San Antonio Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The McKinney Law Firm : Auto Accidents, Wrongful Death, Work Accidents : Bexar County, Travis County, South Texas

Alex Winslow has graciously granted me permission to repost his excellent Letter to the Editor, which was published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, discussing the fact that tort reform here in the great state of Texas has utterly failed to lower health care costs while it has dealt a huge blow to Texans with legitimate claims for serious injuries.  Here is his letter in its entirety:

A few years back, insurance lobbyists rammed through legal changes that were designed to severely limit the legal rights of Texas patients. We heard high-falutin' rhetoric promising dramatic improvements in the cost, quality and access of health care in our state. None of the promised improvements have been realized, but that hasn't stopped special interest think tanks from spinning an intricate yarn in their futile attempt to justify the rights they stole from Texas families ("Cross Country: Why Doctors Are Heading for Texas," May 17 and "Tort Reform Will Rescue Doctors," Letters, June 6).

What has really happened? 1) Health-care costs have risen dramatically in Texas, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2) AMA statistics show that we rank lower in per-capita physicians today than we did just a few years ago; 3) Rural and underserved areas continue to struggle to attract new physicians; 4) Texas continues to have the nation's highest rate of uninsured.

The reality is that none of this has been or ever will be fixed by taking away the legal rights of patients or their families. Unless we move beyond the insurance industry's talking points and enact real reforms that protect patients, strengthen safety standards and restore accountability, we will continue to be plagued by an inadequate health-care system that does more for insurance companies than it does for patients.

N. Alex Winslow
Executive Director
Texas Watch
Austin, Texas

My question: When will Texans say enough is enough and finally stand up for their rights against the big insurance companies and the legislators they control. 

Source:  N. Alex Winslow is the Executive Director of Texas Watch, a non-partisan, advocacy organization working to improve consumer and insurance protections for Texas families.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Houston TV station KHOU has a very interesting piece out investigating the correlation between contributions by big business to Supreme Court justices and opinions issued by the Court in favor of these very same companies. 

You can watch the video here and then leave us a comment and tell us what you think. 

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Remember that the insurance company is not your friend.

Insurance companies go out of the way to advertise how fast, neighborly, generous, kind, understanding, patient, and friendly they are -- especially when they are trying to sell you one of their policies. It continues to be true for as long as you make your insurance premium payments on time without asking for anything in return. However, policyholders forced to present a claim often learn that this is more advertising PR than reality. 

If you are injured in an accident, get medical attention immediately. At the same time, to the extent you can you should be keeping a record that will help protect you should you need to file a claim.  File a police report, either at the scene or as soon as possible afterward. Try to get names and contact information from any witnesses. If you’re able, write down exactly what happened as soon as possible after the event.

Accident scene photographs often provide valuable evidence that can’t be duplicated after the fact. And, of course, talk to a a good lawyer as soon as possible so that you can get advice about how to proceed, what kind of records you should be keeping, and how to handle the inevitable phone calls from the insurance company, trying to get you to sign a release. 

Here is a quick checklist:

• Photograph your injuries
• Keep notes, including
  • Medical appointments/treatment
  • Medications
  • Physical Therapy sessions (including progress & limitations)
  • Record lost work time
  • Note pain and limitations
  • Record expenses incurred as a result of injuries/limitations
• Document conversations/information received from
  • Doctors and other medical professionals
  • The insurance company
• Keep all receipts, prescription records, etc.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Dallas Morning News has the story that Texas drivers involved in accidents will no longer be required to furnish telephone numbers for crash reports under an agreement between two state agencies trying to pull the plug on phone solicitations by telemarketers.

This is an important change because telemarketers generally try to drum up business for chiropractors, lawyers and body shops and these people will often say absolutely anything to get someone into the office.  This results in citizens being funneled to service providers that may not be the most competent for the job. 

"It is getting to the point where every person involved in a reported traffic accident is being solicited," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud, a panel created by the insurance industry and the Texas Department of Insurance.

"The telemarketers say whatever it takes to get crash victims into the doctor's office. They are today's lazy ambulance chasers, doing it all by phone. We are trying to put a stop to these calls or at least slow them down." said Hanna according to the article.

I am all in favor of this long-needed change.  If you need a quality body shop or a competent lawyer, don't go to anyone based on a phone solicitation.  Get on the internet and do your own research and ask your friends about their experiences.   Such decisions are way too important to base it on an unsolicited phone call. 

Source for Article: Dallas Morning News

Extra:  See the statewide standard accident report form. 

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A recent study provides scientific proof that car accident victims aren't nuts, aren't faking, aren't gaming the system; they really are in pain.

In a study published last week in the journal Archives of Surgery, researchers tracked 3,047 patients ages 18 to 84 from 14 U.S. states who survived an acute traumatic injury.  A year after the injury, 63 percent reported that they still experienced pain related to the injury, with most having pain in more than one region of the body.

On average, the patients assessed their pain at 5.5 on a 10-point scale -- a level at which they would be expected to have moderate to severe interference with daily activities.

The American Pain Foundation, a Baltimore-based advocacy group, said the financial cost exacted by chronic pain in the United States -- including health-care expenses, lost income and lost productivity -- is estimated at $100 billion a year.

Source: Reuters

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks