Merkens v. Federal Insurance

OPINION

PORTLEY, Judge:

¶ 1 This is a bad faith case. We are asked to decide whether an injured worker who was receiving medical treatment expenses and temporary total disability workers’ compensation benefits can sue the insurance company for bad faith and recover any unpaid benefits and related damages without first challenging the carrier’s decision to terminate those benefits with the Industrial Commission. Because we find that the superior court properly granted summary judgment for the carrier and did not abuse its discretion by denying the carrier’s request for attorneys’ fees, we affirm…