TV LAWYER “THROWS AWAY” POLICY LIMITS CLAIM

Last quarter Legally Speaking reported on a case that a local TV lawyer dropped just weeks before the statute of limitations ran telling the clients to find another attorney because “he did not go to Court.”  Recently M & W settled a claim for over $100,000 that had been “thrown away” by a different TV lawyer. 

            After a severe single vehicle accident in Birmingham, a local family retained the TV lawyer to review and investigate any potential claims arising from the accident. After having the file for almost a year the TV lawyer wrote the family a letter saying there was nothing he could do for them. The family consulted another attorney who recommended that they consult with Moore & Wolfe. In their initial consultation with Mark Wolfe, they explained that they had been cut-off by another car while traveling on the Interstate in Birmingham. They were forced off the road and their car slammed into a tree. There was no impact between their car and the car that cut them off. The car that cut them off never stopped and it could not be specifically identified.  Two investigators from Moore & Wolfe worked on the file and confirmed the family’s account of the accident. The claim was presented as an Uninsured Motorist claim to the family’s insurance carrier who paid the full limits of the available Uninsured Motorist coverage. “I guess he [the TV lawyer] didn’t realize that under Alabama law a ‘phantom vehicle’ is considered to be uninsured thereby allowing victims to make a UM [uninsured motorist] claim under their own policy,” said Wolfe. This was the third time in two years that Wolfe has favorably resolved a case discarded by this TV lawyer. “I think it’s scary for consumers that lawyers can buy air time on TV or buy big ads in the phone book claiming to be personal injury specialists yet they don’t know the basics of injury law or they’ve never even tried an injury case,” added Wolfe.

            The Moore & Wolfe web site (www.moore-wolfe.com) has important information for consumers who are considering hiring a personal injury lawyer. Lawyer advertising is a fact of life and there are good lawyers who advertise, but when hiring a personal injury lawyer its important for victims to know what questions to ask the lawyer to better determine if that lawyer is right for their case.