Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/g-QFrDWP and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gztbWjVz and at https://lnkd.in/g-GZfsF2 and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4350 posts.
In John Fitzpatrick and Colleen Fitzpatrick v. Oradell Animal Hospital, Inc., et. al, No. A-3442-20, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (November 1, 2022) Plaintiffs appealed from a June 17, 2021 order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant Continental Casualty Company (Continental).
Plaintiff sustained injuries on March 6, 2015, when an (MRI) machine at defendant Oradell exploded. Oradell leased the MRI machine from defendant Advanced Veterinary Technologies, Inc. (AVT).
The lease agreement required AVT to install the MRI machine at Oradell’s facility. At the end of the term, the lease agreement provided “AVT shall deinstall, inspect, test, pack, remove and ship the [MRI machine] at AVT’s expense.” The lease agreement also stated AVT was responsible for “the repair of any damage to [Oradell’s premises] on account of the removal of the [MRI machine] . . . .”
Oradell complied with the insurance provision by purchasing insurance from Continental. While decommissioning the MRI machine, Hogan testified he “pick[ed] something up off the ground” and was surrounded by a “white cloud of helium.” A split second later, the MRI machine exploded.
Decisions on Summary Judgment
The judge found Hogan’s “actions did not arise out of Oradell’s maintenance, operation or use of the MRI machine,” because Hogan was decommissioning the MRI machine on the date of the explosion. The judge concluded the decommissioning of the MRI machine was “the antithesis of the maintenance, operations and/or use of the MRI.”
Analysis
Equipment is only decommissioned upon the expiration of the lease term. For Hogan to be eligible for coverage under the Policy, there had to be a substantial nexus between plaintiffs’ injuries and Oradell’s maintenance, operation, or use of the MRI machine. No Oradell employee was in the room when the MRI machine exploded. Nor had any Oradell employees participated in the two-day decommissioning process prior to the explosion. On this record, there is no evidence Oradell maintained, operated, or used the MRI machine after March 4, 2015.
ZALMA OPINION
It is always interesting and encouraging to see a court opinion where the court read every word of the insurance policy, noted that for coverage to apply the entity seeking insurance must maintain, operate or use the exploding MRI machine.
(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and zalma@zalma.com.Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.com/subscribe.Subscribe to Excellence in Claims Handling at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome.
Write to Mr. Zalma at zalma@zalma.com; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at
. Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library
MRI Machine Explodes