Hotwick v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of United States

This action was brought against an insurance company for double indemnity benefits under an insurance policy by the beneficiary thereof. The insured died as a result of being stabbed in a fight with his stepmother and it was alleged that this was an accidental death so as to entitle the beneficiary to the double indemnity benefits. A jury found for the defendant insurance company and an appeal has been taken alleging error in the instructions given on the burden of proof and on the definition of mental infirmity and that the verdict was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.

In 1955,…