Toy Safety – No Excuses When Corporations Injure Children

Once again, I find myself quoting another source, who has provided information that is important for all of us to know about.  This comes from Peggy Lo at the Public Interest Research Group:

It was more than a year ago that we first began to see
the reports about the millions of toys recalled for toxic lead and other
hazards. The news was shocking, and we weren't alone in calling on Congress to
take swift action to protect our kids.

But more than a year later -- despite the outcry, despite
the clear need for reform -- Congress hasn't delivered a bill to make toys
safer.

And you won't believe what's holding it up now:
ExxonMobil, the world's richest oil company, is standing in the way. Why? The
company wants to kill a provision that would ban toxic phthalates from plastic
toys. ExxonMobil just happens to be one of the largest manufacturers of that
chemical.

Unbelievable.

Please sign our letter to the congressional leadership.
Tell them to stand up to ExxonMobil and deliver a toy safety bill that really
protects our kids:

http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES

After 45 million children's products were pulled from
store shelves in 2007, I can hardly believe that we're still waiting for
Congress to act.

Earlier this year, both the House and Senate passed a
version of a bill to improve toy safety. But now, as the final bill is being
hammered out, ExxonMobil has joined forces with the toy industry and the
chemical industry in an all out attempt to weaken this bill.

And with precious little time left to pass a strong bill
-- Congress will recess in August -- ExxonMobil just might get its way. That
is, unless we can keep the pressure on Congress to deliver the strong toy
safety bill they've promised.

Help us make it happen. Please sign our letter to
congressional leadership:

http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES

Then, send this message to a few friends and ask them to
take action, too.

Let's make sure when it comes to toy safety, Congress
sides with America's children, not with Exxon Mobil.

Sincerely,

Peggy Lo

Toy Safety Online Organizer

PeggyL@pirg.org

http://www.toysafety.net

If your child has been injured by a defective toy, call us.  We are here to hold negligent toy manufacturers responsible for putting dangerous products on the market.

Steve Waldman

swaldman@gwlawyers.com

Computers, Voice Mail and Real “Live” Attorneys

Those of us who lived in the age before computers and voice mail have participated in a great reshaping of human communication that includes the way lawyers do business. We share information via email and voice mail – with clients, other attorneys and insurance companies. We even file lawsuits electronically! It seems the brave new world is upon us.

But, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

I grew up in the home of a small town lawyer. Beaumont was (and is) a city of over 100,000 people, but it has always had a distinct small town feel that its residents treasure. My father did not like dealing with clients over the telephone. He wanted to look people in the eye. He grudgingly put up with the telephone, because his client demanded it.

Today, we have begun to abandon the telephone in favor of emails and voice mails. Yet, many people resist computerized communication. Have you ever heard someone say he or she hates emailing friends and family and would rather use the telephone for personal communication? Now, the telephone is considered “personal,” while email and voice mail are considered impersonal.

What will come next? Video phones are already available. Two people with Mac computers and high speed internet connections can have an audio-video conversation with no additional bells or whistles. Perhaps the next step of the digital age will be more personal, as we utilize this form of communication to see and hear each other.

I have attempted to continue my father’s practice of emphasizing personal meetings with clients. In college, I learned that 90% of all communication is non-verbal, and I have seen this truism at work. When I ask a client recovering from back surgery, “How are you doing?” and the client says, “Fine,” that gives me an impression the client is doing well. Imagine that client bent over, his face twisted in pain. He may say “Fine,” but his body language says otherwise. However, the realities of daily life often make a trip downtown difficult. This just means we have to work a little harder to communicate.

We utilize email, voice mail, telephones, fax (remember when faxes were new?), and even “snail mail” to communicate with our clients. Whatever helps our clients and makes them feel they are receiving the personal service to which they are entitled. Convenience is important, but there are times when we ask our clients to come see us in person. There still is no substitute for a face to face meeting.

Steve Waldman

It’s Official: Allstate is the Worst (According to AAJ)

Sometimes, information that is helpful to our clients and friends comes from others.  Here is a press release from the American Association for Justice:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2008
CONTACT:
Ray De Lorenzi, American Association for Justice
202-965-3500 x369
ray.delorenzi@justice.org

ALLSTATE RANKS AS WORST INSURER FOR CONSUMERS

Insurance Industry Employs “Deny, Delay, Defend” Strategy, Puts Profits Over Policyholders

WASHINGTON, DC – Allstate ranks as the worst insurer for consumers, according to a comprehensive investigation of thousands of legal documents and financial filings.

The rankings show a distinct pattern of insurance industry greed amongst 10 companies that refuse to pay just claims, employ hardball tactics against policyholders, reward executives with extravagant salaries, and raise premiums while hoarding excessive profits.

“While Allstate publicly touts its ‘good hands’ approach, it has instead privately instructed its agents to employ a ‘boxing gloves’ strategy against its policyholders,” said American Association for Justice CEO Jon Haber.  “Allstate ducks, bobs and weaves to avoid paying claims to increase its profits.”

Allstate (NYSE: ALL) set the standard for insurance company greed and placing profits over policyholders.  Allstate contracted with consulting giant McKinsey & Co. in the mid-1990s to systematically force consumers to accept lowball claims or face its “boxing gloves,” an aggressive strategy designed to deny claims at any cost.  One Allstate employee reported that supervisors told agents to lie and blame fires on arson, and in turn, were rewarded with portable fridges.

Thousands of court documents, materials uncovered from litigation and discovery, testimony, complaints filed with state insurance departments, SEC and FBI records, and news accounts were reviewed to compile the rankings and statistics.

The rest of the rankings are as follows:
2.      Unum (NYSE: UNM) – Unum’s actions are even more shameful considering the type of insurance it sells: disability.  Unum’s behavior was epitomized when it denied the claim of a woman with multiple sclerosis for three years, stating her conditions were “self-reported,” contrary to doctors’ evaluations.  In 2005, Unum agreed to a settlement with insurance commissioners from 48 states over their practices.
3.      AIG (NYSE: AIG) – The world’s biggest insurer, AIG’s slogan was “we know money.”  AIG, described by commentators as “the new Enron,” has engaged in massive corporate fraud and claims abuses.  In 2006, the company paid $1.6 billion to settle a host of charges.
4.      State Farm – State Farm is notorious for its deny and delay tactics, and like Allstate, hired McKinsey consultants.  State Farm’s true motives became apparent during Hurricane Katrina; for example, it employed multiple engineering firms until they could deny the claims of the Nguyen family of Mississippi.  In April 2007, State Farm agreed to re-evaluate more than 3,000 Hurricane Katrina claims.
5.      Conseco (NYSE: CNO) – Conseco sells long-term care policies, typically to the elderly.  Amongst its egregious behavior, the insurer “made it so hard to make a claim that people either died or gave up,” said a former Conseco-subsidiary agent.  Former Conseco executives were fined when they admitted to filing misleading financial statements with regulators.
6.      WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) – Health insurer WellPoint has a long history of putting profits ahead of policyholders.  For instance, California fined a WellPoint subsidiary in March 2007 after an investigation revealed that the insurer routinely canceled policies of pregnant women and chronically ill patients.
7.      Farmers – Swiss-owned Farmers Insurance Group consistently ranks at or near the bottom of homeowner satisfaction surveys, and for good reason.  For example, Farmers had an incentive program called “Quest for Gold” that offered pizza parties to its adjusters that met low claims payments goals.  Like Allstate, it also hired the McKinsey consultants.
8.      UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) – The SEC opened an investigation into former UnitedHealth CEO WILLIAM MCGUIRE for stock backdating, which ultimately led to his ouster in 2006 and returning $620 million in stock gains and retirement compensation.  Physicians have also reported that their reimbursements are so low and delayed by the company that patient health is being compromised.
9.      Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) – According to Hoover’s In-Depth Company Records, Torchmark’s very origins were little more than a scam devised to enrich its founder, Frank Samford.  Torchmark has preyed on low-income Southern residents and charged minority policyholders more than whites on burial policies.
10.  Liberty Mutual – Like Allstate and State Farm, Liberty Mutual hired consulting giant McKinsey to adopt aggressive tactics.  Liberty’s tactics were highlighted when a New York couple’s insurance was “nonrenewed” by Liberty, even though they lived 12 miles from the coast and never experienced weather-related flooding.

Financial documents also revealed extravagant profits and executive compensation while policyholders’ claims were routinely delayed and denied:
·        Over the last 10 years, the property / casualty and life / health insurance industries have each enjoyed annual profits exceeding $30 billion.
·        The insurance industry takes in over $1 trillion in premiums every year.  It has $3.8 trillion in assets, more than the GDPs of all but two countries.
·        The CEOs of the top 10 property / casualty firms earned an average of $8.9 million in 2007.  The CEOs of the top 10 life / health insurance earned an average of $9.1 million.
·        The median insurance CEO’s cash compensation is $1.6 million per year, leading all industries.

To see how consumers can hold the insurance industry accountable and view a full copy of the study, visit http://www.justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsuranceCompanies.pdf.

We All Need a Break

I am frequently and pleasantly surprised by how often the lessons of today can be found in the Bible. The first Commandment that had an impact on daily (or weekly) life was, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” That was the beginning of the concept of taking time off from the mundane, profane and inane activities of life and giving the body and mind a rest. What started as a six day work week eventually became the foundation for the vacation.

Some people do not have the luxury of a vacation. Many of my clients are unable to work, and when a person loses the ability to work, he or she also loses the ability to take time off from work. That sounds odd, but the distinction between doing “a day’s work for a day’s pay” and R&R is part of the fabric of our lives. People who can no longer work experience a tear in that fabric that is real and unsettling.

I am thankful for my job and the work I do. As my friend and colleague John Farneti once put it, my job gives me an opportunity to do good work that helps people. Most people have the same opportunity, even if they are not in a professional or service industry. Regardless of whether you are a lawyer, doctor, nurse, educator, pipefitter, truck driver, construction worker, or stay-at-home Mom, the work you do helps others and contributes to the good of your community. A job well done makes everyone’s life better.

Many of us are taking time off this week to celebrate our nation’s Independence. As we commemorate the birth of our country, we should give ourselves a true break from work. For me, that means putting down the computer and the Blackberry, or as my legal assistant Debbie describes it, “unplugging myself.” We have a terrific staff, and three other lawyers in my firm who can handle emergencies.

Have a great Fourth. Enjoy your family and friends. Eat a hot dog and a piece of apple pie. The work will still be there when you are done!