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conversation with his attorney, that he filed a belated police
report claiming that an unidentified motorist had caused his
injury while petitioner was riding a motorcycle. After filing
the police report petitioner filed a claim with his insurance
company.
We do not find petitioner’s testimony at trial concerning
the cause of the accident to be credible. While petitioner
admitted telling hospital personnel on the day of the accident
that a horse had fallen on him, he failed to give any explanation
for the inconsistency between that and his subsequent police
report and insurance claim. The police report was not filed
until after he consulted with his attorney. In contrast, his
statements to attending physicians immediately after the accident
that the injury was caused by a horse accident, in circumstances
that inherently call for truthfulness, are credible.
The Release and Indemnity executed by the insurer and
petitioner does not apportion the settlement amount among the
various claims made by petitioner in his complaint. The attorney
who acted for the insurance company testified the settlement was
in response to “a demand for policy limits and we paid it.” He
further testified:
Q: * * * after this entire case was settled, you
had satisfied yourself on behalf of the [insurance]
company that Mr. Marsh was not committing any type of
insurance fraud against [the insurance company],
correct?
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