Finkelstein v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance of Boston

Here is involved the construction of disability provisions in a policy of life insurance. Plaintiff’s right to recover is predicated on a provision which gives him certain rights in the event that he has “ become totally disabled as the result of bodily injury or disease so as to be wholly prevented thereby from engaging in any occupation or employment for wage or profit.”

Plaintiff is a glazier by trade. He has never been engaged in any other business or occupation. While handling a heavy pane of plate glass he sustained a serious injury to his right arm. His proof was sufficient to justify a…