Michigan TBI attorney warns auto accident victims who have suffered traumatic brain injury about a popular insurance medical examiner

On Tuesday, I wrote about the havoc “independent” medical examiners are bringing to car accident victims and the No-Fault insurance system in Michigan. Which brings me now to John Baker, Ph.D. This man is a neuropsychologist in Oakland County (Royal Oak), who is often hired by auto insurance companies for “second opinion” defense examinations of injured car accident victims who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

No-Fault insurance lawyer explains how “independent” medical examiners devastate lives after serious car accidents and undermine our No-Fault system

When people suffer personal injury in  car accidents in Michigan, their auto insurance companies must pay No-Fault insurance benefits for all auto accident-related medical treatment that’s reasonably necessary for the injured person’s recovery and rehabilitation. By simply filing an application for No-Fault insurance benefits within one year of the car accident date with their own No-Fault insurers, auto accident victims are provided with legally mandated No-Fault insurance so they can try to heal and put their lives back together.

Auto accident lawyer debunks another insurance company scare tactic after the Michigan auto law changed

This is part two from yesterday’s blog on the Macomb Daily newspaper article.  In that interview, the insurance industry spokesperson threatened insurance rate increases after Sunday’s McCormick v. Carrier case, despite the record-breaking profits auto insurance companies in Michigan continue to garner.

McCormick v. Carrier is a Michigan Supreme Court case that overturned the controversial Kreiner v Fischer “serious impairment of body function” threshold case, returning important legal rights to potentially hundreds of Michigan car accident victims who were told they did not have a case under Kreiner. It involved a car accident with serious personal injuries that occurred in Flint, Michigan.

Auto accident attorney debunks the scare tactic used by insurance companies after Michigan’s auto law has changed

Yesterday morning, I woke up to find my picture on the front page of The Macomb Daily.  The article was based on an interview I had done on the new case of McCormick v. Carrier and the Michigan Supreme Court making it easier for the injured to collect compensation for car accidents. I spoke about how happy I was for Michigan auto accident victims who have suffered serious personal injuries, but have had their legal rights taken away. These people had their accident cases thrown out of court by the old harsh auto accident threshold law under Kreiner v. Fischer, before it was overturned Sunday night.

I go on vacation for one week, and the Michigan Supreme Court drops a bombshell on credit scoring while I’m gone. Last Thursday, the Court issued an opinion, in a bitterly divided 4-3 ruling, that allows Michigan’s auto insurance companies to use a person’s credit report to determine rates for people.

The Court majority even said state regulators exceeded their authority when they banned the practice as discriminatory. But it is discriminatory.  And it makes zero sense.

Let’s be very clear on this: credit scoring using credit reports is by definition, discriminatory. It is also perniciously evil. Read here about your No-Fault insurance rights.

My partner Robert Raitt was in the Detroit Free Press this week. Bob, an attorney who handles auto accident cases, is past-president of the Michigan Assocition for Justice, and he was responding to a call for more “tort reform” in Michigan. Bob makes a lot of good points, and he touched on cases involving car accidents that the lawyers in this law firm have personal experience with.

For example, Michigan was ranked by auto insurance corporations as having the safest drivers in the nation combined with the hardest car accident threshold law in the country, and yet Michigan drivers pay some of the highest premiums in the country.

Me and Norm Tucker

Last week, I spoke and moderated at the Michigan Association for Justice seminar on teaching auto accident lawyers “How to Settle Accident Cases for More Money.”

I stressed that lawyers must understand how computer claims software programs like Colossus, which are being used by the insurance industry today, are changing everything, and how they’re causing  a very real decrease in the value of many personal injury cases.

The seminar was a great success. I will be posting videos soon sharing some of my most important tips for Michigan personal injury lawyers. My own topic was “Five Tips to Maximizing Personal Injury Settlements.”

Another reason why Farm Bureau wins our 2010 Insurance Company Skunk Award

In my last blog, I discussed how difficult it is to get Farm Bureau adjusters to give permission to accept tendered underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) policy limits for their own customers who have been seriously injured in car accidents. In other words, how hard it is to just get the additional protection that these people paid for from this insurance company!

No-Fault insurance lawyer warns car accident victims about Farm Bureau insurance company

Farm Bureau is at it again. I’ve written about this insurance company before. Despite their nice commercials, I personally see Farm Bureau treating their own customers the worst out of all the automobile insurance companies that I personally deal with as a lawyer representing victims of car accidents and truck accidents.

Again, the latest incident involves Farm Bureau finding new ways to avoid their obligation to their customers. Insurance companies like Farm Bureau get paid every year in insurance premiums by their customers, but as soon as their help is needed, they often look for ways to avoid meeting their legal, contractual obligations.

Michigan Auto Law partner gets insurance policy limits and medical benefits for auto accident victim with head, neck and back injuries

I’d like to congratulate my fellow partner David E. Christensen for yet another trial win. Dave’s Washtenaw County car accident case was against our client’s insurance company, USAA, as well as the at-fault driver.

The accident occurred on Ecorse Road in Ypsilanti, when the at-fault driver pulled out from a side-street and crashed into our client. Our client sustained serious personal injuries including herniated discs in his neck and lower back that both required surgery, and a closed-head injury.