This Month in Personal Injury Law News - January 2023

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 in the personal injury law field this month.

This Month in FL Personal Injury News

1) An ‘Incompetent’ Divorce Lawyer and a Stalker Among Disciplined Lawyers in the Miami Area

An incompetent divorce lawyer and a stalker made it to South Florida's latest list of attorneys who faced the discipline of the Supreme Court.  Grant Sabinorf, an attorney admitted to the bar in 2010, has faced disciplinary action following stalking claims by a woman.  After a breakup, Sabinorf hacked a woman's social media account, Instagram, to be precise, and used Uber to stalk her further. 

The attorney also spoofed contact numbers to call the woman several times.  Sabinorf was arraigned in court and pleaded guilty to various counts, including unlawful use of communication devices, personal information, and offenses against computers.  Sabinorf was in jail for 90 days and is on probation for nine years. 

Another Attorney named Mary Hudson is said to have been disbarred after claims of incompetency by the Supreme Court. Hudson disappeared in 2019 and is said to have abandoned the law after the bar found her handling of a family court case frivolous.

Hudson represented the Husband's side in a divorce case.  The judge in the case stated that Hudson was incompetent and had no knowledge of calculating child support.  Shortly after the case ruling, Hudson was believed to have closed her practice and shifted locations. 

Industry Updates

1) Hidden Audits Reveal Millions in Overcharges by Medicare Advantage Plans

Audit reports have revealed that Medicare Advantage Plus overcharged the government about $1000 per patient annually.  The audit examined billings from 2011 to 2013 through 90 audits obtained by KHN.  18090 patient records were examined, and the government audit revealed $12 million in an overpayment, stating that the losses to taxpayers might be higher. 

Medicare Plus officials state that they will estimate the payment error rates from the audit samples and recoup about $650 million from insurers.  After more than ten years of Medicare's statement to work on the payment errors, they are yet to materialize their promise.  A former deputy director at CMS says the agency failed to hold Medicare Advantage accountable for the overbilling charges. 

The current deputy administrator responded to questions by KHN on why they are yet to tell the health plans how much they owe by saying the calculations are yet to be finalized.  Auditors claim overcharge or overpayment in health care plans when a patient record is unclear on the severity of the patient’s illness.

If the illness is found to be less severe than claimed by health plans, then the payment is considered an overcharge.  A health attorney questioned the decision to demand refunds from insurers years later. 

2) No-fault Insurance Reform may be in Play as Democrats take Power in Michigan

Health care providers and auto accident victims may find a loophole in Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law when democrats take control of the legislature.   The previous years witnessed the insurance policies abiding by the 2019 law, which gave drivers options to choose coverage levels.  The reform lowered the insurance costs, as showcased by estimates between 2019 and 2021. 

However, the law also cut by a significant percentage the amount health providers would charge as payment for services to crash victims.  The cut compromised the quality of service that accident victims received in health care.   A study found that many healthcare providers have been eliminated since the law took effect, and even more patients have been discharged from care. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer states that she looks forward to having conversations around the law and how to make it work better for car accident victims and healthcare providers.  The governor stated that the law needs to be refined to ensure that victims get the quality service they pay for in personal injury protection. 

Growing Your Practice

1) How to Use Social Media to Attract & Retain Personal Injury Clients

It is already established that many people spend significant time on social media platforms. These people are target audiences for many businesses, and social media marketing has, through the years, taken full effect. 

Like any other business, your personal injury law firm can gain from social media marketing.  So, what practices should your firm implement to ensure your social media presence is worthwhile? Here are a few pointers that can help your firm attract and retain clients through social media. 

1) Build Noticeable Online Visibility

The first step in using social media as a marketing platform is to have significant visibility on relevant platforms.  Social media users are unlikely to engage with an advertisement or a platform that has poor visibility or engagement; all they will do is skip or ignore the posts or ads. 

2) Invest in Paid Advertising Strategies 

While social media is essentially a free platform to advertise your personal injury lawyers, sometimes you might need to chip in some cash for their firms to get noticed faster and easier.   Paid ads or pay-per-click will help you funnel the right clients for your firm and make them easy to retain, as they are true consumers of your services. 

3) Take Time to Personalize Ads

Make use of social media users' demographics to enable you to personalize ads that will be relevant to their needs and values.   

4) Post on Social with a Purpose

As a care-based service provider, your posts cannot just be random.  You have to strategize your online presence and the posts you make on social media.   The posts should be relevant and timely. 

2) An Inside Look at Ged Lawyer’s PIP Processing System

Ged lawyers have, over the years, worked to help healthcare providers and PIP law firms hasten the claim recovery process.  With over 25 years of experience in personal injury protection law, Ged Lawyers delivers what they promise through a seamless and thorough process that follows the following criteria:

1) Contact Our Firm to Start the Process

Contact us to start the process of PIP referrals for your firm.  Our representatives and Ged lawyers are on standby to introduce and take you through the process and how it works.  At this point, we also determine if your referral is the right fit through the background information we collect. 

2) Sign Documents and Keep Track of Claims Progress

Once we discuss the start of the process, we will send you the co-counsel-referral agreement to sign.  Our team will then set up a portal to enable you to track attorney fees and the benefits your referred provider will get. 

3) Watch Ged Lawyers Work with Your Referred Medical Provider

Once all is established, our team will work with your referral through the entire process, which you can also track through your portal.

4) Collect Your Referral Fee

Once litigation is complete, we send you a 25% referral fee through your choice of payment method (for litigated cases only).

5) Access Ongoing Support for Revenue Development

Our team ensures you get access to educational resources and personal support to build a larger network of referrals and boost your overall revenue.

Partner with Ged Lawyers to Unlock More Money for Your Personal Injury Law Firm 

Partner with Ged Lawyers to help you unlock more revenues for your Florida firm through referrals.   We are HIPAA compliant; therefore, when you give us your client's medical contact, you can ensure their data is safe with us.  

By referring your healthcare providers to us, we relieve you of the daunting process of following through with litigation and documentation of personal injury claims. 

 Contact us today via our website at (561) 924-1838 to learn more.