We have our share of struggles with Allstate in traffic collision, and other personal injury cases. Allstate can be a difficult company to deal with when they are defending either first or third-party injury claims. But this insurer just won a big fight – a critical fight for them –…
Dear USAA: You have some of the best, most sophisticated adjusters of any car insurance company out there. Generally speaking, you make more reasonable settlement offers than the other companies with big car insurance market share in Maryland (better than GEICO, State Farm or Allstate). Sure, you force us to…
Update: this case was still going on in 2018 which is insane. I don’t like State Farm as much as the next plaintiffs’ lawyer. But I understand State Farm’s larger point on this issue, which I explain below. In State Farm v. Cavoto, a Pennsylvania appellate court decided a battle between…
Every plaintiffs’ attorney in Maryland has at some point become frustrated with an insurance company over the gameplay regarding their client’s insurance policy. Under current Maryland law, an insurance company is not required to disclose its policy limits although such information is readily available in discovery after a lawsuit is…
Medicare announced today that it has implemented a $300 threshold for some tort liability subrogation cases. This is monumental news for accident lawyers who often get bogged down trying to settle in claims where there is some minor Medicare payment out there that “could” be related to the car accident.…
This post was supposed to be about Medicare set-asides but I started with such a long intro about the psychology of claims adjusters that I’ll just hit the Medicare issue in a later post. (Or I’ll completely forget about it.) To understand claims adjusters, get inside the labyrinth that is…
Last week, I wrote an upbeat post about a U.S. District Court in Arizona opinion in Haro v. Sebelius as hopefully a harbinger for a less Draconian system governing the logistics of dealing with Medicare/Medicaid liens in personal injury cases. But the rain is getting a little heavier before the…
Maryland drivers are ranked just behind Washington, D.C. as the dumbest drivers in the country, ranking 49th in driver knowledge a new GMAC Insurance study. Last year, Maryland ranked 20th. Statistically, it is a remarkable shift that could not result from mere chance. There are two possible explanations for the…
Ignoring a little-known statute that requires that the Maryland Insurance Commissioner and similar positions must be filled by white men in their 50s, Governor O’Malley has appointed Therese Goldsmith as the new Maryland Insurance Commissioner. Most Marylanders do not understand what the Maryland Insurance Administration does, picturing that old white…
Almost two years ago now, Medicaid/Medicare liens became even more difficult to deal with as the law pushed to the lawyers and insurance companies the obligation of confirmation and resolution of Medicare/Medicaid liens. I’m sure betting an insurance company has yet to receive a fine for not verifying a lien…