Missouri Insurance Lawyer Blog

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that a dentist who invoked his fifth amendment rights not to testify concerning two patient deaths violated the cooperation clause of his malpractice insurance policy. As a result Medical Protective was not liable under the insurance contract. The Medical Protective Company v. Bubenik, U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Cir., appealed from U.S. District Court, E.D. Missouri. Insured must be careful when asserting rights that may be breaches of the insurance contract. Sometimes invoking the 5th may be helpful to the defense and would not violate the cooperation clause. Insureds need to balance the benefit of invoking the right and whether or not it will cause a breach of the contract.