Injury-In-Fact Trigger

Categories: Insurance

The injury-in-fact trigger, or actual injury trigger, is a theory used in courts. It states that coverage under an insurance policy is activated as soon as the injury occurred. In general, a “trigger” is an event that activates insurance coverage.

When people are in the courts hashing out insurance claim issues, oftentimes the issue is about when the injury actually happened. If your broke a bone on a mountain bike course or got a concussion skiing, it’s pretty straightforward...but what about an injury that developed over time, like a repetitive motion at work? Or maybe pollution of a nearby factory that causes cancer?

It’s when the time of injury is unclear that a court might use an injury-in-fact trigger, which may differ from the wrongful act which caused the injury. It hurts just thinking about it.

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