by Marius Ged, on Jul 20, 2022 9:51:13 AM
Keep up with the latest personal injury law news and insights from the industry's trusted legal partner, Ged Lawyers. Here is an overview of what happened this month in the personal injury law field.
What’s New in FL Personal Injury Law
1) A Higher Number of Accident Injuries Have Come with Florida's Growth
Research shows that Florida’s population sat at 21.67 million not very long ago. While that seems a vast number, the figure has even increased, and it’s now estimated that around 22,177,997 people call the Sunshine State home. With great weather and plenty of opportunities in Florida, you can't blame people for flocking to this state.
However, so many people are in Sarasota, roadways are congested, and accidents occur quite frequently. According to the National Safety Council, Florida has led the nation in increased car accident deaths since 2014.
Most of these accidents are a result of negligence. If you’ve been in a crash that’s not your fault, you may have grounds to seek compensation from the negligent party. Here are some of the reasons why you might want to do that:
- Expensive medical bills: Injuries like traumatic brain injury are some of the most severe and costliest injuries people can have. Seeking compensation helps you combat the high medical expenses of several auto accident injuries.
- Loss of Income: An auto accident can leave you with severe injuries that prevent you from working. Many financial challenges could come after an auto accident, and seeking compensation helps you recover your lost income.
- Loved ones’ final expenses: If an auto accident claimed your loved one's life, you might want to seek compensation to ensure you can afford your loved one's final expenses.
Industry Updates
1) Medicaid Clawback Ruling Threatens to Dash Personal Injury Suits
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can collect money when Medicaid beneficiaries win in personal injury cases. This provision includes future medical expenses to recover the program's payments for prior care.
This ruling to claw back a more significant share of personal injury awards could disadvantage the beneficiaries with less-than-blockbuster claims. Attorneys say the justices’ broad reading of the Medicaid statute will discourage beneficiaries from taking the risk of filing lawsuits in the first place.
According to Nora Engstrom, a professor at Stanford Law School, the Court’s decision will reduce litigants’ incentives to bring personal injury lawsuits. She believes that damages are the fuel that powers the tort system and can’t run without fuel.
The dispute centered on Florida’s share of an $800,000 settlement obtained by the parents of a girl who was left in a permanent vegetative state after being hit by a truck while getting off a school bus. Florida said it was entitled to $300,000, which is 37.5%, the percentage set by the Medicaid statute for past and future medical expenses.
Gianinna Gallardo’s parents disputed that the state could only tap into money allocated for past expenses. But Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the court, held the state could take money from an award for future medical expenses to pay for costs already incurred.
Paul Cannon, a shareholder with Simmons Fletcher PC, feels this ruling will have a chilling effect even on more minor cases involving Medicaid. The result could also limit total recoveries by state Medicaid programs if cases that promise only modest settlement amounts are not filed at all.
This article discusses third-party recoveries and how the ruling could affect Medicaid programs.
Growing Your Practice
1) Should Your Legal Brand Be Tough or Tender?
Effective branding for today’s law firms can present a paradox. Clients want both relentless gladiators in the courtroom and kind, patient partners outside of it. Firms that try to embody both personas both end up emulating neither.
As you consider your brand identity, it’s helpful to understand the emotions most often at play in legal matters and what humans are programmed to favor.
According to studies by Chris Malone and Susan Fiske as reported, in The Human Brand, warmth and competence are the top two characteristics that account for 82 percent of positive client sentiment. So, what do each of these terms really look like?
- Warmth: We quickly assess if an organization is kind and friendly, whether it appears sincere and trustworthy, and is perceived as helpful, tolerant, fair, and understanding.
- Competence: How successful would a potential law firm partner handle our case? Do they appear resourceful, accomplished, clever, and informed? Do they have the confidence and capacity to carry out the case at hand?
When considering the interplay between warm, cold, competence, and incompetence, the “warm/competent” combination is the clear winner. Malone and Fiske note that “companies held in high esteem for warmth and competence can recover from mistakes that may come up and build genuine and lasting customer relationships.”
According to Harvard Law School’s The Practice, the top brand drivers specific to law firms include:
- Expertise
- A high level of client service
- Strong interpersonal relationships with clients.
The ability to advocate with empathy almost always improve a law firm’s branding and marketing.
Are you wondering if your legal brand should be tough or tender? Learn more in this article.
2) 5 Reasons Why Attorneys Should Partner with Ged Lawyers This Year
At Ged Lawyers, we handle personal injury cases for treatment providers. We devote our full attention to PIP claim recoveries. If you’re looking to maximize your revenue this year, here are five reasons why you should partner with us:
- Enjoy unparalleled service in PIP claim management.
- We’re collaborators, not competitors. We collaborate with our partnering lawyers and law firms to serve our clients more successfully. We’re committed to transparency, which means our services and systems, while secure, are always open to the lawyers with whom we work.
- Our PIP lawyers have experience and are reliable subject-matter experts.
- We’re HIPAA compliance perfectionists.
- We're the top option for healthcare providers and personal injury attorneys.
If your Florida law firm handles personal injury cases for medical providers, rev up your revenue with Ged Lawyers.
In our 25 years of experience, we have designed an efficient approach to letting lawyers turn their medical providers into reliable income streams. At the same time, our lawyers are committed to helping these providers resolve personal injury protection cases.
Contact our team today, and let’s start collaborating.
