When was the last time that, when watching TV, you did not see commercials for personal injury law firms who claimed to “fight” for their clients, or offered glowing testimonials from deliriously happy people displaying high-dollar settlement checks and claiming that was what the law firm got them?

Think that is reality? If so, go online, to Yelp or another review site, to read the firms’ negative reviews — and take those five-star, “Amazing!” comments with several grains of salt.

If you or someone you know is tempted to hire one of these settlement mills — high-volume personal injury firms that advertise massively on TV, radio and billboards — then a study by Stanford Law Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom should give you reason to pause.

Paraphrasing a conclusion in her law review article: A client’s case is often settled for far less than if they had retained a skilled attorney who provides more individualized service.

Her law review article, written in 2010, is more relevant and accurate today than ever before.

Cases settled without an OK, with medical bills left unpaid

Listening to my office voicemails on a recent Tuesday, I heard a message from two former clients of a Dallas law firm that has a large presence on TV, radio, billboards and the internet. The clients were involved in a serious auto accident that wasn’t their fault and retained a law firm recommended by their employer, “who was impressed by their TV ads.”

(As an aside: Sometimes it is best for an employer to not recommend a lawyer or other professional to employees without doing thorough due diligence — such as by researching their qualifications and history.)

The voice message went on: “This was the first time either of us ever dealt with an attorney, so we did not know what to expect. Almost at once, we felt ignored, our phone calls were not returned, and when we spoke with someone, they knew nothing about our (individual) cases, which they settled without approval and did not pay all of our medical bills.

“Two very nice attorneys at the firm who worked on our cases called us, saying they were quitting because this happens often. Also, they said that we should read your articles about lawyers who do not pay doctors for guidance and to call you.”

I had just finished listening to the voicemail when a text message arrived. “We referred two clients of our former employer to you. May we talk?”

I replied, “Of course, please call.”

I then did an online search, verifying that “Cheryl” and “David” indeed worked at that law firm.

‘Working on an assembly line’

This was not the first time that attorneys who regularly read this column contacted me, upset with what they described as incompetent, unethical and sometimes illegal conduct by management at their firm.

Cheryl and David told me they were friends when they graduated from law school and were hired by a law firm that described itself as a “high-volume personal injury and employment law practice where you will have immediate contact with clients, get lots of trial experience, with highly competitive compensation.”

“It turned out to be just the opposite of what they advertised and what we were told in the interviews,” Cheryl said.

Yes, they admitted, their salaries were good, but they didn’t feel like they were practicing law.

“It felt as if I was working on an assembly line with hundreds of cases to settle,” David said, “and there was no way I could possibly help clients with that huge caseload.”

He also noted that the firm did “little screening of cases or investigation. Often months down the road, when someone with an ounce of common sense looked at the file and realized we had no case, or it was a weak case because our client was partially to blame for the accident, or there was little insurance on the other side, senior lawyers pressured clients to settle quickly.

“Sometimes they would settle with the insurance company without even talking it over with the client, while leaving some bills unpaid.”

Cheryl added, “The entire office was set up to do as little work on files as possible, where lawyers like David and me were glorified claims adjusters with a law license.”

That’s a statement I have heard often over the years from attorney employees in these “settlement mills.”

The firm stole money from its clients

I asked if there was a straw that broke the camel’s back, leading them to quit. There was indeed.

Cheryl explained, “The firm always referred clients to doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who ran up huge bills to increase the value of the claim. Then they had clients sign an assignment of benefits for their auto medical payment insurance — that should have gone to the doctors without the involvement of the law firm — keeping a portion of it and settling the case while leaving several large unpaid bills as the responsibility of the patients.”

I recommended that Cheryl and David talk to a Houston colleague of mine and also urged them to contact the State Bar of Texas.

When I know more, I’ll update you in a future article.

If you’re in need of a personal injury attorney, here are some tips to help ensure you work with one who’ll do right by you:

Get referrals. Ask friends, family or colleagues who they worked with if they’ve had a personal injury case.

Do your research. Consider the attorney’s experience in personal injury law and check their reviews on websites such as Lawyers.com and Avvo, paying particular attention to the negative ones.

Ask questions. Make sure you ask the lawyer about their experience and fees when you first meet.

As a bonus, I recommend taking a few minutes to watch this podcast by Americus, Ga., attorney Beau Shrable, a lawyer I salute for his honesty and care for the public.

Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers,
which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993,
or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1 – at – Gmail.com.

The post Beware of TV/Billboard Personal Injury Law Firms: Here’s Why appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

“Recently, some of the largest manufacturers of opiates have entered into multi-million dollar settlements for their role in facilitating America’s opiate epidemic,” began an email from “Pete.”

“Shouldn’t the same reasoning be applied to television cooking programs which contribute to the obesity epidemic? Laura, my wife, and our three children have become terribly obese after watching these TV shows, especially America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country, where, like Rachel Rey, the hosts have become obese before viewers’ eyes.

“Laura watches these programs and then prepares meals using their recipes. I tell her, ‘Just look at the hosts, how obese they have become. This isn’t normal, it isn’t ok, and it is dangerous. You have hypertension and are diabetic.’ She says, “They seem ok with being fat, and I am too.’

“Mr. Beaver, I am not fat-shaming my wife, but it is as if she is addicted to the calorie-dense food the hosts prepare.

“Why don’t the producers of these programs think of what their recipes are doing to viewers who make the dishes? Why don’t they encourage much healthier eating? I wrote the programs and asked those questions, but never got a reply. Perhaps you might have better luck.”

At home, we watch these shows–purely as entertainment–but I can’t argue with a thing that Pete says. He raises some very timely questions. I emailed the programs’ media rep, Brian Franklin and asked why no one replied to Pete and got no response. Later, I again wrote, but instead of addressing these serious health concerns, his flippant response was: “Attacking and criticizing the appearance of anyone, let alone our hosts is not worthy of a response.”

Some Numbers

In 2019, according to the CDC, deaths from opiate overdose in the United States were close to 70,000. And from obesity?

The National Institutes of Health tells us, “Obesity and overweight together are the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States, close behind tobacco use. An estimated 300,000 deaths per year are due to the obesity epidemic”

The Harvard School of Public Health puts a “$190 billion price tag on the cost of obesity to our country. This includes the value of lost work, and employer-paid insurance. Annual medical spending is $2,741 higher for obese individuals than for people who are not obese.”

Google TV cooking shows and obesity

If you use Google or Google Scholar and search “TV cooking shows and obesity,” the number of entries and university studies on this topic will amaze you. Viewers who prepare the recipes, have an average weight gain of eleven pounds. That’s just an average. But their influence on food selection is powerful and often unhealthy.

A compelling study of the impact television cooking shows have on weight gain was conducted just a few years ago by researchers from Cornell and the University of Vermont. They found:

1 – Watching chefs prepare indulgent dishes on TV, or a famous host enjoy over-the-top foods with other people, or viewing social media food pictures and recipes suggests a social norm for preparing these types of food.

2 – Televised food programs reinforce bad eating habits, where the hosts are seen as authorities on food, a status that gives their guidance more credibility.

Recent covid and obesity study is a wake-up call

A collaborative study by the University of North Carolina and the World Bank released at the end of August found that, “Obesity increases the risk of dying of Covid-19 by nearly 50% and may make vaccines against the disease less effective.”

One commentator wrote, “Anyone who, today, thinks that obesity is no big deal just doesn’t get it, and to judge by most of the TV cooking shows, it is clear that they not only don’t get it, but do not care about what they are doing our health.”

The Pleasure Trap

I ran Pete’s observations by Dr. Alan Goldhamer, co-author of The Pleasure Trap, a fascinating book about how our brain “traps” us into unhealthy eating habits.

“Pete used the term addiction to describe his wife’s behavior around food, and that is precisely what the food industry–and cooking shows in particular–have done to us. Our brains love calorie-dense food, secreting the pleasure hormone dopamine. I call it SOS – Salt, Oil and Sugar which dominate today’s diet leading to health problems virtually unknown fifty years ago.

“Dennis, in my opinion, these TV shows should come with a warning: Watching this program could be hazardous to your health.”

Perhaps one day a class action law firm will file a lawsuit, where plaintiff’s greatest proof will be videos of what eating their own recipes did to their hosts.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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