A Douglas County jury in Nebraska has awarded $11.3 million (£8.7 million) in damages to an Omaha mother of 10 children. The jury found that Farmers New World Life Insurance acted in bad faith when it refused to pay her late husband’s $350,000 life insurance policy after he died from COVID-19. The verdict was delivered on 16 October 2026, bringing years of legal battles between Vaneza Ramos and the insurance company to a major decision. The details come from court documents and statements released by her lawyers at Pesek Law. The case involved two separate jury trials in the District Court of Douglas County under case number CI 22-2057. The final ruling against the insurer followed a six-year legal fight. It began after Ramos lost her husband and was left to care for her family and newborn baby while facing an uncertain financial future.
Policy purchase and claim refusal
In 2018, Ramos’s husband, Jose Gaitan, was encouraged by a local Farmers Insurance agent to transfer his existing life insurance coverage to the company. Gaitan then bought a $350,000 (£269,000) life insurance policy. The policy was meant to replace his income if he died. He paid monthly premiums of about $800 (£615). The couple ran a family business in Omaha while raising a blended family of 10 children. In May 2020, the family welcomed their youngest child. Later that month, Gaitan contracted COVID-19 and was admitted to hospital. He died on 31 May 2020. While grieving her husband and caring for her newborn baby, Ramos filed a claim to receive the $350,000 insurance payout. In September 2020, Farmers New World Life Insurance officially rejected her claim. The company pointed to answers about Gaitan’s medical history that had been recorded on the original insurance application. Instead of paying the $350,000 death benefit, the insurer offered to return about $17,000 (£13,000) in premiums that had already been paid.
Legal challenge over agent conduct
Ramos refused the offer and decided to take the insurance company to court. She hired attorneys Ross Pesek and Alejandra Ayotitla of Pesek Law to represent her family. During the legal case, her lawyers questioned how the insurance agent had completed the original application in 2018. Evidence presented during the trial showed that incorrect answers had been entered about Gaitan’s medical history. Text messages also showed that the agent had been told about an earlier hospital stay involving Gaitan’s heart before the policy was issued. The legal battle lasted several years and required two separate jury trials to settle different parts of the dispute. The first trial focused on the insurance company’s responsibility under the policy contract. The second trial, held in October 2026, dealt with a different question. The jury had to decide whether Farmers Insurance had acted in bad faith and what harm its actions had caused Ramos and her children beyond the unpaid insurance amount. “It’s not based on the contract. It’s based on the harm,” Pesek explained during his closing argument to the jury, according to a press statement published by the National Law Review.
Strain on family life
The sudden loss of income and the refusal to pay the life insurance benefits placed a heavy burden on the family, according to information released by Pesek Law. To help keep the household running, Ramos’s mother moved into the family home to help care for the children. One of Ramos’s sons also put his own career plans on hold so he could take on major responsibilities in the family business. Farmers Insurance challenged the amount of financial and emotional harm claimed by the family during the trial. The company argued against the large amount of compensation Ramos and her children were seeking. During his closing argument, Pesek spoke to the jury about the difference between an ordinary person and a large company. He compared the case to the biblical story of David and Goliath. “A promise to protect should not be broken,” Pesek told the court. “There is one moment that even Goliath fears. It’s this moment. It’s accountability because of a jury.” He also said that his client had shown great strength throughout the six-year legal battle. “Takes faith. Takes faith for Miss Ramos to think that maybe someday there’ll be justice in our community and our world. That if she just holds the line, maybe someday the table will turn. It’ll be up to you to decide if that day is today,” he said.
Jury delivers multi-million award
After considering the evidence, the Douglas County jury returned its verdict. It found Farmers New World Life Insurance responsible for acting in bad faith and ordered the company to pay Ramos and her children a total of $11.3 million in damages. The $11.3 million award is meant to cover the harm caused by the insurer’s bad-faith actions, rather than simply the original $350,000 value of the life insurance policy. The verdict marks one of the largest bad-faith insurance awards in recent Nebraska history. Farmers Insurance has not publicly confirmed whether it plans to appeal the Douglas County jury’s decision.