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Insurers Fear Tangle Of Cases In I-4 Pileup

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2008

TAMPA - With a homicide investigation still under way - standard practice in severe traffic accidents - and an unusual set of circumstances contributing to the Interstate 4 pileup, auto insurers are preparing for significant challenges settling the cases of those involved in the wrecks.

Insurers said last week that claims relating to Wednesday's incident are trickling in, though adjusters were largely on the sidelines as law enforcement investigations took priority. Vehicles were beginning to be released from the Fantasy of Flight grounds that had become a makeshift salvage yard, but insurers did not have access to the site.

"It will obviously be a more complex investigation, with a lot more layers, than your average car wreck," said Michal Connolly, a spokeswoman for State Farm, the state's largest auto insurer.

Amy Moore, a spokeswoman for Allstate, concurred. "It's going to be very difficult," she said. "Some of these cars were burned beyond recognition. It's going to take quite a bit to sort this out."

Last week, representatives of the Florida Department of Transportation said it would take up to a week to examine the 70 vehicles thought to have been involved in the crashes.

But the complexity of the incident - including participants being unable to see and describe what happened, the condition of wrecked and burned vehicles, and the protracted nature of the insurance claim and legal processes - means it could be years before cases are resolved.

In the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, dense fog settled over a stretch of I-4 near U.S. 27 in Polk County. Smoke from a nearby brush fire may have contributed to what drivers described as a blinding blanket.

A series of crashes began at 4:35 a.m. When the fog cleared, 70 vehicles were strewn about I-4 in both directions. Six tractor-trailers burned and a tanker overturned and caught fire, igniting at least a dozen other vehicles.

Four people died. The interstate was closed until Thursday evening for cleanup and repairs.

Insurers and lawyers who specialize in traffic cases say the circumstances of the pileup will make determining liability particularly difficult.

"Accident reconstructionists will have a field day trying to re-create it," said Web Brennan, a Tampa lawyer who last summer won a $62 million jury award - at the time, a Florida record - for victims in a Polk County traffic fatality.

All At Risk Of Responsibility

Brennan envisioned a driver who was skillfully able to stop his vehicle before entering the chain-reaction collision - only to be rear-ended and forced into the pile. That driver may not have survived to describe what happened, he said.

"It's never going to be pinned down," Brennan said. "The reality is that everybody in the chain has the risk of bearing some responsibility."

Connolly of State Farm said insurance investigators would rely on law enforcement conclusions and their own investigations to determine liability. The company has created a special team of adjusters to handle claims stemming from the I-4 pileup, she said.

Allstate's Moore advised victims not to delay. "Always, the first step is to get in touch with their local agent," she said. "They're the first in line getting folks down the right path."

When Florida Highway Patrol investigators have finished their work, insurance adjusters will take over.

Connolly said State Farm is already working with service providers, such as towing companies, body shops and salvage yards, and is reviewing law enforcement records to try to determine whether some crash victims are customers who have not yet contacted the company.

Representatives of insurance companies say they will respond as quickly as possible, but Brennan said it will take "a lot of complicated work" to determine what happened Wednesday morning. "Some cases could be resolved in months, some in a year, some in years, plural," he said. The issue of liability will likely expand beyond motorists. Members of a Lakeland family involved in the crashes have retained a lawyer, who said Friday that the family blamed smoke from a nearby controlled burn for the hazardous conditions.

That could suggest liability by the state, whose agents set the blaze, struggled to control it and were responsible for safety on the interstate.

However, the state enjoys sovereign immunity from claims of more than $200,000 under state law. The Legislature would have to approve payment of any jury award or settlement naming the state culpable, and that body very rarely does so.

No-Fault Coverage Helps

The Legislature may have made it easier on some crash victims with last year's flip-flop on the issue of no-fault insurance.

Lawmakers allowed the much-maligned system to expire Oct. 1, reverting Florida to the traditional at-fault system. But in a change of heart in a subsequent special session, the Legislature reinstated no-fault as of Jan. 1.

That means motorists must carry personal injury protection as part of their auto policies and are covered by their insurer for medical coverage up to $10,000 regardless of who is at fault in an accident.

Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 1, victims may have had to sue an adversary to be compensated.

However, the no-fault provision does not apply in cases of death, serious and permanent disfigurement, or permanent injury, which will likely be a legacy of Wednesday's disaster.

Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (813) 259-8402 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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