THINK BEFORE YOU SUE

THINK BEFORE YOU SUE

You’ve heard this type of thing before – “Had a wreck?  Need a check?  Call 800-screwU2”

I just read today that a Nevada jury ordered insurer Health Plan of Nevada to pay a $270,000,000 fine.  In addition that same jury slapped Sierra Health Services with a $230,000,000 penalty. 

Now you may be thinking, “Good, screw those damn insurance companies and big business.  They’ve been sticking it to consumers for years.”  Not so fast.  THINK long and hard about this.  Read the rest of this article and maybe, just maybe, if you have an IQ above 10, you’ll change your mind.

Before I give you some true stories of lawsuits that didn’t work well for the plaintiff (and there is no shortage of these stories), let me tell you what potentially happens to YOU when a jury or the court issues a huge and outlandish financial judgment.

 

TRICKLE DOWN PENALTY

 

I don’t know of a smart business owner that doesn’t carry liability insurance.  You carry it because there is always somebody out there willing to try and make a quick buck.  Ambulance chasing lawyers love those easy to settle big money lawsuits and most will take them on a ‘percentage of the win’ basis.  No money down for the plaintiff makes it very attractive for the injured party to enter into a legal battle.  

Now for a dose of reality.  Let’s analyze that 270 million banana judgment against Health Plan of Nevada.  Of course, they have liability insurance.  That insurance carries a ‘cap’ of how much the insurance company will pay per incident.  For this scenario, let’s say the cap is a generous $250,000,000.  That means that HPN has to come up with $20,000,000 of its own money.  Where does that money come from?  Starting to figure this out yet?  You got it – YOU.  If you are insured by HPN there will be an increase in rates to pay for that generous jury judgment.  The same applies to Sierra Health Services judgment.  It will eventually work its way down to Joe or Josephine Insured.  

That’s not all.  Joe and Josephine (YOU) will also be paying for that hefty rate increase that will be followed when the liability insurance company for both HPN and SHS raise their rates.  And they will raise their rates.  

That big fine is not looking so good now, is it?

Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for logical lawsuits with a reasonable penalty and lawyers that get a reasonable amount for a fee.  Logical and reasonable are the key words here. 

 

TRUE STORY TIME

 

The following two stories are true.  No names, no places, no dates to protect me from some crap legal beagle that wants to make a quick buck.  

#1

A few years back a man was driving home from work.  He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when a car crossed the interstate lanes and cut a driver short.  SMASH, BANG.  Ambulance sirens, cops, paramedics, fire trucks, and all the rest.  When this man crawled out of his crumpled remains of a jeep, SEEMINGLY unharmed everyone at the scene was amazed.  He should have been dead.  He called his sister to pick him up and went home.  Twenty four hours later, after his body started to relax, the onset of his injuries became more apparent.  He was mangled pretty badly.  It turned out to be back, neck and spine injuries.  He didn’t help himself by not going to get checked at the time of the accident.  

Enter a legal team.  They sent him to a ‘special’ doctor of their choosing.  The doctor sent him to a ‘special’ physical therapy place of his choosing.  He was on pain pills.  His pain got worse.  Bills were mounting and he was off work.  No income.  His legal experts told him he was eligible for additional money for loss of work and pain and suffering.  He could also get money for a new car.  “Don’t worry.  It’s all going to be alright”, he was told.  I learned a long time ago, when somebody tells me “Don’t worry.  It will be alright”, that’s the right time to start worrying.  

Flip 12 months off of the calendar.  During that period he quit going to physical therapy because it was causing him more pain.  He started to feel better and went back to work.  He quit going to the ‘special’ doctor and got off of the meds.  He felt even better.   

All of this was settled out of court.  He got 20K for a new vehicle.  All of his medical bills were paid.  It’s should be noted the lawyer recommended ‘special’ doctor and the doctor recommended ‘physical therapy’ was billed at much higher than standard rates, which may be an indication of a kickback to the lawyer.  He got a meager $6,000 for pain and suffering and 6 months of work lost.  That wasn’t even close to covering for his lost wages.  

When he went to the legal office to pick up his check the lawyer shook his hand and said, “I wish I could have done better for you.”  He also had the secretary cut him a check for an additional $1,000 out of his pocket because the lawyer felt so badly about how it all turned out.  Even after giving this man the additional $1,000 the team ended up with more than $10,000.  

Story #2

This is very similar to story #1 only the female injury victim of this one is now on Social Security Disability Income with no chance of returning to a productive life.  A different law firm on this story but the outcome was nearly the same.  This has a more tragic ending because this once productive member of society is now paid by SSDI, which means, you got it, YOU and I are paying for this.

 

AND FINALLY

 

Please don’t get me wrong, I know some very very good lawyers (none of which are in Washington D.C.).

I also know many other good professionals, but unfortunately, there are sneaks and snakes out there.

There are two solutions that will fix what you just read:

    1)     TORT REFORM – Putting caps on judgments.  It’s that old thing called ‘common
     sense’, which is no longer so common.

    2)    THINK BEFORE YOU SUE – because there is a good chance that whatever you get
     the lawyer will get more.  

If you want sue G.M., Wendy’s, McDonalds, Ford, Firestone, Goodyear, Toyota, Honda, and Walmart.  After all, they’re big companies with lots of money.  But before you run to that lawyer, just remember the TRICKLE DOWN PENALTY and in the end YOU, your kids, grandkids, relatives, friends, and neighbors are going to pay for it.   Now go enjoy your new found money.  

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