Frivolous Lawsuits: The Bad Guys 2
Posted by
Danielle LandauJune 26, 2009 12:16 PM
If you have not read my previous posts then here’s the deal. I am the daughter of a personal injury attorney, and as I intern this summer I am constantly amazed by my fathers courage and perseverance. But in addition to understanding his fight for justice, I am also learning that not everyone knows that he really is the good guy.
My original post was Frivolous Lawsuits: My Dad Is Not The Bad Guy, which outlines the misconceptions in the media regarding personal injury lawyers like my father. More recently I posted Frivolous Lawsuits: The Bad Guys, which discussed a few insurance companies, and their strategies that make receiving compensation such a lengthy and difficult process. In this article, I am introducing a few more.
1. State Farm is notorious for its “deny and delay” tactics. After Hurricane Katrina, for example, it employed multiple engineering firms until they could deny claims. In April 2007, State Farm was directed to re-evaluate more than 3,000 Hurricane Katrina claims.
2. Conseco sells long-term care policies, typically to the elderly. Amongst its egregious behavior, the insurer makes it so hard to make a claim that people either die or give up while trying to collect.
3. WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) – Health insurer was fined in March 2007 after an investigation revealed that the insurer routinely canceled policies of pregnant women and chronically ill patients.
Be careful, be knowledgeable, and remember that insurance companies make money by selling policies, not by paying claims. That's why we need advocates like Doug Landau.
Read more about my fathers fight for justice.