Stacy is a recent law school graduate working for a corporate law firm. One of the firm’s biggest clients is Mutual Assurance, one of the country’s largest insurance companies. Stacy is assigned to the Mutual account, and spends her time representing Mutual’s customers who purchased insurance from Mutual and are then sued. One of Mutual’s customers is John Zimmerman. One day, John Zimmerman is driving his vehicle with five other people in the car when the vehicle is involved in a serious accident with another car, being driven by Florian Ledermann. One person in each car is killed, and all the survivors are seriously injured. One of the passengers in Zimmerman’s car is 16 year old David Spaulding. His injuries included a brain concussion, multiple rib fractures, and broken clavicles. After the accident, David Spaulding files a lawsuit against John Zimmerman. Since Mutual Assurance provides liability insurance to John Zimmerman under the terms of a contract, Mutual Assurance takes up the defense. There is a high limit on the insurance contract, but Stacy’s client, Mutual, would like to pay out as little as possible to David Spaulding (insurance companies that pay out more in claims than they collect in premiums are not profitable). Stacy askes Zimmerman to undergo physical examinations by doctors to independently verify the extent of his injuries. When she receives the doctor’s report, she is shocked. The doctor she hired was more thorough than Spaulding’s own doctors, and discovered an aortic aneurysm, which is a dilation of the aorta and the arch of the aorta. The doctor classified the aneurysm as serious and that it might rupture and cause Spaulding to die. The doctor could not determine if the aneurysm was caused by the car accident or if it was there before the accident. Stacy is torn about what to do. As Mutual’s lawyers, she has to represent Mutual’s best interest and limit is liability. If she tells Spaulding about the aneurysm, it would almost certainly increase the amount of Mutual must pay to Spaulding for the accident, If she doesn’t tell Spaulding about the accident, Spaulding may die. On the other hand, he may live for many years.

If you were Stacy, what would you do? Would you tell Spaulding about the aneurysm? Or would you keep quiet and negotiate the lowest-possible settlement for Mutual Assurance.