Author: Angela Leone

A Medical Malpractice Case in Ohio

Medical Malpractice in the operating room certainly led to Keith's worsened condition, but the Ohio Supreme Court decided otherwise.
Keith Theobald was a healthy and fit father of two, until an elderly driver clipped the back of his pick up truck and sent Keith and his car flying over 4 lanes of traffic and into a patch of standing trees. EMT’s quickly arrived at the crash site and found Keith hanging upside down in a tree. He was paralyzed from the chest down. In the hospital, Keith was alert and still had the use of his arms. He and his wife came to terms with his new condition, and were looking ahead to a difficult, but fulfilling life.
Keith’s doctors told him that an operation might be able to improve his condition, so Keith underwent the surgery. Keith woke up from surgery still paralyzed but now he was blind in both eyes and could no longer use his arms. Doctor’s records proved that a series of mistakes made during the surgery led to oxygen deprivation, causing Keith’s blindness and extended paralysis. Keith, now blind and completely paralyzed, needs ‘round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

Ohio Supreme Court Ruling

The Theobalds went to Court and sought to recover damages from Keith’s doctors. Despite the overwhelming evidence of medical malpractice, The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the doctors were immune from any and all lawsuits – no matter what. The Court found that because there were medical students watching and helping during the operation, the doctors who performed the surgery were acting within their realm of state employment as teachers with the University of Cincinnati, and were therefore immune to medical malpractice suits.

That’s right, highly paid doctors and surgeons who agree to assist a State University in teaching med students (without compensation) are considered state employees, just like DMV folks who process our license applications, the road department workers who paint and repair our highways and state prison guards – all of whom get paid directly by the state with tax dollars.

Although these doctors were not being paid like state employees, the Court’s ruling gave them the same immunity from suits that most state workers in Ohio got. Unbeknownst to Keith, by going to these doctors, he was giving up his personal rights to a jury trial in the Court of Common Pleas. The Theobalds were told they had to take the case to the Court of Claims, meaning:

• No jury presence
• State appointed judges that issue rulings for and against the state
• Award cap of $250,000, regardless of severity of damages
• Taxpayers will foot the bill, not the Doctors insurance companies

In the 6-1 decision, called The Theobald Ruling, the dissenting justice argued (unsuccessfully) that the immunity was meant for mistakes that students made, not mistakes that teaching surgeons made. He also argued that patients should be alerted when procedures are to be performed by “state employed” physicians, and that they are indeed surrendering their right to go to Court should something go wrong. The ruling stated otherwise.

In a heartbreaking ending, The Theobalds never saw their day in court. After a lengthy ordeal with the Court of Common Pleas, the Theobalds finally filed suit in the Court of Claims, only to be denied again because the statute of limitations had run out on their claim. Keith and his wife Jacqueline received no compensation for injuries sustained due to medical malpractice, and must now face his injuries with no monetary help from here on out. Is this justice?

If You Believe You are a Victim of Medical Malpractice, You Must Act Quickly!

New Jersey and Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys will continue to fight for victims of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one have been affected by medical malpractice, you need to act soon. Don’t let a statute of limitations be the reason you do not receive due compensation.Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form or call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Man Sentenced for Callous Run-Down

Joseph Genovese, 20, of South Philadelphia.

On May 6th, 2010, Twenty year old Joseph Genoveseof South Philadelphia was sentenced to 7-14 years in prison for callously running down 2 women after a Phillies game on July 10th, 2008. The game was over and the two women, both from St. Louis, were crossing the street at Broad and Curtin on their way to have dinner. Genovese was stopped at a red light three cars back. Genovese, under the influence of marijuana, swerved around the two stopped cars in front of him and sped through the red light, striking down 53 year old Cindy Grassi, and 36 year old Sandra Wacker.

Grassi was killed and Wacker was permanently disabled. The women were both P.E. teachers at an elementary school in St. Louis, and became friendly after discovering their shared loved for the St. Louis Cardinals. The two would follow the Cards to one away game a year. They had made it all the way out to San Francisco before seeing them play at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Grassi’s death and Wacker’s permanent disability are awful tragedies, especially to their families. Yes Genovese will serve jail time, but this doesn’t ease the blow of losing a loved one. Nor does it ease the hardships Cindy Grassi’s family will now have to face without her. In Grassi’s case, a Philadelphia Wrongful Death Attorney could work to recover damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of past and future income, and loss of consortium.
Wacker’s permanent disability will also create hardships for the people that depend on and love her. In this case, a Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney could recover damages for disability, impairment and loss of enjoyment, past and future medical expenses, and life expectancy.

Seek Help from a New Jersey or Philadephia Trial Attorney

If you or a loved one is suffering due to personal injury or wrongful death, do not do it alone. The Philadelphia and New Jersey Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Trial Attorneys at Mininno Law Firm are here to help you. Our team is dedicated to earning you the compensation that you deserve. Contact us for a free consultation or call at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Healthcare Reform: Helping Our Senior Citizens

Healthcare reform is set up to do wonderful things for the long term care industry.
Healthcare reform has been a hot issue for years. It’s obvious that our healthcare system, nursing homes, and long term care facilities are in dire need of help, but figuring out exactly how to provide that help has proven difficult for lots of reasons. But on March 30th, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the final healthcare legislation approved by the senate, wrapping up his momentous effort to enact healthcare reform.
The Legislation was called “The Healthcare and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.” The Act is going to change healthcare, and more importantly, nursing home and assisted living facility care, as we know it. Some changes will not be immediate, but change is coming.

What Do These “Changes” Mean?

Many families are wondering what those changes will mean for our senior citizens; especially for those who may need to enter a nursing home and/or long term care facility. At least one nursing home advocate has strongly supported this measure. That supporter is Cheryl Phillips, MD, president of the American Geriatrics Society. Ms. Phillips is excited about what healthcare reform means for our elderly citizens, saying:

“All told, healthcare reform includes numerous, important provisions that will improve elder healthcare now and in the future, and support geriatrics careers. The AGS has long advocated for these provisions.”

There is a substantial list of changes coming to nursing homes and long-term care facilities after the enactment of healthcare reform. Some of those changes include:

• Long Term Care Insurance – Under the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS), all Americans will be automatically enrolled in a long term care insurance program. This insurance can be used by seniors who need to be placed into an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Citizens will have the ability to opt out of the program. If they choose to stay enrolled in the program, citizens will start paying a premium immediately and will be able to benefit from the program after contributing for 5 years. The yield is expected to be about $50.00 a day.

• Patients will immediately begin receiving rebates for prescription drug costs that fall into the Medicare Part D gap. Overtime, the gap will be phased out entirely.

• Drug manufacturers will be forced to provide discounts on brand name drugs.

• Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act – this nursing home and assisted living facility act will require that nursing homes provide consumers with plentiful and up-to-date information about the quality of care nursing homes provide. These standards will address the prevention of bed sores and pressure ulcers in nursing homes; address fall protection to prevent injuries from falls; and provide seniors in nursing homes with quality of life standards. This is a massive weapon in the fight against sub-par care standards in nursing homes and long term care facilities. The AARP has called this bill “one of the most significant nursing home reform initiatives in two decades.”

• Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act – this will create a national system of background checks, to prevent nursing home employees with criminal backgrounds from working in the long term care setting. This Act is designed to protect nursing home abuse, physical assault and sexual assaults by staff members.

This is just a brief list of the many changes headed for nursing home and assisted living facility care. Advocates of nursing home care reform are thrilled by the imminent changes, looking forward to an increased quality of care and decreased instances of nursing home negligence and nursing home abuse. These healthcare changes will hopefully do wonderful things to prevent nursing home abuse so our senior citizens can get the care they deserve.

Has Nursing Home Abuse or Negligence Affected You?

If you or a loved one has suffered the effects of nursing home negligence or abuse, the attorneys at Mininno Law Office are here to help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at 856-833-0600 in New Jersey or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Nursing Homes: A Cure For Incontinence?

Electronic Underpants could bring an end to incontince related complications in nursing homes.

We at the Mininno Law Firm are advocates for health and safety in nursing homes. We applaud any and all uses of technology that could improve the quality of life for patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers. Anything these facilities can employ that will help prevent bedsores, patient falls, and prolonged pain or discomfort , is something this firm stands behind. That is why we post this blog about a new technology that could potentially end patient complications due to incontinence.

The product, developed in Australia and focused on incontinence management, could change the way elderly citizens are cared for. Simavita, a “company established to develop solutions that improve quality of life across the global spectrum,” has been developing the product for the last ten years. Simavita’s “SIMsystem” is a new continence aid that will revolutionize the way caretakers handle patient continence. SIMsystem, or Smart Incontinence Management System, will work towards four separate goals:

1. To limit the time patients spend in soiled undergarments.
2. To limit the time caregivers spend on incontinence management.
3. To use the data collected by the SIMsystem to schedule bathroom visits to eventually prevent events on incontinence.
4. To limit costs for facilities on incontinence consumables.

How Does it Work?

The product is, in laymen’s terms, a pair of electronic underpants. Under a disposable pad lies a sensor strip that measures frequency and level of incontinence. Ultimately, the use of the sensor strip is imperative to prevention of incontinent events. The entire system works as a 4 step process through the SIMserver.

1. An incontinent event is read by the SIMbox.
2. The event is recorded on the computer at the time that it occurs.
3. The caregiver is notified over the facilities paging system, or via SMS text message to a mobile phone or pager.
4. The caregiver tends to the patient implementing required procedure, and the intervention is recorded via the SIMbox.

The Chief Executive of Simavita, Phillipa Lewis, says:

“Incontinence Management is a key area in which innovative technologies can benefit aged care. We developed SIMsystem to provide greater comfort and dignity to the elderly while aiming to significantly lower costs for aged care facilities.”

When asked about the safety of the product, Lewis called the product “completely safe,” using very low power as well as the accepted form of wireless technology for body worn products. Some naysayers have commented on the ethics of the new invention, claiming that the tracking portion of the system is an invasion of privacy that may work to diminish dignity, rather than the opposite.
In the end, however, it seems that removing patients from incontinence pads and gaining them some form of freedom does much more to build dignity than the tracking does to take it away.

Incontinence is a very time consuming aspect of a nurse or caregivers job. It’s often necessary to for caretakers to check for incontinence upwards of ten times a day. The SIMsystem will potentially cut the time spent on incontinence management in half, freeing up time to pay attention to other dire needs of patients.
With this new technology, currently being used only in care facilities in Australia, the quality of life for elderly patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers will gradually and greatly improve.It’s not really clear how long it will be before the SIMsystem is being used world wide, but hopefully, it will be soon. Far too many of our elderly citizens are being victimized by their own incontinence, and by nursing home attendants not providing the proper care and attention.

Has Your Loved One Been Victimized by Nursing Home Abuse?

If you or a loved one have suffered from this kind of negligence at a nursing home or care facility, you need help. A New Jersey trial attorney will help you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia for a free consultation.

We Have A Winner!

Before announcing the winner, the members of The Mininno Law Firm would like to officially thank and congratulate all five participants: Scott Bass, Jessica Dochney, Leyla Wirtz, Albertine Shain, and Nia Holsten. You should be very proud of yourselves and the essays you presented for the contest. You should also thank your friends and family for the support they gave each of you. There were thousands of votes that were logged.
At first, Scott Bass’s and Leyla Renee Wirtz’s contingents made them both very strong and early favorites. Then as the voting went along, while the others were receiving consistent votes, the Bass Team was outdoing them but a wide margin. Just when it appeared that it would be a Bass Team vote landslide, Jessica Dochney entered the contest and received tremendous early and strong voter support, as did Leyla Renee Wirtz.

While everyone continued to receive consistent support, just a few weeks ago, it looked like a three person race with the Bass Team leading, the Wirtz Team second and Team Dochney a bit behind in third. That’s when the “Albertine L. Shain rally” began.
As late as two weeks ago, Shain’s vote was just 7.7% of the totals – that’s when the entire dynamic of the contest changed. Since that time, Team Shain continued to show late and overwhelming support, which dramatically altered the results of the popular vote.

The final popular vote was much closer than it had been during the entire contest. Because the popular vote was so close, the judging the final essays on a comparative basis became even more important. This judging was the hard part. I heard discussions between the judges about voice, style, grammar, a concise and clear argument, staying on topic, enthusiasm and overall presentation of subject knowledge.
The judges debated these ranking and ratings for several hours and then presented me with their own ranking results. I then tallied up the percentage rank from the popular vote and the percentage rank from the judge’s vote and added the two percentages together… The results were within a few percentage points of each other… but Albertine Shain is our winner!

Congratulations to Albertine Shain!

To the others, your essays were all well written and showed an advanced knowledge of our justice system. I really enjoyed reading them, your friends and families’ comments and seeing the great support each of you received. Believe me, the contest was “THE HOT TOPIC” of discussion among us here at the Mininno Law Office this last month. You all worked very hard and it showed. My only regret is that there could be only one winner.
Thank you to all of the participants and good luck in future endeavors. I will be happy to write a letter of reference for any of you if you ever need one. Please let me know if you would like any confidential feedback from our judges on your essays. We may run another contest in the fall, so please keep checking back.

Vehicle Safety: New Legislation May Make Cars Safer

vehicle safetyIn light of the recent Toyota automobile recalls, a new legislation proposal released Thursday by The Energy and Commerce Committee is focusing on auto safety. Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif) released the draft, which could ultimately form the basis of legislation that will strengthen vehicle safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The New Jersey and Philadelphia trial lawyer strongly support this legislation. Fortunately, Lawmakers vowed to address auto safety after Toyota recalled over 8 million vehicles for varying reasons, including accelerating, braking, and power steering.

What Changes Will be Made?

The proposed legislation includes a few drastic changes to auto safety laws currently in place. Perhaps the biggest change would be the installation of Event Data Recorders in all new cars and trucks. Event Data Recorders are more commonly known as “black boxes,” and they make it easier to reconstruct events leading up to crashes. This black box data is another innovation that has been urged by New Jersey and Philadelphia trial lawyers.
Also included is the elimination of a cap on civil penalties that automakers face. Additionally, legislation would allow the NHTSA to immediately recall any automobile, upon finding “imminent hazard of death or serious injury.” The responsibility to recall currently falls on the shoulders of the automakers themselves, which is why it’s no surprise it took Toyota so long to officially make them.

The plan creates a $3 “vehicle user fee” to help fund the NHTSA, an entity that safety groups say is severely underfunded and ill-equipped to investigate serious safety issues. This group ensures that the existing engineering and technology that is available to automakers is actually used by automakers to make our cars safer. The fee would eventually increase to $9 in the programs third year. The plan intends to require a U.S. auto executive to verify information submitted to the NHTSA in response to an investigation. Any executive caught submitting false information could be fined as high as $250 million.
Finally, the new legislation aims to require new safety standards related to brake override systems, the prevention of pedals getting stuck in floor mats, and vehicle electronics. Waxman’s committee is expected to hold a hearing next week, and congress will consider the legislation later this year.

Have You Been Injured in a Car Accident?

Auto safety is a matter of grave importance, and legislation to help increase that safety is surely welcome. Unfortunately, no such legislation exist and car manufacturers do not have the incentive to make cars safer. As a result, everday people get unnecessarily hurt because of vehicle crashes due to defective vehicles. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss due to a defective vehicle or negligent driver, it is imperative that you seek legal advice. The team at Mininno Law Firm is here to help you.
Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us for a free consultation: (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Medical Malpractice Payments at an All Time Low

Amidst all the talk of so called tort reform and “frivolous lawsuits” comes a study by the Public Citizen, a non profit organization based in Washington D.C. that represents consumer interests through lobbying, litigation, research, and public education. The study illustrates the decline in medical malpractice payments since 1999.
In 2008, the number of malpractice payments was the lowest it’s been since the formation of the federal government’s National Practitioner Data Bank, which has tracked medical malpractice payments since 1990. 2008 was the third consecutive year that medical malpractice payments sunk to an all time low.

Unfortunately, the decline in payments has nothing to do with a reduction in medical errors and everything to do with the increase in the number of victims not being compensated. This also means that there are fewer incentives for doctors and nurses to reduce errors. According to a 1999 study done by the Institute of Medicine entitled “To Err is Human,” an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 hospital patients are killed every year due to avoidable medical mistakes.
Yet fewer than 15,000 malpractice payments were made in 1999. Those numbers DO NOT include the number of patients who suffered serious, non-fatal injuries. The large gap between the victims and the compensated has likely grown larger since 1999, as there is no evidence that any meaningful improvements to medical safety have been made.

In a series of graphs and charts, the Public Citizen thoroughly demonstrates the fall in malpractice payments in the last decade. In five years, there was a loss of 3,336 medical malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians. That means that while the number of victimized patients was rising, the number of those patients being compensated was falling. Studies since the 1970’s show that medical errors greatly outnumber lawsuits.
Perhaps the kind of reform that would greatly reduce the legal liability of our health care system is not the kind of reform that’s needed. It seems that medical errors are shockingly prevalent. Problems should be fixed at their source. Eliminating medical errors, rather than reforming our tort system, should be a goal of priority.

It’s been easy to drum up support for so called tort reform by blaming our health care woes on medical malpractice cases and “junk lawsuits,” but the numbers tell a very different story. In 2006, medical malpractice payments accounted for between .18 and .58 percent of all health care costs. 2006 is the most recent year with all of the necessary information available to make these comparisons.

Medical malpractice is a very serious issue, and something that is affecting patients everyday. Most doctors are wonderful and care tremendously for their patients. They are careful and follow well established rules of the medical profession to prevent errors.
However, a very small minority are not so caring and do not follow the rules. It is the mission of a trial attorney to represent those victimized by medical malpractice and earn them the compensation they deserve.

The trial attorneys at Mininno Law Firm want to help you get the compensation you deserve. If you or a loved one have recently suffered due to medical malpractice, you must act quickly! A two year statute of limitations can prevent you from being able to hold liable those who have harmed you.
Contact the Mininno Law Firm or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Don't be Fooled, Pressure Ulcers are Preventable

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel is an entity that serves as the authoritative voice for improved patient outcomes in pressure ulcer prevention and treatment through public policy, education, and research. On March 3rd of this year, the panel released notice that their recent consensus conference, held at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, determined that there are indeed unavoidable pressure ulcers.
The panel was comprised of 24 specialists in medicine, geriatrics, surgery, specialty nursing, physical therapy, and also included dieticians. The panelists concluded that there were two instances in which the development of a pressure ulcer could not be avoided.

1. Refusal of the patient to participate in his or her own pressure ulcer prevention.
2. Certain clinical conditions such as hemodynamic instability (abnormal blood movement) or skin failure.

We at the Mininno Law Firm see these findings certainly as reasons that pressure ulcers do form, but in no way reasons that their formation is unavoidable. From the beginning of treatment, a vital key to pressure ulcer prevention is assessment. Doctors and caretakers must assess the condition and needs of a patient. Following assessment, the next vital step is planning. If it is determined that a patient suffers from hemodynamic instability, they are therefore more susceptible to pressure ulcers, and additional plans must be made to actively prevent those pressure ulcers from forming.
If a patient refuses to be moved or turned, a doctor or caretaker must then implement additional skin protection strategies. The higher the risk, the more attentive their care must be. A patient that refuses to be turned could also be placed on a special pressure distributing mattress that helps prevent bed sores and pressure ulcers.

Pressure ulcers are a dire affliction that must be promptly treated as they could quickly cause other serious complications to a patient’s health. If you or a loved one is suffering or has suffered from the formation of a bedsore or pressure ulcer, do not hesitate to call for help. The trial lawyers at Mininno Law Office are here to provide the help and representation you’ll need to be compensated.
Contact us or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Trial Lawyers have Made for Safer Vehicles

Recently, so called Tort Reform has been a major topic of discussion. Tort Reform has a very large following of pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, HMO’s, and defective food and beverage companies. These billion dollar corporations spend their profits on lobbyist and marketing campaigns in order to convince us all that most lawsuits brought to court are “frivolous,” and that payouts are “outlandish.”
This so called Tort Reform aims to restrict lawful recoveries for victims of things like medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, or defective product injuries. It also aims to make it harder to hold accountable companies that cause harm to consumers.

But if it wasn’t for trial lawyers and their litigation of these “frivolous” cases, the vehicles that we drive would not be what they are today. Cars today are loaded with countless safety features that, before litigation, did not exist. Below are 11 features of your vehicle that were improved after a court deemed it mandatory.

1. Gas Tanks – Manufacturers, like GM and Ford, designed vehicles with defective gas tank placement. The placement caused fires and explosions, even in the most minor collisions. Due to litigation, gas tanks are now universally located within rigid frames.

2. Door Handles – Ford’s own engineers cited that their paddle style door handles accidently opened in collisions. Ford continued to cover up the problem, until finally a court held them accountable and forced them to fix the issue.

3. SUV Stability – SUV stability has always been an issue. Ford’s rollover rate, at one time, was twice that of any other SUV. After injury and death, litigation increased emphasis on the development of Electronic Stability Control.

4. Airbags – Airbags have been being designed since the 1950’s, but by 1988, only 2% of new cars were made with them. Eventually, courts made in mandatory to manufacturer all new vehicles with airbags.

5. Faulty “Park” – Ford and Chrysler both experienced issues with transmissions that slipped out of Park and caused cars to roll away. In Ford’s instance, it caused the death of a pregnant woman trying to save the life of her four year old daughter inside the rolling minivan. Ford fixed the error after being held liable twice in court. Chrysler continued to ignore the problem until litigation forced a recall of over 1 million affected vehicles.

6. Tires – Firestone and Goodyear tried to hide defective tire problems for years before courts finally held them accountable. Firestone tires were responsible for 271 deaths before they were finally recalled.

7. Side-impact Protection – a police officer was paralyzed after a low-speed side impact collision. The court found that the absence of side protection was a vehicle defect. Now all cars are equipped with side-impact protection.

8. Weak Seats – Seats were not made strong enough and were collapsing during collisions, killing rear passengers. It was litigation that forced manufacturers to begin installing stronger seats in all vehicles.

9. Seatbelts – Court cases did a lot in bringing to light the dangers of inferior seatbelts, or no seatbelts at all. For example, Chryslers Gen 3 seatbelt was installed in over 14 million cars and proven to unlatch in accidents. Litigation forced Chrysler to redesign both seats and seatbelts.

10. Power Windows – Power windows became more common, and so too did associated injury and death. Children were especially susceptible because of accidently hitting the rocker style switch that moved the window up or down. The inexpensive solution would have been to replace the rocker style with a lift up style. The solution was ignored to cut costs until litigation forced universal acceptance of the safer switch.

11. Roof Strength – The strength of car roofs was known to be in need of improvement, but only litigation actually made it happen.

Thanks to these cases being brought to court by trial lawyers, judges and juries were able to hold the right parties responsible for unnecessary injury and death, and also reverse the problems to prevent future loss. Trial Attorneys are essential to maintain a balance between consumers and manufacturers.

If you or a loved one feel you have been wronged by a medical malpractice, insurance company, or defective product manufacturer, you’ll need a trial attorney. The trial attorneys at Mininno Law Firm are here to help. Contact us or call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Are You Insured by the Worst Insurance Company in America?

A short time ago, we posted a blog about homeowners’ insurance, and things homeowners should know before filing a large claim. It got us to thinking. What else is wrong the insurance industry? Why are there so many bad faith insurers out there? Why do we have to feel so threatened by companies we pay to protect us? Why do you need a New Jersey trial lawyer to protect you against an insurance carrier?

In a report done by the American Association for Justice, the top ten worst insurance companies for consumers have been discovered. After lengthy research into court documents, reports filed by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities Exchange Commission, country wide news accounts, and testimony from former agents and adjusters, the AAJ has provided a great deal of information that will ebb our faith in some of the nations leading insurance companies.

The List

10. Liberty Mutual
9. Torchmark
8. UnitedHealth
7. Farmers
6. WellPoint
5. Conseco
4. State Farm
3. AIG
2. Unum
1. Allstate

Reporting each discretion of each bad faith insurance company would take quite some time, so we’ll talk about the one company that stood out above the rest, Allstate Insurance Company. Perhaps it was their mission that set them off on the wrong course. According to CEO Thomas Wilson, “[their] obligation is to earn a return for [their] shareholders.” Said differently, “We put profits over the people we are supposed to insure.”
Unfortunately, shareholders (mostly large financial institutions and hedge funds) and policyholders (the little guys) are not the same people, and while corporate shareholders may be earning profits , many times policyholders are being cheated. Publicly, Allstate’s slick advertising campaign claims their insured will be put you in “good hands.” Privately, agents are trained to employ “boxing gloves,” an aggressive litigation strategy that aims to deny claims at all costs.

They use a secret claims evaluation software called “Colossus” to make lowball offers to victimized customers looking to receive the help they’ve been paying for. Adjusters are trained in the “3 D’s,” to deny, delay, and defend. A common tactic is to employ a “sit and wait” strategy, which Allstate’s research knows increases likelihood that claimants will just give up. Adjusters say they were rewarded for keeping payments low, even if they had to lie to their clients to do so. Adjusters were even rewarded for such actions! For example, one former adjustor told the AAJ that he won a prize (i.e., a portable refrigerator) for wrongfully trying to deny fire claims by blaming arson.

Complaints to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners against Allstate amount to a number greater than almost all of its major competitors. After Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Department of Insurance received approximately 1,200 complaints against Allstate, almost double its competitor State Farm, and State Farm held a larger share of the market!

Maryland fined Allstate upwards of 18 million dollars after they raised premiums and changed coverage without alerting policy holders. In Texas, Allstate has to pay 70 million dollars to homeowners after overcharging for insurance. In Florida, Allstate is in trouble with regulators because they’ve dropped over 400,000 customers since 2004, and it appears to be because they are homeowners’-insurance-only customers. Florida law prohibits this practice.

So why work so hard to rip people off? To boost the bottom line of course!
Allstate profited $4.6 billion in 2007. It’s CEO, Thomas Wilson, made $10.7 million that year. His predecessor, Edward Libby, made $18.8 million, plus an additional $25.4 million in retirement benefits. The less they payout, the more they take in.

New Jersey Trial lawyers

New Jersey Trial lawyers are a necessity to you if you are being cheated by your insurance company. While bad faith insurance companies work ‘round the clock to limit your recoveries, New Jersey Trial lawyers work ‘round the clock to increase your recoveries.
If you are currently being low-balled by your insurance company for damages they should be covering, call the New Jersey Trial lawyers at Mininno Law Firm. They are here to help you receive the compensation you need and deserve. Contact us or call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.