California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog

Seat Belt Excuses

I have heard a lot of doozies, but some of these take the cake. The Sacramento Bee is reporting on seat belt enfocement in Roseville, CA. The Roseville PD heard some great excuses, including that the doctor told someone not to wear a seatbelt. WOW!

It is very simple: when you get in the car, you put on your seat belt BEFORE you turn on the car. Just make sure everyone makes the seat belt "click" before you even turn on the engine. That way you don't have to worry about someone not having their seat belt on.

Having handled too many claims where someone has been injured or killed for not wearing a seat belt, trust me on this. This one simple act will make a world of difference.

Health Insurance Reimbursement

There is always a question of whether you need to reimburse your health insurer after a collision. The basic scenario: you are struck by another driver. You go to the doctor. Your health insurer pays for your treatment. They then send you a notice saying they are entitled to be reimbursed.

The largest company that handles reimbursements for insurance companies is a company called Ingenix. Ingenix is now being investigated by the NY Attorney General. While the investigation is focusing on what a doctor is reimbursed, it will not surprise me to see a review of the subrogation practices of Ingenix and other health insurers.

I will continue to follow this for you.

Diminished Value of Your Car

Everyone knows the old saying that a car is worth less after a collision. (Notice I am not calling it an auto accident anymore. Why? An accident just happens. A collision is someone's fault. When two cars collide, it is someone's fault.)  The question is can you recover that lost value, and if so, how much is that claim worth?

The simple answer is that you can recover that lost value. The problem is that it becomes a cost/benefit analysis. Does the benefit of making a claim outweigh the cost? For example, if the lost value is $500 and the cost is $600, it does not make sense. If the lost value is $10,000 and it will cost $1,000, then it probably does make sense.

So, if you decide that it makes sense to pursue, how do you determine the lost value. The first step should be to consult this website, a free tool to determine the lost value, or diminished value, as they like to call it. Once you have an idea about the value, you may want to submit it to an insurance company and make the claim. If they deny it, you would then need to retain an expert and you can determine the cost/benefit at that point.

By the way, you may have to educate the adjuster about your ability to recover diminished value.   

Farmers, Small Claims Court and SHEESH!

Farmers Insurance is at it again! Yep, good old Farmers. Farmers, apparently, "Gets you back where you belong." Well, maybe it should be "Gets in you the back all along." (Hmmm....anyone see a future career writing jingles?

I have a client who could not settle her case with Farmers. She filed a lawsuit against their insured in small claims court. The judge ruled in her favor and a judgment was mailed out. Simple enough. Thirty days elapsed and no reply from Farmers. I told her to wait a few more days to see if the check was in the mail.

Well, it turns out that Farmers left her a message thirty seven days after the judgment came down. Farmers decided, instead of paying her, to pay the court. (A defendant who loses can pay the court in small claims court.) It will cost them an extra $25. Not a big deal, right?

Well, the catch is that the court will hold the check for 30 days. Then, it will take 4 to 6 weeks to issue a new check to my client. The result: my client doesn't get her money for 90 to 120 days after the judgment.

Why does Farmers do this? Beats me. A few options: 1. Farmers is really desperate to keep its money and needs to earn interest for that extra 30 days. 2. Farmers really doesn't want to help people. 3. Farmers wants to try to discourage people from suing their insureds in small claims court.

SHEESH! Farmers deserves some award for bad service for this nonsense.

The Health Insurance Crisis

Now, it is not often that I get political. And, it is not often that I post cartoons, but today seemed like a good day. Why? Because I received two today.

The first, found here, Download new_yorker_cartoon.pdf,  is a cartoon from "The New Yorker." Pretty funny.

The second one is a YouTube video. Yes, YouTube. This is brought to you by SickofBlueCross. It is a spoof of Monty Python's "Bright Side of Life."

Enjoy!

Allstate Barred in Florida

WOW! Okay, I get that businesses make business decisions based on what they think will happen in the future. (Exhibit A: Ford and the Pinto) But, Allstate has taken bad business decisions to a whole new level.

First, it refused to turn over documents in a case despite a court order. (For the record, a court order is just that - an order. It is not a request, a suggestion or the court asking. It is an order.)

Now, the Florida Department of Insurance has barred Allstate for doing business in Florida because Allstate, wait for it.............................failed to turn over documents. Even the Florida Governor is telling Allstate customers to go find new insurance.

Of course, Allstate was surprised at this decision. (Are they ever not surprised? They constantly seem to be surprised.)

So, a quick recap, Allstate refuses to comply with a subpoena, is barred from doing business and is surprised at this result? Here is a tip for everyone. If you don't comply with a subpoena or a court order, you can lose your business license, be suspended or worse. Allstate, as much as this is going to come as a surprise to them, is no different than the Mom-and-pop dry cleaner or any other business.

I agree with Gov. Crist: Allstate policyholders should move their insurance. You are, clearly, not in good hands!   

Don't Drink and Drive

It is amazing that this has to be said every year. But, new statistics show that the number of people arrested for DUI in California over the holidays is up. The Sacramento Bee is reporting these numbers.

I think the sad part is that the number of fatalities is also up. But read this: "Of the 31 vehicle occupants who were killed over Christmas, 22 were not wearing seat belts."

Now, let me get this straight: not wearing a seat belt can cause you to die in a car collision? I am stunned. Okay, not really. I don't know why people won't wear their seatbelts, but the evidence is clear. Seatbelts save lives.

So, there are two lessons: Don't drink and drive, and wear your seatbelt.

Allstate Refuses to Turn Over Documents

Apparently, Allstate thinks that both a judge and the MO Supreme Court do not know what the law is. Or, at least, that is the position they are taking. In September, Allstate was ordered to turn over documents in a bad faith case against it. The judge set the fine at $25,000 per day. The MO Supreme Court, last month, agreed that Allstate had to turn over the documents. Yet, Allstate still refuses, according to Joe Lambe at the Kansas City Star.

Now, here is the best part. Allstate's attorney says that they have a principled difference and cannot turn them over until someone "says what the law is." Now, all of you reading this probably know that the law is what the court says it is, and it is especially true when the state Supreme Court tells you what the law is. However, Allstate apparently thinks that doesn't apply to it. Interesting. The judge told Allstate that he has told them what the law is, but that, I guess, was not persuasive to Allstate.

I will keep you updated on this. Allstate is fighting awfully hard to keep these documents a secret. My guess is that if the documents become public they will strike a huge blow at Allstate and their image of "good hands."

Don't Fall for the Jury Duty Scam

A new scam is making its way around and it involves the legal system. Con artists are calling people and telling them that they have missed jury duty. In order to avoid getting arrested, you are told that you have to give up your date of birth and social security number. Once they get it, they steal your identity.

Most courts will not call you if you miss jury duty. They will let you know by letter that you missed jury duty with directions on how to fix the problem. It will not include giving them your date of birth or social security number. If you get a call from someone claiming to be with the local court, ask for a number to call them back or hang up and call your local court.

Kentucky Jury Deciding McDonald's Strip Search Case

Fascinating story out of Kentucky. An 18 year old McDonald's employee claims she was made to strip when a caller identified himself as a police officer. The call was a hoax. The employee blames McDonald's for not telling employees that there were a series of these hoaxes around the country. McDonald's blames the employee.

I haven't followed the case enough to take a position. But, here are some people who have, including Kentucky Trial Lawyer Hans Poppe:

1. Video from KY;
2. Hans' blog;
3. The Washington Post story.

Let me know your thoughts on this case.