Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Poor Lawyers Can Poison the Well - Tuesday, October 9, 2007
As Allstate began its defense in a $1.425 billion-dollar lawsuit, it became clear that the case might have been damaged irreparably by the plaintiff's previous lawyer. The Kentucky woman who was suing Allstate for bad faith insurance practices had hired a lawyer who practiced obstructionist tactics to try and get her a better settlement for her auto accident claim, but he may just have given the insurance company exactly what it needs to weasel out of the case.
Allstate's lawyers came forward with arguments that their practices are an attempt to settle claims quickly and fairly, while being on guard against fraud that would unduly cost themselves and their policyholders, and said that while internal memos referred to "boxing gloves" being employed, the memo referred to unscrupulous trial lawyers, chiropractors, and claimants, such as they charge of the claimant's former attorney.
Allstate attorneys testified that the lawyer, Paul Kaplan, was uncooperative, refusing to agree to routine requests for medical records, forcing the Allstate attorneys to get two court orders to get the records. One said, "He was delaying, and accusing me of delay, at every turn."
The reasons why Kaplan was refusing to turn over medical records soon became clear, as the claimant was revealed to have a pre-existing back condition not discussed in the claim and a prior worker's compensation claim, also not discussed, both of which were damaging to her case.
Allstate pointed out that the claim was settled within a month of receiving the records.
This case is highly instructive, both from the standpoint of learning insurance company practices, but also about some very important considerations in taking on a lawyer to represent your case. Lawyers can practice bad faith as well as insurance companies, and if your lawyer is too bent on getting a huge settlement, it can leave you in a position where, after a long and arduous trial, you get little or nothing at all. It just shows the importance of my momma's lesson: you better shop around. PersonalInjury.com is made up of a team of lawyers from across the country and can get you in touch with many possible representatives. If you or someone you know has suffered a serious personal injury, contact us today to make sure you get a lawyer who will fight fair, one who is honest and hardworking and will make sure you get exactly the settlement you deserve.
Florida Lawmakers Pick up their PIP Fumble - Monday, October 8, 2007
Finally attempting to do their job of representing the people of the State of Florida, the Florida Legislature voted Friday to reinstate PIP insurance in the state. The law, which lawmakers under pressure from insurance companies allowed to expire October 1, mandates that $10,000 in personal injury insurance coverage be included in all automobile insurance policies issued to drivers in the state. This meant that all Floridians would be covered in the event of an automobile accident, even if the other driver were uninsured.
From personal experience, I know that this insurance also covers motorists even when they are walking or biking when they are struck by another car. It insures that medical costs are covered without question and without need of resorting to a court battle for determining fault, and is thus often called the no-fault law.
While legislators tried to promote this action as if it were an example of effective legislative action on behalf of the people, the truth is that the law should never have been allowed to expire. Insurance companies, seeking another opportunity to apply the kinds of tactics used in other states such as Kentucky and Colorado and elsewhere, had claimed that the law unfairly forced them to pay the medical expenses of their policyholders, even the ones they regarded as fraudulent, which included any medical expenses that ran over the artificially low prices given by their medical expense databases.
Of course, the insurance companies were given concessions in the changeover, and the new PIP law will include some anti-fraud measures. The legislation has some reasonable provisions, such as limiting physicians to 200 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates. But it also has some troubling aspects, such as limiting emergency-room charges to 80 percent of their normal rate, leading one to believe that either legislators believe emergency-room rates are artificially inflated—in which case more sweeping legislation is necessary—or else emergency rooms and doctors will have to make up their loss by charging other patients more, and why should people paying out of pocket be forced to subsidize big insurance companies?
Most troubling, though, is that the legislation also sets aside $2 million in grants to state prosecutors to seek out fraudulent or inflated claims in specifically urban areas, such as Palm Beach County or Broward County. Essentially a $2 million handout to insurance companies, the legislation gives the impression that disadvantaged urban populations are greedily seeking an opportunity for fraud because they actually take advantage of the coverage their policy gives them.
Obviously, although the legislature has finally done some work in our favor, the case is not yet closed. If you have been injured in an accident and are suffering from bad-faith insurance practices, you need a lawyer to help. Contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a local lawyer who can help.
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