Opinion ID: 1881605
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Definition of Total Disability

Text: Radecki also claims that the jury should not have been instructed to consider the second tier of the definition of total disability that is contained in the policy. The second tier, or part b, of that definition provides that a claimant is totally disabled if, after benefits have been paid for 24 months, the claimant is unable to perform each of the main duties of any gainful occupation for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training, education, and experience. Radecki argues that because Mutual of Omaha never paid any benefits, part b of the definition of total disability cannot apply to him and that the court erred by including that language in its instructions to the jury. However, as Radecki correctly pointed out in his brief, [i]n a breach of contract case, the ultimate objective of a damages award is to put the injured party in the same position the injured party would have occupied if the contract had been performed, that is, to make the injured party whole. (Emphasis omitted.) Brief for appellant at 26 (citing Larsen v. First Bank, 245 Neb. 950, 515 N.W.2d 804 (1994)). Thus, if the jury found that Mutual of Omaha breached the insurance contract and that Radecki was disabled for at least 24 months after the elimination period, it was to put Radecki in the same position as if the contract had been performed, i.e., as if payments had been made for 24 months. The parties to an insurance contract may make the contract in any legal form they desire, and in the absence of statutory provisions to the contrary, insurance companies have the same right as individuals to limit their liability and to impose whatever restrictions and conditions they please upon their obligations, not inconsistent with public policy. Ploen v. Union Ins. Co., 253 Neb. 867, 573 N.W.2d 436 (1998). The trial court plainly did not err by including in its instructions the language from part b of the policy definition of total disability.