With 15 years of experience in personal injury cases, I have some strong opinions about insurance companies. Most of my experience has been with car accidents, so I'll focus on that but some of the companies also cover homeowners or other types of insurance. And my opinions will center on how the companies are toward their customers, not towards plaintiffs or plaintiff attorneys.
First of all, I worked for Allstate in the late 1990s. At the time I generally had a good feeling about the company. They were tough on weak plaintiff cases but generally fair on severe injuries. As an in-house lawyer, I worked closely with the claim reps and claims managers - the Allstate staff who investigated claims and made the decisions about whether to pay and if so how much. They had a lot of experience and knowledge and were just good people. I didn't always agree with them but they had reasons for their decisions.
Their work environment was in transition. In the good old days, they'd go out into the field, like to the scene of the accident. But when I got there Allstate was changing things on them, chaining them to their computers and reducing their ability to get their hands on the meat of the cases. This helped them handle a higher volume (thus saving money) but it reduced quality. It also made the job less pleasant and accelerated retirement. That further reduced quality by removing the best staff. Some of the newer reps were good, but still didn't have the same level of experience.
Allstate was, and is, facing pressure from the newer low-cost insurers like Geico and Progressive. On the other end was the longstanding competition from State Farm, which had better numbers in customer retention.
Allstate and State Farm are so large that they're under constant pressure to keep their existing customers and bring in new ones to replace the ones they lose, while keeping costs down. I think those pressures make it very difficult to provide the best service and be fair to their customers.
At the bottom of my list is Geico. In my experience they are too aggressive on cutting costs. I've seen them refuse to pay medical bills for their customers that obviously should be paid (and I've heard complaints from doctors about Progressive doing the same). One property damage claim stands out in my mind. Our client had Geico and was hit by a State Farm driver. Her car was totaled. Geico told her that her car was worth $5000. I checked with State Farm first, and they offered our client $6500. So maybe Geico saves 15% on the price, but they screwed our client for 30% when it came time to pay a claim.
I've also seen Geico refuse to pay plaintiff claims in a way that puts the Geico customer in jeopardy. When you cause an accident and the person is really hurt, your insurance company's job is to protect you. The worst example is the case we had where our client suffered an amputation after being hit by a Geico-insured driver. We asked for the $25K policy and they refused to pay - on an amputation! In the end we went to trial and the Geico customer faced a judgment of millions of dollars filed against him - when Geico had a chance to settle the case for $25K.
I never saw an amputation when I was at Allstate. They were smart enough to pay a claim like that before anyone had to sue.
It can make sense for an insurance company to refuse to pay a claim, or even for them to hold off on settling because they're investigating something. But when all the facts are in, it's time to settle. Even though I like State Farm, they failed in this one on that same case where they were good on the property damage. Their customer was clearly at fault and our client had to undergo two shoulder surgeries. And there we were, a week before trial and they still hadn't offered a penny. This wasted everyone's time and money, and put their customer in jeopardy.
During my time I've seen that some insurers are just better all around. Good examples are Travelers, Hartford, Nationwide, and Amica (our insurance company). These companies seem to work with their customers very well, and in particular they don't do frivolous denials. I remember when we chose Amica. I was reading insurance industry numbers that showed Amica's "complaint ratio" was dramatically lower than State Farm and Allstate. I can't say they're perfect, but we've been happy with them.
One of the underlying lessons is simple: You get what you pay for. If someone's advertising that their product or service is cheap, then it probably is. I'm not a cheap lawyer and I'm happy about it. We lose some potential clients who are looking for the cheapest lawyer they can find. We do the job right and provide good service. That's what I want to do for my clients, and that's what I want my insurance company to do for me.
One other thing - don't be cheap yourself. Make sure you have enough coverage. It's rare but I've seen cases where wealthy people didn't have enough insurance. That can dramatically change your financial circumstances and even drive you into bankruptcy. Getting $100K in coverage doesn't cost that much. And an umbrella policy (usually covering up to $1 million) isn't much more. If you're not sure, go through an agent. They'll help you make the right choice.
Showing posts with label personal injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal injury. Show all posts
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Albany Lawyer: What we do
I'm not sure I've ever written up a summary of what we do in our firm. We cover a few areas of law.
Personal Injury Lawyer
We handle a small number of personal injury cases, usually from car accidents and motorcycle accidents along with a few other areas.
Most of these cases are in or near the Albany area, but we do take some further away. We keep the number small by only accepting cases where the injuries are serious.
Criminal Defense
We handle a broad variety of criminal cases. The two most common areas we see are from drunk driving (DWI and DWAI) and marijuana possession.
Other cases we see include:
Petit Larceny (usually shoplifting)
Grand Larceny (mostly alleged employee theft or contractor disputes - both usually strong cases for the defense)
Aggravated Harassment (typically when someone keeps calling, e-mailing or texting their ex)
Criminal Possession of a Weapon (often in the Albany Airport)
Federal Criminal Defense (border-related offenses and drugs)
Our criminal defense practice is almost entirely within the greater Albany area (within about 100 miles). We do handle some cases further away, especially minor marijuana offenses. But for more serious cases, it becomes too expensive for most clients to pay us to travel.
Traffic Lawyer
We handle speeding tickets and other traffic offenses across most of New York State, covering almost every court north of New York City. We don't handle New York City or Long Island.
In addition to simple traffic tickets we see some criminal traffic cases involving aggravated unlicensed operation and reckless driving. We usually get these reduced to non-criminal violations.
Personal Injury Lawyer
We handle a small number of personal injury cases, usually from car accidents and motorcycle accidents along with a few other areas.
Most of these cases are in or near the Albany area, but we do take some further away. We keep the number small by only accepting cases where the injuries are serious.
Criminal Defense
We handle a broad variety of criminal cases. The two most common areas we see are from drunk driving (DWI and DWAI) and marijuana possession.
Other cases we see include:
Petit Larceny (usually shoplifting)
Grand Larceny (mostly alleged employee theft or contractor disputes - both usually strong cases for the defense)
Aggravated Harassment (typically when someone keeps calling, e-mailing or texting their ex)
Criminal Possession of a Weapon (often in the Albany Airport)
Federal Criminal Defense (border-related offenses and drugs)
Our criminal defense practice is almost entirely within the greater Albany area (within about 100 miles). We do handle some cases further away, especially minor marijuana offenses. But for more serious cases, it becomes too expensive for most clients to pay us to travel.
Traffic Lawyer
We handle speeding tickets and other traffic offenses across most of New York State, covering almost every court north of New York City. We don't handle New York City or Long Island.
In addition to simple traffic tickets we see some criminal traffic cases involving aggravated unlicensed operation and reckless driving. We usually get these reduced to non-criminal violations.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Truck Accident cases in Albany NY
Someone suggested we add a truck accident page to our website, so I did that today. Accident cases involving tractor-trailers are typically higher-value cases, due to higher insurance coverage and the severity of the injuries. Fortunately they are also rare.
I revised some other pages on the personal injury section of the website while I was doing that. The neatest thing now is I added a map in satellite image form. That's thanks to Google Maps, and the image is linked to that site. Then I discovered a really cool feature they now have on their maps -- a street view. It works for us. Looking at the Google streetviewdoes indeed show our building.
Note a minor weakness in their mapping (a problem with other sites as well). Our building is 255 Washington Avenue Extension, but mapping that gives you the wrong location -- too far west. Mapping 225 Washington Ave. Ext. puts it right on our building.
I revised some other pages on the personal injury section of the website while I was doing that. The neatest thing now is I added a map in satellite image form. That's thanks to Google Maps, and the image is linked to that site. Then I discovered a really cool feature they now have on their maps -- a street view. It works for us. Looking at the Google streetviewdoes indeed show our building.
Note a minor weakness in their mapping (a problem with other sites as well). Our building is 255 Washington Avenue Extension, but mapping that gives you the wrong location -- too far west. Mapping 225 Washington Ave. Ext. puts it right on our building.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Huge verdict in Albany personal injury case - $3.85 million
What a week! I had a trial in Albany (4/23 to 4/27) on a personal injury case involving a motorcycle - car accident. My client was on the motorcycle. An SUV came across the centerline and drove him into another SUV. Client's foot was partially amputated by the force of the accident itself, and he had a surgical below-the-knee amputation about 12 days later. The jury came back on Friday with a verdict of $3.85 million.
I'll post more about this later, probably on my injury lawyer blog, but I figured I'd just give a short description for now. Photo below gives you some idea.
I'll post more about this later, probably on my injury lawyer blog, but I figured I'd just give a short description for now. Photo below gives you some idea.
Friday, December 15, 2006
For all those who think I'm wonderful ...
In case you think I'm wonderful, there are those who disagree. Our recently fired paralegal has posted her thoughts on us on her MySpace blog (link no longer good). I'm the "asshole" in the story, by the way.
Let's just say that I don't quite agree with everything she wrote, and in particular I didn't know a workplace was supposed to have a specific rule about being on time for work. My general sense is that when you start a new job, you should probably show up early for the first month, and maybe the first year. And you probably shouldn't ask if you can leave early on a repeated basis in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ask for days off in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ... well, you get the idea.
Seriously though, this was a difficult experience for me (I'm sure it was worse for her). Firing someone is not easy. I was thinking about waiting until after Christmas on some notion that it's cruel to fire someone so close to Christmas. It turns out that before Christmas is a good time to find a job, and after Christmas may not be such a good time.
It's also hard to tell someone directly to their face why you're firing them. Somehow it's easier to cross-examine a cop in a courtroom.
Then there's the process of making sure they get all of their stuff and get out, because you just don't want someone who's been fired hanging around or showing up again. So when I found her sweater in the kitchen after she had just left, I figured it was better to get them to her while she was still in the neighborhood than have her come back in later that day or another day.
There's also that question about how much one should blog about one's life on the web. Our former paralegal also posted about her previous job on her blog, where she mentioned she doesn't like doing personal injury work (funny, that's what we do too). You don't really want to have to explain to your new boss why you posted that you didn't like doing the same kind of work for your old boss. So inviting your new boss to be your friend on MySpace, which leads him directly to your blog, might not be the best idea.
Despite all that, I wish her well on her new job and in her life. Seems like a decent person, but just not right for our office. Hopefully she learned from this experience ... and doesn't invite her new boss to be her MySpace friend so he/she can read her blog too.
Let's just say that I don't quite agree with everything she wrote, and in particular I didn't know a workplace was supposed to have a specific rule about being on time for work. My general sense is that when you start a new job, you should probably show up early for the first month, and maybe the first year. And you probably shouldn't ask if you can leave early on a repeated basis in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ask for days off in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ... well, you get the idea.
Seriously though, this was a difficult experience for me (I'm sure it was worse for her). Firing someone is not easy. I was thinking about waiting until after Christmas on some notion that it's cruel to fire someone so close to Christmas. It turns out that before Christmas is a good time to find a job, and after Christmas may not be such a good time.
It's also hard to tell someone directly to their face why you're firing them. Somehow it's easier to cross-examine a cop in a courtroom.
Then there's the process of making sure they get all of their stuff and get out, because you just don't want someone who's been fired hanging around or showing up again. So when I found her sweater in the kitchen after she had just left, I figured it was better to get them to her while she was still in the neighborhood than have her come back in later that day or another day.
There's also that question about how much one should blog about one's life on the web. Our former paralegal also posted about her previous job on her blog, where she mentioned she doesn't like doing personal injury work (funny, that's what we do too). You don't really want to have to explain to your new boss why you posted that you didn't like doing the same kind of work for your old boss. So inviting your new boss to be your friend on MySpace, which leads him directly to your blog, might not be the best idea.
Despite all that, I wish her well on her new job and in her life. Seems like a decent person, but just not right for our office. Hopefully she learned from this experience ... and doesn't invite her new boss to be her MySpace friend so he/she can read her blog too.
Friday, August 19, 2005
New blog -- Albany Injury Lawyer blog
I decided to try out typepad and created a new blog there. We'll see if I like that better. I'll try to focus the injury posts on that blog.
Albany Injury Lawyer
My practice is a bit diverse, with a heavy volume of relatively low revenue speeding tickets, some moderately higher revenue dwi and criminal defense cases.
The biggest revenue opportunity for someone in my type of practice is personal injury cases. This includes car accidents and a variety of other accidents. Because there is so much revenue potential, there is a lot of competition as many lawyers want to do this kind of work and get in on the revenue stream. A simple car accident case with relatively minor injuries (like a rib fracture) can generate a fee of $5000 or more. Compare that with $250-400 for a traffic ticket or $1000 for a DWI. A good case can lead to fees of $25K and up. And the best cases, which are quite rare, lead to fees in excess of $100K. If you just get one of those cases a year, you'll do pretty well.
As an injury lawyer in Albany, NY, I see competition from big TV advertisers and a variety of lawyers advertising in the Yellow Pages. Different firms have different approaches to how they handle things.
The largest TV advertiser is really four actors (they are lawyers) and a staff of retired insurance claims people. The staff process the cases and try to turn them into money. The lawyers rarely go to Court.
Some of the Yellow Pages advertisers really aren't injury lawyers. They get cases in and then refer them to a real Albany injury lawyer. The referrer gets a share of the fee, usually one third of the total fee.
There are some very good injury lawyers in the Albany, New York area. They have great experience and frequently take cases to trial. One of the best was Dick Aulisi. He's now a judge. But there are several others that do a really good job.
There are good lawyers and there are good marketers. I like to think I'm both, though I'm probably a better lawyer than I am a marketer. I haven't gotten many personal injury cases through advertising, though I do get a few through the web. It's another part of the learning process.
The biggest revenue opportunity for someone in my type of practice is personal injury cases. This includes car accidents and a variety of other accidents. Because there is so much revenue potential, there is a lot of competition as many lawyers want to do this kind of work and get in on the revenue stream. A simple car accident case with relatively minor injuries (like a rib fracture) can generate a fee of $5000 or more. Compare that with $250-400 for a traffic ticket or $1000 for a DWI. A good case can lead to fees of $25K and up. And the best cases, which are quite rare, lead to fees in excess of $100K. If you just get one of those cases a year, you'll do pretty well.
As an injury lawyer in Albany, NY, I see competition from big TV advertisers and a variety of lawyers advertising in the Yellow Pages. Different firms have different approaches to how they handle things.
The largest TV advertiser is really four actors (they are lawyers) and a staff of retired insurance claims people. The staff process the cases and try to turn them into money. The lawyers rarely go to Court.
Some of the Yellow Pages advertisers really aren't injury lawyers. They get cases in and then refer them to a real Albany injury lawyer. The referrer gets a share of the fee, usually one third of the total fee.
There are some very good injury lawyers in the Albany, New York area. They have great experience and frequently take cases to trial. One of the best was Dick Aulisi. He's now a judge. But there are several others that do a really good job.
There are good lawyers and there are good marketers. I like to think I'm both, though I'm probably a better lawyer than I am a marketer. I haven't gotten many personal injury cases through advertising, though I do get a few through the web. It's another part of the learning process.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Personal Injury
On my way into work this morning I was thinking about some of my personal injury cases.
One client was just in a motorcycle accident, and lost part of his leg. I've seen him a couple of times in the hospital now. It's sad to see that happen to someone, especially someone you know. He's a great guy, and I'm sure he'll recover well. I've never driven a motorcycle. I've been driven on them a couple times, but this really drives home the point of why I don't want to be on one much. It's nice to have 3000 pounds of steel around you when you get hit by a car.
A couple of my clients in car accident cases are heading for surgery. One on her toe, the other on her shoulder. I worry that some clients may allow the litigation to affect their medical decisions. With one client in particular, I have strongly encouraged a second opinion before the surgery. If the surgery is a good choice you should do it, but not if it's a bad choice. It might make your case worth more money, but it won't be that much money and it won't be worth the money.
Personal Injury cases might get you some money, but that money never turns out to be as much as you might think. It will rarely change your life. It might make your life a little better for a short time, and in a particularly good case it might be enough for a new car or even a new house. But in the end, when you think about spreading that money over the next 40 years, it has to be an awful lot to make a profound difference.
One client was just in a motorcycle accident, and lost part of his leg. I've seen him a couple of times in the hospital now. It's sad to see that happen to someone, especially someone you know. He's a great guy, and I'm sure he'll recover well. I've never driven a motorcycle. I've been driven on them a couple times, but this really drives home the point of why I don't want to be on one much. It's nice to have 3000 pounds of steel around you when you get hit by a car.
A couple of my clients in car accident cases are heading for surgery. One on her toe, the other on her shoulder. I worry that some clients may allow the litigation to affect their medical decisions. With one client in particular, I have strongly encouraged a second opinion before the surgery. If the surgery is a good choice you should do it, but not if it's a bad choice. It might make your case worth more money, but it won't be that much money and it won't be worth the money.
Personal Injury cases might get you some money, but that money never turns out to be as much as you might think. It will rarely change your life. It might make your life a little better for a short time, and in a particularly good case it might be enough for a new car or even a new house. But in the end, when you think about spreading that money over the next 40 years, it has to be an awful lot to make a profound difference.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Good Personal Injury Blog
Noticed a good personal injury blog from Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to the blog, it has a great list of other blogs.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Personal Injury and Insurance Defense
I used to work for Allstate, in-house, as an Insurance Defense lawyer. That means Allstate paid me a salary to work in their office, but my clients were Allstate customers.
I noticed a Georgia personal injury blog that discussed the ethical issues for insurance defense lawyers in a couple of recent posts:
One and another.
I saw these pressures in my work. A good example is when the insurance company places a low or zero value on a case when the insurance defense lawyer thinks the case value may exceed the insurance coverage. At least in theory, if the verdict comes in higher than the coverage, the company only has to pay the amount of coverage, and the customer (the lawyer's client) is left to pay the rest. In practice I've never seen a client pay out of pocket in such circumstances, but that doesn't change the lawyer's obligation to protect his client's interests.
The lawyer's obligation there is to make his concerns clear and make whatever record is necessary to protect his client. If the verdict comes in high, the client now may have a claim against the insurance company for "bad faith". The insurance company, which is paying the lawyer's bill (for outside counsel) or his salary (for in-house), does not like it very much when the lawyer advocates for the client against the company. I was nearly fired twice for doing this, and it was a major reason why I left and why I do not intend to do insurance defense work in my practice. Also, they pay crappy for outside counsel.
One thing a lot of plaintiff's lawyers don't realize is that an in-house lawyer faces less pressure than outside counsel. First, it's very easy for them to fire outside counsel. They don't fire you on that case, but they simply stop sending you new cases. Outside counsel have no protection from employment law. As in-house counsel, if you're fired for advocating for your client, you probably have a good lawsuit against the company (tortious interference with the attorney-client relationship, etc.), and the accompanying newspaper articles would be so damaging to the company ("Insurance company fires honest lawyer") that they would probably pay a good severance package to avoid such coverage. Also, a few years experience as in-house insurance defense makes one very marketable, especially to plaintiff law firms who appreciate knowledge of the inside workings of a major insurance company.
I noticed a Georgia personal injury blog that discussed the ethical issues for insurance defense lawyers in a couple of recent posts:
One and another.
I saw these pressures in my work. A good example is when the insurance company places a low or zero value on a case when the insurance defense lawyer thinks the case value may exceed the insurance coverage. At least in theory, if the verdict comes in higher than the coverage, the company only has to pay the amount of coverage, and the customer (the lawyer's client) is left to pay the rest. In practice I've never seen a client pay out of pocket in such circumstances, but that doesn't change the lawyer's obligation to protect his client's interests.
The lawyer's obligation there is to make his concerns clear and make whatever record is necessary to protect his client. If the verdict comes in high, the client now may have a claim against the insurance company for "bad faith". The insurance company, which is paying the lawyer's bill (for outside counsel) or his salary (for in-house), does not like it very much when the lawyer advocates for the client against the company. I was nearly fired twice for doing this, and it was a major reason why I left and why I do not intend to do insurance defense work in my practice. Also, they pay crappy for outside counsel.
One thing a lot of plaintiff's lawyers don't realize is that an in-house lawyer faces less pressure than outside counsel. First, it's very easy for them to fire outside counsel. They don't fire you on that case, but they simply stop sending you new cases. Outside counsel have no protection from employment law. As in-house counsel, if you're fired for advocating for your client, you probably have a good lawsuit against the company (tortious interference with the attorney-client relationship, etc.), and the accompanying newspaper articles would be so damaging to the company ("Insurance company fires honest lawyer") that they would probably pay a good severance package to avoid such coverage. Also, a few years experience as in-house insurance defense makes one very marketable, especially to plaintiff law firms who appreciate knowledge of the inside workings of a major insurance company.
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