Articles Posted in insurance

I write this as Hurricane Florence spins off the coast of North Carolina. Right now it looks to be a category 4 or 5 storm. As a North Carolina Bad Faith Insurance lawyer, I deal with cases where homeowners insurance or commercial insurance wrongfully adjusts or wrongfully handles storm claims. These claims typically include refusing…

People! Do not let the statute of limitations slip past on your personal injury cases in North Carolina.  I’ve had three calls this week from people who did not have lawyers and who waited until the last second, or past the last second, to call for advice. None of these calls ended on a happy…

I am attaching below the letter I sent to three members of the North Carolina House Select Committee on Tort Reform. I believe that House Bill 542 may “look” good for business but have the unintended consequence of making North Carolina the WORST place for manufacturing in the entire United States. I’ve inserted a few…

As I sat watching the AIG crisis unfold yesterday, I immediately started to think about the many structured settlements (annuities) that I have recommended over the years to my clients. Structures provide a great way to allow large sums of money to gain interest (tax free) for injured clients. I’m starting this blog entry to…

As a personal injury lawyer in the state capitol, Raleigh, I hear a lot of “complaining” by physicians about “crazy lawsuits.” I always tell them (many of whom are friends) that malpractice lawsuits in North Carolina are either declining or at worst, holding steady. The main insurer for physicians, NC Medical Mutual, has just announced…

NC Lawyers’ Weekly has provided a great link to an article that was run in the Winston-Salem Journal about contributory negligence laws in North Carolina.  Contrubutory Negligence is an issue that people don’t know or care about, until they face the problem themselves. Basically, in NC, even if you are hurt by someone else’s negligence,…

We’ve had a great decision published by our North Carolina Court of Appeals which finally clarifies the issue of prejudgment interest on Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist Arbitrations in North Carolina. The gist of the problem was that the while the Uniform Arbitration Act provides that arbitration Awards can be reduced to judgments and filed as…

Looks like Allstate is willing to pay $2.4 Million dollars to hide their claims practices: Allstate won’t produce records despite $25,000-a-day fineBy JOE LAMBEThe Kansas City Star Allstate Insurance Co. lawyers made this clear Tuesday to a Jackson County judge: They will not produce key records for public view no matter how much he fines…

A friend forwarded me a great article by a columnist who writes for a Philadelphia newspaper. It exposes some of the horrible practices that I’ve noticed over the years by one of America’s largest insurers, Allstate. Some of Allstate’s practices are so extreme that I’ve had Allstate adjuster say to me “I know this case…

As I’m getting ready for a trial, I’m constantly reminded that the “reason the case is going to trial” has more to do with the defendant’s insurance company than anything else. It’s frustrating as an attorney fighting for justice because I have the burden of proof for the “facts” of the case, but what the…