Dr. Mary Kneiser’s IME lawsuit is strong example of independent medical examiner abuse

This is the last post in my mini series of blogs on independent medical examiners. Mary Kneiser is a busy IME doctor, and has been for many years. Dr. Kneiser has been hired by auto insurance companies and personal injury defense law firms to do one time “examinations” of injured plaintiffs, write reports and testify. Ask any experienced personal injury attorney about her, and you will get an earful.

No-fault insurance lawyer breaks down the proposed independent medical exam rule 500.2252

This is the third post in my mini-series of blogs about independent medical examinations (IMEs) and how many notorious IME doctors make a great living claiming people with serious personal injuries are able to return to work and no longer need medical treatment. After all, there is little downside for them. The money is great, and in a state without many of the protections that exist in other states, insurance companies can select the nastiest “cut-off” doctors they can find to stop paying needed wage loss and medical bills to their own insured customers.

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.

Personal injury attorney exposes insurance companies threats and scare tactics - and huge profits - following McCormick v. Carrier

The insurance industry in Michigan sure must think we are pretty dumb. Within hours of the monumental McCormick v. Carrier being issued by the Michigan Supreme Court on August 1, 2010, a lobbying group representing 90 Michigan insurance companies issued a press release to the media threatening to raise auto insurance premiums. They say, the McCormick case will “seriously undermine the viability of the state’s No-Fault statute.”

Auto accident attorney interprets Michigan’s new auto law, which could give hundreds of car accident victims with serious personal injuries a second chance to have their pain and suffering cases heard in court

I’d like to share the exciting news.  Sometime between now and Sunday, the Michigan Supreme Court will release McCormick v. Carrier (Rodney McCormick v. Larry Carrier and Allied Automotive Group, Indemnitor of General Motors Corp.).

McCormick is the case that Michigan auto accident victims, lawyers on both sides and almost all trial court judges have been hoping will finally reverse the shocking unfairness that has resulted under Kreiner v. Fischer.

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.

Auto accident lawyers featured in the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section Quarterly, contending why McCormick must bring common sense to Michigan’s auto law

David E. Christensen

The Spring 2010 State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section Quarterly was recently sent to several thousand negligence lawyers who represent plaintiffs and defendants in Michigan lawsuits. In it is an article by Michigan Auto Law attorneys David Christensen and Alison Tomak on the Flint auto accident case of McCormick v. Carrier (Rodney McCormick v. Larry Carrier and Allied Automotive Group, Indemnitor of General Motors Corp.). Dave and Alison’s article also includes a brief summary of the arguments made in the Negligence Law Section’s own amicus brief filed in this case before the Michigan Supreme Court.

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.