Wow, the Las Vegas Sun sure has a low impression of Vegas lawyers. A story in the Las Vegas Sun today reads: "Thieves, drunks and lawyers are why your rates are so high" How are lawyers equated with drunks and thieves? The LV Sun explains:Nevadans also love their personal injury lawyers. According to the Insurance Industry Institute, Nevadans file 39.7 injury claims for every 100 auto accidents. The national average is 24.5.
"Those guys are looking for work," [says Michael Geeser, president of the Nevada Insurance Council and AAA spokesman]. "They have their ads blasting, and as soon as you get in an accident, call one of these guys, and somebody is gonna pay."
Damn it personal injury lawyers, the Las Vegas Sun says you're driving up the insurance rates for all of us. But wait, personal injury lawyers say it's the insurance companies' fault:
(Bill Bradley, a prominent Nevada trial lawyer, said poor claims handling by
insurance companies is a significant cause of high premiums in Nevada.
Rather than promptly and fairly compensating innocent accident victims,
insurance companies delay payments or offer unfair settlements, which requires
victims to hire lawyers, delays eventual settlements and drives up costs,
Bradley said.)
Hmmm . . . I'm confused. Why doesn't the headline say "Thieves, Drunks, Lawyers and Insurance Claims Handlers are why your rates are so high"? Not sure. Also not sure why the LV Sun authors put an entire paragraph/quote within parenthesis. Maybe our readers will be able to clear up who's at fault: the insurance companies or the plaintiff's attorneys.
What's good for the plaintiffs' bar is good for the defense bar.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bradley realizes that insurance claims handlers/adjusters don't work exclusively in one state, right? I have had adjusters who worked multiple states.
ReplyDeleteHis argument is BS.
Of course, 3:28 PM, there's the fact that each state has its own insurance commission which in some states may regulate the process of insurance claims and settlements more closely than others.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders two things: First(ly), in Nevada, where nearly everything runs on "juice," whether the insurance commission is truly focused on the public, or merely on Corporations who want the public's dough. Second, do your insurance company clients know that you spend your afternoons surfing the web while billing them hourly?
Demanding the limits and having the claims agent say no is not bad claims handling. Listening to PI apologists registers a 10 out of 10 on my pain chart.
ReplyDeleteWhen the unrepresented injured party meets with the claims adjuster who offers $800 "for your trouble" that's unconscionable. That's why PI attorneys get the work they do, that's why they demand the policy limit, to get the insurance company to really talk about what's "fair."
ReplyDeleteWhat's unconscionable is getting clients to undergo unnecessary procedures so the attorney can get a payday.
ReplyDeleteSo, 5:29 PM, shouldn't we include physicians in the rogues gallery then?
ReplyDeleteWhat's unconscionable is that I can't sue someone and get $10M then retire. I've worked hard, I deserve my lottery winnings.
ReplyDelete@ 5:50
ReplyDeleteI blame the doctors and the plaintiffs themselves. Just because you got into an accident doesn't mean you get FU money.
My torts professor (I went to a highly ranked law school that most of you couldn't get into) often said that PI law is just another form of social insurance that we all pay into. However, in America, getting injured is like playing the lottery - get hit by an uninsured illegal alien = screwed / get hit by a CEO rollin' a Jag while working = JACKPOT. Just another way to redistribute the wealth. And you guys have to admit, it really awesome when poor people hit the jackpot - they do their best to stimulate the economy as quickly as possible.
ReplyDeleteWhat a system! What a Country!
Hey 9:27 PM
ReplyDeleteI love how you discredited everything you said by starting off as a pompous asshole. Is that the way they teach you to present an argument at your so called "highly ranked law school?"
Sorry University of Phoenix is not a highly ranked law school despite what it says in its advertisements.
ReplyDeleteApparently people have a tough time being objective. The truth is, there are a lot of shady PI attorneys, and a lot of shady adjusters/insurance companies-period. To say that all PI attorneys or all insurance companies are fraudulent or bad is just not true.
ReplyDeleteThe other fact is, that both sides are necessary. Yes, that even means plaintiff's attorneys. Everybody hates them until the day they need one. On the other hand, insurance companies play an important role as well. Do we really want a system with not checks/opposition?
If it wasn't for the PI attorneys, then LBBS would be so busy. :)
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