Maryland Injury Law Center

April 14, 2011

GEICO Just Kills Me

I settled a case with GEICO. They send me – personally – a Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreement holding them harmless from any claims for medical liens, medical bills, and pretty much any claim that could be brought of any kind before they will send out a settlement check. My client and I are on the release. But there is just one signature line.

I told the adjuster, “Look, we already settled the case. Now you are putting conditions on a new party, namely me. That seems reasonable enough. But are you willing personally to throw $100 into the settlement yourself? That is my new condition.”

I thought this was funny and illustrative. The GEICO claims adjuster? Less so. Instead, he rolls off a list of lawyers who have signed this hold harmless agreement. Literally, it was like a who’s who list of “prolific” Maryland tort attorneys, most advertisers, who have been around forever and I believe have never tried a serious personal injury case in their lives. Just funny he would be name dropping those lawyers.

April 14, 2011

Five Things You May Not Know About Liens

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I read somewhere recently that making Top Ten lists really attracts readers. Regrettably, I don’t know ten things about fighting medical liens that I think you don’t know. But I know a few.

I’ve been working harder and harder, trying to better understand the ins and outs of subrogation liens that arise in personal injury cases. With some of the larger cases, we farm out lien work to firms that focus only on resolving lien issues. But there are so many basic things I think personal injury lawyers need to appreciate about lien issues. Anyway, here is my Top Five list:

1. The mere fact that it is an ERISA lien does not automatically mean that the lien cannot be reduced for attorneys’ fees. Subrogation and reimbursement rights for ERISA insurance plans only exist if the language of the plan says they do. You have to actually read the plan to know.

April 11, 2011

Property Damage Claims Releases

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Before a client executes a release or signs a check for a property damage claim, I want to review the release if they have a potential personal injury claim from the accident. Particularly in uninsured motorist cases, but this paranoia extends to every type of accident case.

Why? I don’t want the insurance company to pull a fast one and slip in a full release under the guise of a property damage release for the client’s car.

In years past, after looking at approximately one zillion property damage releases, the Oliver Stone conspiracy has never come to pass. Insurance companies have always been straight with me. Until this week… Continue reading

April 5, 2011

Landlord Liability in Dog Bite Cases

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals today considered the circumstances under which a landlord may be liable in dog bite injury claims.

This case involved a tenant in Towson who was breeding pit bulls. The CSA found that Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Martin erred in granting the landlord summary judgment. Especially assigned Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin wrote a 7-page dissent. Ultimately, I think the Court of Appeals will see this one.

The court went through two leading Maryland dog bite cases involving dogs named Trouble and Rampage. I would think everyone would have notice of propensity with dogs with these names. When I’m nearing a pit bull named Rampage, I’m thinking it’s a matter of time before I feel the first bite.

The Plaintiffs’ lawyers, in this case, were Ober, Kaler, Grimes, & Shriver, a firm that usually finds itself on the other side of the “v”. State Farm’s in-house counsel (Cliff Patterson, from H. Barritt Peterson, Jr. & Associates, who is a good lawyer, represented the defendants.)

April 1, 2011

Heart, Gallbladder, Liver and Spleen Injury Values

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Car accidents can cause circulatory system injuries. My law firm has seen heart attacks, spleen injuries, liver and lung injuries, gallbladder injuries.

Jury Verdict Research provides a study on median compensatory award for circulatory system injuries:

Heart attacks: $443,750

March 31, 2011

GEICO Claim Adjuster: My Fun Call Today

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I have a serious injury case with GEICO. Unfortunately, GEICO only has a $100,000/$300,000 policy and no underinsured coverage (and no evidence the defendant has meaningful assets). GEICO did the right thing and offered the policy. It is a shame, but that is the way it is in many traffic collision cases. Your claim is only as good as the defendant’s ability to pay and the insurance limits in the case. The best lawyer in the world can’t change that.

The plaintiff is a mom who had her young son in the car with her. The boy received treatment for minor injuries, but he suffered an impressive deal of trauma from witnessing what his mother endured. The son is fine now, and his mom is grateful. The client demanded $4,000 to settle her son’s claim.

This was first relayed to the GEICO rep by one paralegal to her calling to accept the policy limit’s offer for the child’s mother. The GEICO adjuster berated the paralegal, explaining Maryland law and how judges and juries operate. I called him today. Fighting hard for you, my readers, I repeatedly sought permission to record the call. They state they are recording our calls for “quality assurance”, yet the adjuster specifically denied this. Alas, I could not get any such permission. Continue reading

March 23, 2011

Attorneys, Blogs and Social Media

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

On Monday, I wrote about the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ flawed economic model.

Now, an ABA Journal survey tells us that social media does not help clients find lawyers, and blogs don’t work either. Okay, our law firm is heading back to the Yellow Pages. No, wait, the ABA Journal says the Yellow Pages are beyond awful now (only 8% would use the Yellow Pages).

So how do you get cases? Apparently, “trusted sources” are the most popular way for consumers to find an attorney. Forty-six percent surveyed would ask a friend, family member, or colleague for an attorney referral; 34 percent say they would contact someone they know or whom they have used before.

This strategy works great in picking a good movie or restaurant. It is the worst way to pick a lawyer for a serious personal injury case.

March 21, 2011

David Ball on Damages Part 2

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Jake Brigance gave one of the greatest closing arguments ever in A Time to Kill. This remains true even though Matthew McConaughey has tried to cheapen my memories by making so many “not so very good” chick flicks.

In the actual world, closing arguments rarely sway a jury like Jake Brigance’s did. How rarely? According to David Ball’s recent book, only about 1 in 12 jurors change their mind during a closing argument. This is actually a good thing. It underscores that most juries decide based on how they process the evidence, not which party has the best lawyer orator.

Yet almost every personal injury lawyer goes into a closing trying to convert jurors unlikely to be swayed. So what should a lawyer be doing in closing? Instead of trying to win an argument, the number one job of a lawyer in closing is to arm jurors are with him/her already. Continue reading

March 21, 2011

Hip Replacement Settlements/Verdicts with July 2022 Updates

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Metro Verdicts Monthly’s cover graph is hip replacement settlements and verdicts in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

The graph just says “hip replacements” so there is really no context. I will assume that these are primarily injury cases and not product liability claims because those claims – most notably against DePuy, Stryker, and Zimmer – do not make up a substantial part of the verdicts and settlements involving hip replacements since 1987.

With that introduction, the median verdict/settlement in hip replacement cases:

March 21, 2011

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers and Rainy Days

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I read an interesting article in the Washington Post yesterday about the downfall of big Washington, D.C. law firm heavyweight Howrey, who closed its doors earlier this month. It is an unbelievably steep fall for a law firm that had $570 million in revenue in 2008.

In my heart, I really wished and wish this law firm and all the people in it the very best. It’s true, scout’s honor. But every plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer gets a little feeling of validation for their career path as news continued to percolate about the demise of big defense law firms.

But that validation got stopped in its tracks when I read this sentence:

Revenue in the litigation business tends to be lumpy. You get paid only when there is a case to be tried and then often only after the trial is over. Howrey, in particular, had come to rely increasingly on revenue from such contingency fee cases, which rose to $35 million in 2008 and then fell to $2 million a year later.

Quickly, I had to jump off my high horse. That’s our business model. Continue reading