July 30, 2025
Life Claim represented the widow of a man who crashed his motorcycle, which resulted in his death. A blood sample was taken postmortem and tested positive for alcohol in the amount of .17 g/100mL, which is equivalent to a BAC of 0.17%, or more than twice the legal limit in North Carolina. Citing the policy’s intoxication exclusion clause, Minnesota Life denied the widow’s claim on the basis that it does not have to pay “the accidental death or dismemberment benefit where the insured’s accident, injury, loss, death or dismemberment is caused directly or indirectly by, results in whole or in part from or during, or there is contribution from being under the influence of alcohol intoxication, including but not limited to having a blood alcohol level above the limit for permissible operation of a motor vehicle in the jurisdiction where the loss occurred.”
However, our toxicology team found numerous issues with the blood test results that called into question the forensic reliability of the toxicology report. Most notably, the toxicology report stated that the blood sample tested was harvested from the insured a month before his motorcycle accident, which raised significant questions about the chain of custody of the blood sample. Following a lengthy appeal, Minnesota Life reversed its denial decision, and paid the claim in full with interest.