Washington Injury Attorney Blog

Some of the states have been prodding the insurance companies to clean up their acts. In Georgia, United Healthcare has been fined $750K for delaying payments on health claims. The Insurance Commissioner Jon Oxendine directed United Healthcare and its sister companies to pay the fines. Says Oxendine, "It is unfortunate that fines must be imposed to encourage compliance, consumers and doctors deserve prompt payments."

UnitedHealthcare says it processes 97 percent of its claims within 15 days.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We take on insurance companies to insure that you are properly compensated for your injury accident.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Information for this post is from the Examiner.Com.

Medical malpractice victims and their families traveled to Washington DC this week to pressure Congress not to take away their rights as work is being done on a national health-care bill. The victims -- many of them seriously injured by medical negligence -- are asking Congress not to limit their ability to redress wrongs that have been done to them.

An article on the Common Dreams.org web-site told about the families from nine states, including victims of catastrophic injury due to medical malpractice, who met with lawmakers. Congress has been attempting to reduce malpractice awards of patients in an effort to reduce health care costs. Says David Arkush, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division, "Congress should work on curing this epidemic [medical malpractice and negligence], not compounding the damage by shielding bad doctors and limiting the rights of victims."

Every year 98,000 people die of medical errors. Obstetrics and birth injury malpractice can be some of the most noteworthy because the damages last a life time. Parents who have severely damaged or injured child due to negligence during child birth may have a life time of educational and medical expenses and putting caps on awards can severely limit the care a family obtains for their child.

You might want to read the full article, Injured Medical Malpractice Survivors Travel to Washington, D.C., to Protect Patients' Rights here.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by medical malpractice and their families. We will fight the big insurance companies to obtain the compensation you deserve.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

With the economy suffering, people are buying fewer new cars. Besides having an impact on the auto industry, it also affects the insurance industry because insurance companies charge higher premiums for new cars.

A report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that the cost of insuring a car decreased an average of 1.7% in 2006, the year the study covered. In 2006, Washington DC had the highest average insurance premiums with an average cost of $1164 for insuring a car. Washington DC is followed by New Jersey ($1,152) and Louisiana ($1,094).

Washington State

Where does Washington State fall in the list of car insurance expenditures? Washington State ranks 17 with an average expenditure for car insurance of $817 in 2006.

There are many factors that affect auto insurance expenditures by state. In states where there is a healthy economy, people tend to buy newer cars and have higher insurance rates. States with a higher urban population, traffic density and per capita income higher than the average also pay more in premiums.

The least expensive states for purchasing car insurance are North Dakota, Iowa, South Dakota and Idaho, all who have average expenditures for car insurance of between $530-580 annually.

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This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the families of those killed.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

In Washington State, insurance companies have a duty to conduct their business in "good faith" when they process claims of the people that they insure. Good faith is a concept that is important in law; Good faith simply means that the insurance company should conduct themselves and their business with honesty and morality in their conduct.

An insurance company acting in "bad faith" is violating their contractual obligation to their policyholders and, in the case of "bad faith," the policy holder may sometimes sue the insurance company.

Examples of bad faith include:

• Delaying claim processing

• Inadequately investigating a claim

• Threatening the insured

• Refusing to defend a lawsuit

• Reading the insurance policy in ways that it was not intended

• Refusing to make a reasonable and equitable settlement offer

When an insurance company is acting in bad faith in cases of serious injuries, you should contact a lawyer who is a personal injury specialist and who will insure that your rights are protected. The Farber Law Group located in Bellevue, Washington, has more than 30 years experience in representing accident victims caused by someones negligence and making sure that they receive the full compensation to which they are entitled.

Contact The Farber Law Group for a free and confidential case evaluation.

Los Angeles based Farmers Insurance, a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, has lost a $130 million jury verdict to homeowners who alleged the company breached their contract and showed bad faith and fraud in underpaying on claims. The company failed to pay contractors for overhead and profits.

The class action suit contained 76,000 people who averaged $575 in unpaid bills.

A Lawton, Oklahoma jury awarded the homeowners $50 million for breach-of-contract, $50 million for bath faith and $30 million in punitive damages.

According to The Los Angeles Times, this is the 14th largest Jury Verdict in the U.S. this year.

Farmers is appealing the award.

As a personal injury law firm, we often see Insurance adjusters, working for insurance companies, further victimize injured persons by failing to provide just and fair compensation for medical expenses and for pain and suffering. If you have been severely injured in an accident, or if a family has been killed, contact the personal injury specialists at The Farber Law Group. We have more than 30 years experience in the Seattle area and we know how to negotiate with insurance companies.

Contact us today for a free and confidential case consultation.