News You Can Use - Personal Injury

3/8/08 Allstate sues chiropractors and attorneys for fraud in Federal court. Alleging violations of the racketeering laws, Allstate says it was bilked out of $10 Million dollars in claims by a large chiropractic consortium based out of Dallas and the attorneys that accepted cases from them. This is the second foray into Federal Court by Allstate relatively recently alleging fraud against chiropractors. In their first suit they obtained a multi-million dollar verdict against the largest chiropractor in Texas, Accident & Injury Chiropractic. That verdict was reversed on appeal because Allstate did not meet it's burden of proof at the trial level. However, litigation on that lawsuit spread out like wildfire as A&I quickly moved into bankruptcy and sued most of the lawyers doing business with them over the years for fraud against them. In the end, Allstate gained nothing but large legal bills and the satisfaction that they successfully clogged the courts with complex lawsuits where chiropractors and lawyers pay their attorneys of millions of dollars to assert claims of fraud against each other. It is still going on. Isn't this misuse of the courthouse what Allstate and other insurance companies continue to decry? Here we go again...

3/2/08 To go with their demands for higher insurance rates and their record low pay-outs, Allstate and State Farm report a record profit for 2007. Here is Allstate is telling their stockholders: "We made over $4.6 billion in net income, or $7.77 per share. This is our second-highest yearly profit. Shares increased almost 11% over 2006. We increased our dividend for the 13th consecutive year. We finished 2007 with a strong financial position and a high-quality balance sheet." Read more about it in Allstate makes $4.6 Billion and State Farm makes $5.54 Billion.

Farmers Group Inc. is introducing a new automobile insurance policy in Texas that locks in insurance rates for a three-year period, even if a driver has an accident. Farmers Texas County Mutual is calling the policy Farmers Flex. The new policies are effective March 1. Here is the kicker... If claims and claims amounts are declining (and they are) wouldn't you just be locking in a higher premium rate? As claims go down, the Texas Insurance Commission is going to finally force insurance companies to lower their rates. This package is more double talk from the insurance industry.

2/20/08 Texas Supreme Court Rules that Allstate can't own any more car repair companies in Texas. Finally, a Texas Supreme Court Decision that almost makes sense. In an attempt to completely control what can or cannot be fixed in an auto repair claim, Allstate bought up 21 collision repair businesses in Texas. Imagine your car repair expert on the payroll of the insurance company of the person at fault in the wreck. The Texas Supreme Court finally draws a very light line im the sand on our runaway insurance industry and says, "Allstate can't buy any more collision businesses in Texas, but can still operate the 21 it has." Read more about it in Allstate Repair Shop Scam.

Let's put the facts together regarding our runaway insurance industry in Texas from recent news: Insurance companies are reaping record profits, car insurance rates are still going up even when property damage and casualty reports are at record lows, we are paying the highest home insurance rates in the country, insurance casualty service in Texas is rated an "F," our health insurance system is rated next to last in the country, our Supreme Court regularly rules in favor of insurance companies, and insurance companies have become far too powerful in Texas. It is time to roll back some of the tort reform and reign in those insurance companies who have been gouging profits from you and me. All of us should make our voices heard.

2/15/08 Street racing lands 21 year old Texas man in prison for 50 years for having an accident and killing three people during the race. His life is effectively over. This type of activity goes beyond lawsuits for money. It is a crime because it resulted in three people being killed. Read more about it in Street racing is a crime.

2/6/08 Texas and Florida, two of the biggest Tort Reform States, both rate an "F" in property and casualty insurance. Texas has one of the least effective property and casualty insurance systems in the country, according to a new study that gave Texas and four other states a grade of "F." Property and casualty insurance includes liability, hazard, and collision insurance on your home, business, and/or vehicle...

The study, done as a joint project of the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute (both conservative think-tanks) rated all 50 states' property and casualty insurance systems on nine criteria, including how prominent the states' roles are in the auto and home insurance markets and the concentration of insurance companies writing policies in a particular state.

Florida, California, Massachusetts, and North Carolina joined Texas in getting an 'F' grade. Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Vermont got 'A' grades. Read more about it in Texas Insurance Stinks.

2/5/08 ANOTHER SURPRISE! Higher Car Insurance Rates Pushed by Texas Insurance Companies for 2008 based on their quadrupled profit requirements. The Texas Insurance Commission disagrees with their demands, and a hearing is set for June.

2/4/08 Here is a surprise: Recent evidence conclusively shows that buckling your seat belt can save your life! This bears repeating over and over. The car should not move until everyone is buckled. If someone is unbuckled, the car should stop. Read more about it in Some safety rules never change.

1/31/08 It is against the law in Texas to leave your car running without anyone inside. Those who do can be fined, even if the car is found in their driveway warming up. If the law were enforced, car thefts would go down and insurance rates would also.

Read more about it in Texas car warm up law.

1/26/08 New San Antonio Police Department small accident reporting changes puts burden on the drivers to make a report. Apparently, as of January 2008 there has been a change in the procedure at the San Antonio Police Department regarding small auto accidents. In the past, police in San Antonio always accomplished a police report for accidents on the road or on private property if they respond. Now, if the officer believes there is less than $1000 damage, he is not going to make a police report at all. He will give all drivers a copy of the Texas Department of Transportation C-2 Driver's Crash Report and then call it a day. It is then the burden of the drivers to fill out their version of this report and send it to the Texas Department of Transportation. This is going to cause problems. First, our police are given broad discretion on whether there is $1000 property damage. "Let's see, If I think the damage is less than $1000, I don't have to fill out a report... Hmmm..." Next, if all drivers fill out a report, insurance companies are going to have a field day denying legitimate claims and attributing contribution to drivers who ordinarily would not be at fault. Next, if one driver puts in a report and others do not, liability will once again be skewed by the lack of information. Bottom line: If the police officer does not fill out a report, you had better get the other driver's information and make that report or you might have a real problem getting your car fixed or being compensated for your injuries.

1/24/08 New drivers licenses coming for all of us to enhance security. U.S. residents born after December 1, 1964 will have to show new Homeland Security-approved drivers licenses by December 1, 2014 if they want to travel by plane or enter a Federal building, according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Older drivers will have until 2017, he said.

Under the new rules, States don't have to issue the new drivers licenses. However, in a move to twist States' arms to comply, after the deadlines, non compliant States' citizens will not be able to use their driver's licenses as proof of identity at Federal agencies or airlines. Effectively, all of us will have a new, high tech drivers license in the future to help identify potential terrorists. Read more about it in Anti Terrorist Drivers Licenses.

1/24/08 U.S. Supreme Court rules with the rich and deals another body blow to Enron Investors who were already screwed into the ground by the now defunct, criminally fraudulent energy mega-corporation. The Court dealt a blow yesterday to Enron investors who sued major investment banks to recover money lost when the Texas energy giant collapsed amid a massive accounting fraud.

By refusing to review the investors' lawsuit, the court took away what may have been their only hope of keeping the case alive. Stockholders may seek to revive their case in the lower federal courts, though the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has ruled against them before. Enron's demise wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans. Apparently the only people that were interested were in Great Britain because the only news feed I received came from the London News. Read about it in The little guy gets screwed again! .

1/16/07 Texas Ranks Next to Last in the U.S. in Medical Care because of Tort Reform..

Remember all the Insurance Company and Republican Tort Reform people arguing to us that tort "reform" leads to better health care.

It turns out to be not true.

The truth is that patients in states with arbitrary restrictions on their access to the legal accountability system (and Texas is numero uno) are more likely to have worse overall health care.

Using the non-profit Commonwealth Fund's independent ranking of state health system performance, access, and quality, Texas Watch compared states that restrict patient access to the courthouse with those that do not. In every category, it is clear that patients in states that restrict patients' legal rights fare worse than those in states that allow patients to hold wrongdoers accountable.

Here are the key findings of the report.

• 69% of states with poorest overall health system performance (bottom quartile) limit patient access to the courts
• 79% of states with the worst access to health care limit patient access to the courts
• 84% of states with the poorest quality of care limit patient access to the courts

Here are the results for Texas: While special interests hold out Texas as a model for the nation when it comes to Tort Reform, Texas now ranks 49th in overall health system performance, 46th in health care quality, and 51st - dead last - in patient access to health care.

Don't take my word for it. I invite you to download and read the full report at: www.TexasWatch.org/TW/docDownload/11934.

But Texans are paying the highest average premiums for keeping their homes insured.

In 2003, Texas lawmakers promised to do something about Texans paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation. Now, nearly five years later, Texas remains No. 1 in homeowner insurance costs. Consumer advocates claim that Texans now are getting less coverage in their homeowners insurance policies. According to a Dallas Morning News story by Terrence Stutz, a new study from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners showed that "the average annual premium in Texas for the most common homeowner policy was $1,372 a year, considerably more than the nationwide average of $764..

1/16/08 One dead and five injured in San Antonio bus crash. Apparently the Sommerset Independent School District bus failed to slow down in time and crashed into an 18 wheeler. You never know when something like this is going to happen.

1/10/08 Even though 2007 was a record low in insurance pay-outs in Texas, our rates, already the highest in the United States, still went up. 2007 was however the most profitable year ever for insurance companies. The average American family was overcharged by $870 for insurance premiums. Insurance companies make these record profits by overcharging customers, cutting back on coverage, and underpaying claims. In Texas, insurance companies only paid out 34% of the premiums they took in--a record high except for 2004.

Even in years of significant hurricane activity, U.S. insurers are reaping BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in record profits by overcharging for policies, underpaying claims, dumping thousands of coastal customers and shifting costs onto taxpayers. Insurance companies are enjoying a very favorable business atmosphere thanks to tort reform and are making the most of it at our expense.

1/10/08 San Antonio Emergency Responders fail to check the pulse of a 23 year old auto accident victim before presuming she was dead. After it was discovered she was alive, she lingered in pain for hours in the hospital before she died. A strong civil justice system is needed so that people can recover from medical mistakes like this one.

1/9/08 Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an aggressive tort reform advocate in Texas commits fraud while trying to sue an injured worker. The pot calling the pan black. This company has no problem using the laws in Texas to sue someone it believes injured them, but falsified medical evidence twice while trying to win it. Read about it in Hypocrite Insurance Company.

1/3/08 In what seems like an unfortunate wave of the future, a company has put up information for auction on Ebay regarding a potential multi-billion dollar class action suit. I received the initial press release in my office on January 1st, and now there are articles being published about it. Apparently there is some automotive design defect out there that will lead to significant litigation and this "Company" knows about it. It is offering the information for auction to personal injury attorneys, corporations, and insurance companies who want to be on the "Bottom floor" of the money making opportunity. This is awful, but I will nonetheless follow it because the result of the product defect auction may affect you or those those close to you...

12/31/07 Before you start your car, buckle your seat belt and make sure the children in your charge have buckled theirs. If a child takes his off, stop safely and make sure it is put back on. Icy conditions caused a 19 year old to lose control of her truck. It flipped over several times and skidded off the highway. Bethany Perales, 19, died in that accident. She had just taken off her seat belt to buckle in her little brother and was ejected from the truck. Read more at seat belt safety.

12/27/07 Insurance Companies have become far too powerful to the detriment of consumers like you and me. If there is one rule that rings through history it is the Business and Government Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules. Insurance companies in the United States have annual premium rates of one trillion dollars and assets of over six trillion dollars. They cajole, persuade, and buy lawmakers and State insurance regulators. You only have to try to make a claim to see the result. Read more about it at Insurance companies feathering their nests.

12/22/07 Insurance rate increases will be coming next year from almost all major insurance companies in Texas. If you believe all the rights taken away from injured people in Texas by tort reform legislation were going to net you lower insurance rates, you are wrong.

12/22/07 Beware of Using Public Hot spots for computers. This is not really related to personal injury, but if you are computer literate enough to learn about personal injury news from an auto accident attorney's website, you probably also use public networks at it Internet hot spots. Here is a report from USA Today warning you about lurkers who steal passwords and information.

If you're traveling for the holidays, be careful when you use wi-fi hot spots in public places. "Few things expose your computer to greater security risks than latching onto a public Wi-Fi service," USA TODAY reports at: Hot spot Security Issues. "Computer criminals can 'sniff' the traffic in a cafe', or set up a fake hot spot that you might innocently log into. When that happens, watch out: Everything you type goes directly to the host computer, known as an 'evil twin'." The "Twin" is ready to grab passwords, financial information, etc. Some retailers with wireless service are now advertising secure connectivity, which really helps. If you log on and see "https" instead of "http," your connecting is also probably secure. USA TODAY has a sidebar with other tips.

12/19/07 American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) 2007 report riddled with errors, omissions, and exaggerations. In a report just published by ATRA they listed several existing "Judicial Hell Holes" where action needs to be taken to stop what they term rampant abuse. They listed the Gulf coast of Texas and Valley area as one of those places. However, in support of their arguments, they listed a $32 million dollar verdict regarding Vioxx in the wrong County and the wrong year. They used the same verdict in their report last year. In addition, they omitted the fact that the award was reduced to $7 Million. Those facts don't support their conclusions.

Their penchant for Hyperbole to reduce this complicated issue to a sound bite aside, it is this type of bellicose rant that unfairly skews public opinion. Who do you think funds that organization? If you look, you will find ATRA firmly in the pocket of insurance companies and corporate America. In any event, read the Article, Report and what Texas Judges (the people who really know) say about excess verdicts and lawsuit abuse in Texas. Make your own decisions.

Recent Article on 2007 ATRA Report Errors and Overstatements.

Texas Judges say No More Tort Reform.

12/15/07 When Christmas Shopping, Police advise to hide your valuables that you leave in your car. Criminals are roving the parking lots looking for loot. In a recent article published in a Dallas newspaper, police point out that many of us who shop during the holidays leave presents and expensive electronic items out in plain sight in our cars when we are shopping during the holidays. Take a moment to hide them, lock them in your trunk, or better yet, don't bring them at all. An ounce of prevention is far better than a pound of cure in this type of situation.

The attorneys in our San Antonio auto accident law firm are experts on insurance coverage, so I thought I would offer you some "Texas only" advice if someone steals stuff from your car.

There are several types of insurance that could cover you if someone stole items from your car. The first is your car comprehensive insurance coverage. Next, the insurance you are required to keep on your home if you are a normal person and are purchasing it with a mortgage, or your renter's insurance may cover the loss. Finally, if you bought the now stolen items on a credit or debit card with the right type of protection, you may be able to make a claim for the purchase price from your credit card company.

To make a successful claim with any of those insurance policies, you will have to make a timely police report and show some sort of forced entry into your car. If you leave your car open in any way and there is no forced entry, you are probably out of luck. In addition you are going to have to show some sort of proof of ownership of the items stolen. Even if you are successful in getting your claim paid, high deductibles may mean you get far less on the dollar than you actually paid. As a last resort, you can claim un-reimbursed stolen items on your tax return if you itemized as a casualty loss.

It goes without saying (but I am going to say it anyway) that you should not falsify police reports or insurance claims. Both are crimes..

I went on much longer than the article I referenced does. But then, what do you expect from a lawyer anyway? I thought this would be helpful to those who get stuck. It would be awful to lose your Christmas presents. Here is the article: Police warning.

12/14/07 Houston offers an on line defensive driving course for teens and those ordered by any Texas Court to take a defensive driving course. The 6-hour course, approved as a Texas defensive driving course in Texas, teaches safe driving habits, braking, backing, emergency maneuvering, defensive parking, the effects of drinking while driving, and speeding avoidance. The course is set up as an interactive and even has a comedy mode of learning. It is self-paced and you can log in and log out as many times as you like. You can even use your course completion to get your Texas traffic ticket dismissed and course completion may lower your car insurance rates.

The course is available now 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for only $25 payable by credit card, check or debit card. You also need current proof of insurance and a valid Texas drivers license. You can pay on line at any time between the beginning of the course and before taking the final exam.

The defensive driving course is open to all Texas residents and can be completed once in every 12 month period. Qualified driving instructors are available on line for help throughout the course. Read the full story at: Houston Defensive Driving Course Article.

Houston Defensive Driving Course Website.

12/11/07 People driving their autos in Texas without insurance are more likely to be caught and fined. The police will soon be able to tell if you have valid liability coverage just by running your license plate. Liability insurance is mandatory in Texas to protect other people when they are injured in an auto accident caused by the covered driver. Right now, you have to be lawfully stopped before your insurance card can be checked and found to be expired. Under a test program now active in Austin, the one in four drivers currently on the road without insurance can be stopped BECAUSE the computer told the officer the car is without insurance.

The program which has been in the works for two years at a cost of seven million dollars is scheduled to go into effect in San Antonio and statewide in March of 2008. Good news for insurance companies because more people will be buying insurance. Bad news for the violators, but good news for the people who suffer personal injury and car damage in auto accidents due to their negligence.

The average cost of liability insurance for a year for minimum liability coverage couldn't be worth the cost of being caught. Besides the hassle of dealing with the ticket for no insurance, the fine for not having proof of liability insurance in San Antonio is over $250. Then, you are entered into the Texas Drivers Responsibility program and will have to pay a surcharge of $250 each year for three years to maintain your drivers license. That's at least $1000. That does not include the $250 fine you could get for the class B misdemeanor if you have the nerve to show an officer a falsified insurance card.

Still, many irresponsible people just don't buy the insurance and hope they won't be caught. Still others pay a month or two and then slide for awhile. And finally, there is that group of people who have false cards. In Texas you have to show proof of insurance for inspections, when you sell your car, or if you are stopped by the police for any reason, including an accident. In addition, The Texas Property Code doesn't help matters. Most people in Texas are judgment proof because they don't have enough assets to go after in a lawsuit. Many already have bad credit, and are living hand to mouth anyway. These people think, "Why make the effort?" All this combines to leave far too many drivers on the road without insurance.

It would seem that this system will eliminate the need to keep a current insurance card in your car. I wouldn't go there because all of us know that no computer system is going to perfect. There will be data entry mistakes, and data delays that will cause a fully insured vehicle to appear uninsured on the system. In addition, most mainstream insurance companies insure a new car bought by one of it's customers for 30 days after purchase without the owner even informing the company about the purchase. You know that car won't appear insured.

Our advice: Keep on keeping a current card in your car anyway and immediately tell your insurance company about new (or used) car purchases. The hassle of being caught and embarrassed is not worth the tiny effort to keep up what you have been doing for years.

Read the full story and see the video at: Liability Insurance Enforcement.

Here is another more recent and detailed article from El Paso on the subject: El Paso Liability Insurance Article.

12/3/07 Fines are not enough deterrent to get Texas drivers to get auto accident liability insurance. Far too many people are driving out there without liability insurance because they say they can't afford it. One in four drivers in San Antonio are driving without liability insurance. Read the full story at: Fines don't work.

12/3/07 Using a Cell Phone While Driving is just as hazardous as DWI. Nationwide, a 2003 study by Harvard University researchers concluded an all-out ban on cell-phone usage while driving likely would prevent about 330,000 auto-accident injuries and 2,600 fatalities a year. The huge size of this problem is demonstrated by the numbers: The amount of car and truck accidents where cell phones were at least part of the cause is roughly equivalent to those caused by intoxicated drivers. However, because public awareness of drunk driving (DWI) is so much higher than cell phone use while driving, there has not been enough public support to stop or curb abuse. Those texting while driving are six times more likely to cause an accident than those who are on their cell. Most of the problem is due to one or more hands off the wheel and distraction. Efforts to pass laws requiring hands free cell phones in cars or banning cell activity in cars has to this point been roundly defeated in Texas. It looks like the other drivers on the road in Texas are going to be using cell phones. At least you can make things safer for yourself by limiting or staying away from the practice. Read the full story at: Cell Phones cause car wrecks.

12/07 Texas Trial Judges say No More Tort Reform Needed and Jury Awards are actually unusually low. In a recent article in the the December 2007 Texas Bar Journal, the results of a survey of all 389 Texas District Court Judges (303 judges participating making this survey the most participated in history) clearly concluded that juries are handing out awards on the low end almost all of the time. 86% of the Judges said that there is no need for further legislation restricting frivolous lawsuits. The Judges went on to say that most do not see significant numbers of disproportionately high damage verdicts or frivolous lawsuits. In fact, a greater problem, according to the Judges, may be disproportionately low damage awards in light of the evidence presented at trial..

11/26/07 87% of the Texas Supreme Court's decisions are against personal injury plaintiffs in favor of Insurance companies and big business. Lawyers representing insurance companies have the upper hand. Read the full story here: Injured People discriminated against in Texas.

11/20/07 Getting into a drunk-driving car accident is like hitting the lottery. Everyone buys a ticket by drinking, but nobody actually thinks they'll win... or, in reality, lose. A San Antonio native hit the lottery recently by getting into a drunk driving auto accident. His winnings were paid in tears of his survivors. It is too late to get an auto accident attorney for him. Read the full story at: Drunk Driving.

11/16/07 Smoke detectors: get one, you may be seriously injured or life may well depend on it. Helen Madla often wonders what she did wrong to no longer have her husband, her mother and her granddaughter around in her life. While she and her loved ones slept the night of Nov. 25, 2006, fire swept through the Madlas' home on the city's South Side. There were no smoke detectors to warn the four about the fiery danger. "The smoke puts you to sleep," Madla said in an interview Thursday night on KSAT 12 News. Read the Full Story at: Smoke Detectors

11/9/07 Merc. & Co. said Friday it has reached a settlement with the personal injury attorneys representing patients taking Vioxx. Merck & Co. will pay $4.85 billion to end thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its pain-killer Vioxx in one of the largest drug settlements ever. Read the Full Story at: Vioxx Settlement.

Right now, auto insurance companies have the upper hand in Texas over victims of auto accidents. It is no small wonder why those in auto accidents here in San Antonio hire auto accident attorneys. The playing field is just not level. The auto insurance companies will continue to have the upper hand until some of the worst parts of tort reform have been rolled back.

Watch this report regarding what is happening in the state of Washington and see if this rings true for you here in Texas. Unfair Insurance Practices.