by Marius Ged, on Nov 7, 2022 4:00:35 PM
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) How the Parkland Jury’s Decision May Affect Future Florida Death Penalty Cases
(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)
Decades ago, a minimum of 12 votes by jurors in south Florida was enough to recommend a death row sentence to a proven first-degree murder case. Judges would then be left to decide whether the aggravating circumstances would fit the death penalty and dispense the sentence.
Things have, however, changed over time for Florida as lawmakers changed the law to alter this sentencing process. In 2017, Florida lawmakers changed the law to require a unanimous decision by jurors in recommending execution sentences.
A 2018 Jury decision on a first-degree murder case will make it even more challenging to secure a death penalty in a court of law. Nikolas Cruz, a mass shooter who fatally shot 17 high school students in parklands, faced murder charges and was brought to court. The 12-person jury voted to spare his life and instead give him a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The decision came as a surprise to many as there was ample evidence against the assailant. Parents of the slain students were also hopeful that the justice that would fit their loss was an issue of the death penalty on Cruz. While two or so members of the jury voted for the death row charge, the Florida law was clear that the court could use even one vote to spare a defendant.
The Parkland Jury's decision will impact future cases in Florida. Many will argue that if the court can spare an assailant with such evident heavy counts of murder, the jury will not recommend the death penalty on lesser murder counts.
Industry Updates
1) MI Supreme Court: Insurers Must Continue Payments to Catastrophically Injured Car Crash Survivors
In 2019, the Michigan law rolled back on payments made for at-home care attendant care and rehabilitation clinics. Providers stated that the cuts put them out of business and, consequently, left patients without the care they needed.
Many questioned the practicality of insurance companies cutting these payments and whether it was constitutional, considering that patients had fully paid most of the covers. Mark Granzato, an attorney, stated that the 2019 law violates the contract clause of the Michigan constitution.
The law was appealed, and last month, the Michigan court of appeal ruled that the payment reductions could not be imposed on people injured before the 2019 law was enacted. Insurance providers are therefore required to continue payments to pre-2019 catastrophically injured survivors.
However, even with this ruling, some survivors may still be affected due to the 2019 law. They may have to wait longer to get back the care providers since some already went out of business, and some stated that they would wait for the final supreme coat decision before they can embark on business.
2) Sham’ Health Insurer Ordered to Refund $100M to FTC
A Tampa-based health insurance technology company identified as Benefytt Technologies has been ordered to refund $100M to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Benefytt technologies are accused of selling unqualified, sham health insurance plans through deceptive marketing and sales tactics. The tech firm was charged to the refund money due to lying about their "sham health insurance plans," using deceitful lead generation websites to bring in new customers, and illegally charging customers "exorbitant junk fees'' for add-ons they didn't request, according to the FTC.
Benefytt has also been prohibited from lying about its products or charging illegal junk fees. Further, former CEO Gavin Southwell and former vice president of sales Amy Brady are permanently banned from selling or marketing any healthcare-related product. Brady is also banned from telemarketing. This will, however, not be the first time the tech firm features in lawsuit investigations regarding their practice.
Growing Your Practice
1) A Lawyer’s Guide to Getting & Retaining Personal Injury Clients
As a lawyer, personal injury clients could be the best way to increase your revenue. While getting personal injury clients can be reasonably easy, retaining them might be a problem.
Communication is the common ground where you can build the basis of retention. As such, more than anything, your communication with clients needs to be transparent and appealing. Below are ways to refine communication between you and your clients to retain them:
1. Return Client Calls Within 24 hours
Keeping a client waiting for your response can make them second-guess the decision to work with your law firm. It is important to be hands-on when responding to clients. You should ensure that a client does not wait more than 24 hours to get a response from you. You can also use technologically advanced software such as CRM (Contact Relationship Management) to automate follow-up.
2. Set Up Client Meetings Soon after Inquiries
It can be difficult to explain firm policies to clients at the first inquiry profoundly. As such, when you get a client inquiry perhaps through calls, texts, or even social media, propose a meeting with them to enable you to reach an understanding with them.
The meeting can be physical or virtual, depending on client preference. Once you set up the meeting, you must also ensure that it is not the client's work to remind you.
3. Keep Clients on the Know
Engaging customers frequently can also help with the retention rate. Have prompt follow-up mechanisms that appeal to the client so they can choose your firm in PIP claims. You can use various channels of communication to seek feedback on inquiries. Persuasion can be the answer to excellent client retention and revenue collection.
2) How Ged Lawyers Can Grow Your Bottom Line
PIP claims are a heavy financial and time investment. For a firm to maximize its profits, it must identify where insurance companies underpaid and target those with a proven, streamlined approach. This process can be laborious and may even require you to have additional staff on board.
Our law firm can relieve you of the burden of developing an internal processing system to fix payout problems for medical providers. The automated processing system at Ged Lawyers will hasten the claim recovery process, enabling medical providers to generate revenue while providing a reliable income stream for your firm.
Litigating PIP claims is very costly and, of course, risky. Your firm can lower the overall expense of handling the cases by referring medical contacts to a trusted partner like our firm. Our system handles everything from start to finish, including taking on litigation costs and risks.
Partner with Ged Lawyers to Unlock More Revenue for Your Injury Law Firm
While our expertise and success in PIP claim recoveries are evident, we acknowledge how resource-intensive litigating personal injury claims are. The process also requires heavy document loads.
You can ease yourself of the heavy lifting and partner with Ged Lawyers to help you unlock more revenues for your 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.
You can unlock more revenue for your firm by working with us, as we’ve perfected a rapid and transparent system with an exceptional payout rate.
Contact us today via our website or call us directly at (561) 924-1838 to learn more.
