umlauf P.S.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jason T. Dennett and Cecily C. Jordan of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC along with Franklin D. Azar, Dezarae LaCrue, Michael D. Murphy, Timothy L. Foster and Brian Hanlin of Franklin D. Azar and Associates P.C.
The USAA class action lawsuit is Jennings, et al. v. USAA Casualty Insurance Company, et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-06171, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma.
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148 thoughts onUSAA class action alleges company uses third party to unfairly reject, underpay claims
I am looking for legal counsel, please message me with suggestions for legal representation regarding legal malpractice, bad faith insurance practices, perjury, & insurance fraud. If I make enough noise, maybe someone will listen.
I am exploring civil claims arising from catastrophic injury to my minor child, including loss of consortium, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and consequential economic damages, as well as legal malpractice against prior counsel and insurance bad faith by USAA arising from improper attribution of fault despite contrary evidence.
My daughter, redacted, suffered a catastrophic and ultimately permanent injury, the traumatic amputation of her dominant right arm, as a result of a crash involving a Polaris side-by-side vehicle. At the time of the incident, all three girls involved were thirteen years old, and the vehicle was being operated on public roadways, where such operation by minors is prohibited.
Randy Siers, the owner of the vehicle, did not obtain my permission, nor did I have any knowledge that my daughter was riding in a Polaris side-by-side vehicle, without required safety equipment or helmets, and being operated on public roads. My daughter was not authorized to participate in this activity under any circumstances.
Evidence demonstrates that the vehicle was operated by (redacted) , not by (redacted) as initially and falsely reported. Further evidence shows that Randy Siers had removed required safety equipment from the vehicle prior to the crash. Additionally, (redacted)s parent, Kit Basma, was aware that (redacted) was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident and failed to disclose this fact to law enforcement or insurers.
As a direct result of the crash, my daughter suffered a severe internal traumatic injury to her right arm, in which bone and muscle were violently forced through the skin, resulting in massive tissue damage. She required emergency life-flight transport to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. The nature of the injury allowed bacterial and fungal infections to develop within the wound, which ultimately necessitated amputation of her right arm.
My daughter underwent numerous surgeries, including repeated skin graft procedures utilizing tissue harvested from her right thigh, as well as extensive reconstructive and plastic surgeries to manage the amputation site and related complications. At the time of the injury, she was actively training for gymnastics competition, and the loss of her dominant arm was devastating, permanently altering her athletic trajectory, daily functioning, and quality of life.
Both my daughter and I were required to enter therapy as a result of the trauma, and both of us continue to experience residual trauma and PTSD symptoms related to the incident, compounded by the ongoing financial, emotional, and legal stressors that followed.
Despite repeated requests, my former attorney, Mark Mitchell, failed and refused to conduct a meaningful investigation into the identity of the actual driver, failed to pursue liability arising from illegal operation by minors, operation on public roadways, vehicle modification, and safety violations, and failed to challenge demonstrably false statements made to law enforcement and insurance carriers. Meaningful investigation occurred only after I threatened to terminate representation, by which point irreparable harm had already occurred, including the solidification of incorrect liability narratives within insurance records.
Although a settlement of approximately (redacted) was ultimately obtained on behalf of my daughter, counsel collected approximately 31 percent of the recovery and thereafter failed to assist with or protect against the significant downstream consequences of the injury. These consequences included insurance determinations that wrongfully assigned fault to me, resulting in financial harm, loss of employment, severe emotional distress, and long-term economic instability.
I believe the USAA’s conduct constitutes bad faith, including but not limited to misrepresentation of liability, failure to conduct a reasonable and adequate investigation, reliance on known false statements, and unfair claims practices. Despite possessing documentation directly contradicting their conclusions, USAA has refused to correct its records, which continue to inaccurately reflect fault.
Further, during my attempts to correct these inaccuracies, employees of USAA’s litigation team were openly hostile, including yelling at me, dismissing my documentation, and ignoring repeated requests for correction. I have been effectively stonewalled despite comprehensive written proof.
I further believe that my former attorney’s acts and omissions directly and proximately enabled the insurer’s misconduct, by failing to investigate, failing to identify the correct tortfeasor, failing to challenge false reporting, and failing to protect my legal and financial interests once the settlement concluded.
I possess extensive documentation supporting all of the above facts, including communications, records, medical documentation, and evidence demonstrating both insurer misconduct and attorney negligence.
Please add me. I have been a USAA member since 2004. Several accidents, several issues, unfair practices. I was charged for stacked UM coverage without knowledge & even when I only had I vehicle. Thank you.