AAJ’s Boxing Gloves w/r/t Insurance Companies “deny, deny, defend” tactics
January 19, 2009
I didn’t realize the bullying that goes on with insurance companies until I started handling Oklahoma personal injury cases. We’ll have several people call in to our office each week asking “why is the insurance company refusing to pay anything on my car (or medical
treatment) when their insured was the one who caused the accident?”
The American Association of Justice has a photo along the same lines as the Allstate “good hands” approach:
Oklahoma car accident victims often stuck in catch-22
January 13, 2009
I just got off the phone with a current client. She was hit head on by another driver last week here in Oklahoma City. Luckily, the impact was not too severe and the injuries are minor. But, even though her current medical bills are relatively small right now she is still having back trouble.
She needs to see a doctor but she does not want to miss any work. Damages related to missed work are generally recoverable in injury cases. But, day to day, she still needs the income.
Dallas personal injury law firm gets probation for staging accidents (!)
January 9, 2009
DFW’s Star-Telegram reported yesterday that the personal injury law firm, Trey Allen, P.C., was placed on probation and ordered to pay close to a million dollars in restitution for its part in scheming to stage car accidents. The paper got its information from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
This seems like something that would be dreamed up and reported at The Onion. Maybe I’m naive, but it just seems astounding that someone would even try to do this. Hopefully, the Department of Justice will stick the people involved.
I did a little research on the story. The USDOJ, back in September, released a more detailed report at their website. See: Law Firm Admits Role In Staged Accident Scheme. It doesn’t appear the attorneys were actually invovled:
According to the Trey Allen,
P.C. factual resume, both legal assistants informed the government that
they did not disclose their fraudulent activities to the officers of
Trey Allen, P.C. They admitted, however, they had an arrangement with
numerous chiropractors in the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area in which
they would refer business to the chiropractors and, in return, the
chiropractors would pay the legal assistants a cash kickback out of the
settlement proceeds. The cash kickback was 30% – 40% of the amount paid
to the coconspirator chiropractors by Trey Allen, P.C., which resulted
in inflated medical bills being presented to the insurance companies.
