Worker may pursue claims against Helmsman
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A worker may pursue his claims for bad faith delay, denial of workers compensation and emotional distress against third-party administrator Helmsman Management Services LLC, the Delaware Superior Court ruled.
In Ferrari v. Helmsman Management Services LLC, the court on Wednesday denied an interlocutory appeal filed by the company.
Andrew Ferrari worked for a solar company removing shingles from roofs. He said he suffered cervical injuries from the cumulative repeated stresses of the work and ultimately received fusion surgery. Mr. Ferrari’s employer promptly submitted the claim, but Helmsman didn’t agree to accept it for four months. In the meantime, Mr. Ferrari was out of work and paying for treatment out of pocket and through his group health plan.
Mr. Ferrari filed a complaint against Helmsman for bad faith delay, denial of workers compensation benefits and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Helmsman moved for summary judgment, arguing that as a third-party administrator it was not party to the workers comp contract and could not be sued. In June, the Delaware Superior Court denied the motion, finding that Mr. Ferrari had presented sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on his charge of bad faith and claim for punitive damages. The court also found that questions remained as to whether Helmsman “unreasonably and unjustifiably delayed acceptance” of Mr. Ferrari’s claim
Helmsman moved for an interlocutory appeal on the issue of whether the TPA could be held liable for a bad-faith breach of an insurance contract, but the court declined to certify the appeal. The court ruled that Helmsman could be held liable for breach of contract as a TPA and that its decision was not a “significant departure” from the principal of contract law.
