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Beware of any Group Disability Policy

Ben Glass — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:57:00 GMT

Many professional athletes find themselves doing battle with their sports group disability plan insurance carrier.

In 2006, an appeals court awarded the estate of former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster more than $1.5 million in disability pay from the plan. It was the first successful challenge of the plan's rules and it has given hope to many of the players who feel left out.

While this is a victory for the players, I can tell you that any athlete seeking disability pay from these plans faces an uphill battle.

Most group long term disability polices (those offered by employers) stink. If you can afford to, and you want real disability insurance, you should be talking to a broker about a private/individual policy.

Most group policies aren't worth the paper they are written on because:

1. The protect you if you can't work in your own occupation for only 2 years.

2. If any part of your disability is caused by a mental or nervous disorder, the limit is generally 2 years. (And the disability insurance companies will do their best to lump your disability into the mental and nervous box.

3. Group policies are governed by ERISA. This means, generally, that the insurance company's decision on your claim is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and can only be reversed by a court for an abuse of discretion. This means you have to show that they are really, really wrong.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Virginia Board of Medicine Reprimands Doctor after Lawsuit-A Case That DID Make a Difference

Ben Glass — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:45:47 GMT

The Virginia Board of Medicine has issued a formal reprimand to a doctor who has now promised to refer to a specialist any patient who has complaints of rectal bleeding.

In a case handled by our office several years ago, a Virginia jury awarded $1 million to a patient whose complaints of rectal bleeding and abdominal discomfort went were diagnosed as hemmorhoids for years.

According to the Board of Medicine's order, Alan Joshua, MD has "read additional literature" about colo-rectal cancer and no longer performs flexible sigmoidoscopy or anoscopy on patients with rectal bleeding. Instead, he refers them to colo-rectal surgeons for evaluation.

At trial, specialists testified that had this patient been seen by a specialist earlier, he could have avoided massive rectal surgery that left him injured for life.

The Board of Medicine's Order Reprimanding Dr. Joshua and making Virgina safer is here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Dish Network Virginia Child Molestation Case--Every Parent's Nightmare

Ben Glass — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:57:09 GMT

Every parent's nightmare.

You call the cable or satellite installer and you let them into your house. You don't know it but the installer is a convicted child molester. Easy to check that out these days..you would think.

A case is brewing in Virginia where the allegations are that this Dish Network installer, complete with (as the judge put it) pornography, sex toys and "cheap children's bracelets" arrived at the house to do his work.

The child was in a room different from the room the installer was working in. In a very short time, however, he assaulted her. He is now serving 20 years for that crime.

The family sued for damages the child sustained. When sued, Dish Network tried to have the case removed from state court to federal court, alleging that the family and the offender were citizens of two different states. Judge Henry Hudson, of the Eastern District of Virginia, rejected the removal petition as he found that the evidence was overwhelming that the child molester lived in Virginia. You can see Judge Hudson's full opinion in the Dish Network child molestation case here.

Ultimately this case will revolve around whether Dish Network knew or should have know (by checking more carefully, the family will contend) that this guy was a child molester and that it might not be a good idea to give him a job where he travels alone to houses where children live. Hopefully for the family they wont' be traumatized again by a long litigation process.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Can Virginia's Birth Injury Fund Survive?

Ben Glass — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:26:00 GMT

Investment holdings used for the purpose of ensuring that babies born in Virginia that are catastrophically injured due to medical malpractice during childbirth have lifetime medical payments have lost nearly $35 million since the beginning of 2008.

Just since September 30, investments held by Virginia’s Birth-related Neurological Injury Compensation Fund have shrunk to $166.5 million from $186 million as of October 15.

The birth-injury program, which is based out of Richmond, provides eligible children with lifetime medical benefits. Children who can be proven to have been left with severe lifelong injuries, typically cerebral palsy, due to a loss of oxygen during birth are eligible.

The program’s intent was to be an alternative to medical malpractice suits against obstetricians and hospitals involved in childbirth.

It is believed that the program will last another 20 years, but studies show the promise of lifelong care is becoming more and more doubtful with new children entering the program.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Hulk Hogan Sues His Lawyers: What consumers need to know about car insurance

Ben Glass — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:44:03 GMT

Terry Bollea's (aka "Hulk Hogan") recent lawsuit against his former lawyers at Zuckerman Spaeder, has several very important teaching points for consumers.

Here's the short version of the story. Hogan's son, Nick, was involved in a very serious car crash when he was 17. In fact, his passenger was permanently injured. The Hogan family had car insurance with Progressive Insurance Company. Progressive carried $250,000 of coverage (way too low!!).

According to the a lawsuit that has recently been filed in Florida, after the accident, Hogan did not notify Progressive of the case. Instead, the family hired the Zuckerman Spaeder firm to represent young Nick in any civil claim and any criminal claim that might arise from the accident. The family agreed to pay an astonishing $550 per hour and began to deposit large amounts of money with the law firm, which worked the case to the (ultimate tune of) about $1,500,000 in fees and costs.

Now Hogan is suing is son's former firm alleging, essentially this: you never told me that Progressive would have provided me a defense that would have cost me nothing.

Teaching point #1: yes, that's true...if you cause an accident your car insurance company will pay for your defense.

Teaching point #2: if you cause an auto accident call your insurance company and report it.

What kid graduating from high school in America today doesn't know that??

This will be an interesting case because if the allegations are true these lawyers could be in a heap of trouble.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Josh Hancock lawsuit against bar would not fly in Virginia

Ben Glass — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:50:32 GMT

Apparently the father of Josh Hancock, the baseball player who died recently while driving drunk (and not wearing a seatbelt and talking on the cell phone) has filed suit against a number of entities, including the driver of the car that had stalled on the road, the pickup truck that had stopped to assist that car and the bar where Hancock spent several hours allegedly drinking. I don't know what Missouri law is on the subject but that case wouldn't make it out of the gate here in Virginia.

Here, if you are in any way, even one percent, responsible for your own mishap, you lose. In Virginia, even if the bar served him and he went out and killed someone else, that other person's family wouldn't win against the bar.

Not to minimize his death.. .his death is tragic...this lawsuit is silly.

Maybe his father's time would be better spent telling his son's story to a whole bunch of high school kids.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Dog Bite Law in Virginia

Ben Glass — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:27:22 GMT

What happens if you are bitten or attacked by a dog and suffer injury in Virginia? The answer may depend on what county you live in.

The general law in Virginia is that a dog owner owes no duty to another absent knowledge of the propensity of the dog to attack or bite. This is known as the "common law" duty of a dog owner. We call it "every dog gets one free bite."

However, if your county has adopted a leash law you should be able to win your case by showing that the dog owner violated the leash law.

In analyzing a Norfolk ordinance, the Supreme Court of Virginia said:

The purpose of the ordinance, as we read it, is to protect the public against hazards created by dogs running at large, including the most obvious hazard, dog-bite.

So, if the statute is designed to protect the public, then violation of the statute may give rise to liability even if the owner did not know of the dog's propensity to violence.

In Fairfax County we have an effective leash law which should govern.

FAIRFAX COUNTY CODE (Class 4 misdeamenor)

Section 41.1-2-4 Unrestricted dogs prohibited; leash law (a) No dog shall run unrestricted, as defined in Section 41.1-1-1, in the County. Any person who is the owner of a dog found unrestricted in the County shall be in violation of this Section.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

How CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield Wastes Your Money

Ben Glass — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:52:43 GMT

My family is insured under an individual health insurance policy with CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield here in Virginia. Every so often I get a letter from a law firm called Seidel Subrogation Associates, LLC, which demands information from me, on behalf of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Someone is paying to send out the letters. Probably me since I am a policy holder.

CareFirst has obviously shared some private information with this law firm, and the letter states that "federal law" allows this information sharing.

Ugh?

The letter makes the false claims that

1. My insurance contract requires reimbursement for money received from CareFirst if I subsequently settle a third party tort settlement. (It doesn't--Virginia law expressly prohibits this type of "subrogation/reimbursement" obligation in individual health insurance policies.

2. The contract gives CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield the right to recover payments resulting from accidental injury caused by another person. (It doesn't--same law.)

3. That disclosures about my famiy's medical information that CareFirst has made to this firm is permissible under federal and state law. (How could that be if there are no such provisions in my policy and Virginia law prohibits such provisions?)

No, this isn't a policy covered under ERISA. Yes, I've written to CareFirst and Seidel before pointing this out. Yes, they have both ignored me.

The next time you see an insurance company moaning about rising costs consider how much money they waste every year sending out these letters to thousands of Virginia insureds.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Verdict Against Remicade Manufacturer

Ben Glass — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:41:24 GMT

In the world of drug litigation, a jury in Texas ruled that Centocor Inc. negligently and fraudulently failed to warn doctors and consumers about potential side effects of Remicade and must pay almost 20 million dollars to a woman who claims she developed lupus as a result of using Remicade. Hamilton, et al. v. Centocor Inc., et al., No. 03-60526-4 (Texas Ct. at Law No. 4, Nueces Cty.).

In a 5-1 vote on Dec. 13, the Nueces County Court at Law No. 4 jury found that Centocor committed fraud against Patricia Hamilton and that she and her husband were harmed as a result. The trial lasted two and a half weeks.

The jury awarded Patricia Hamilton $3,365,908 in actual damages and $15 million in punitive damages. Thomas Hamilton was awarded $50,000 for loss of consortium and $1 million in punitive damages. Sources said the verdict is believed to be the first-ever involving Remicade.

Note from Virginia personal injury attorney Ben Glass: Remicade is a powerful drug. As with any powerful drug, it has the potential to have powerful side effects. A cursory Internet search found these sites mentioning the Remicade issues.

WebMD

Defective Drugs

Patient Experiences with Remicade

As with any drug, you should consult your physician. It also does not hurt to be a well-informed consumer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Fairfax, VA fraud: "you owe the police $7,500 for false alarms from your burglar alarm.

Ben Glass — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:07:47 GMT

A woman at reported getting a call with this message by a "bill collector."

The "bill collector" told her that they were collecting an overdue debt owed the "Fairfax police" because of false alarms from your burglar alarm.

Just another scam.

My friend lives in a one bedroom apartment in in Sterling, Virginia (not Fairfax County). She's never owned a burglar alarm. The "bill collector" just hung up when she told them, "just call my lawyer, he'll take care of you."

Consumer message: whenever anyone you don't know CALLS you asking for money, from "charities" to "bill collectors," just tell them to put it in writing and mail it to you.

If they have to ask for your address, or hesitate at all, they are likely frauds.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass