Iowa Edict - Commentary on Injury & Accident Law

Surely the hate mail over this lawsuit will drive the U.S. Postal Service into the black. This past week the gloves came off when the Iowa Industrial Commissioner (Chris Godfrey) personally sued Governor Terry Branstad (and others in his administration) for discrimination, defamation and harassment over the Governor’s reduction in Godfrey’s annual salary by nearly $36,000. It left me wondering how any of this serves the people of Iowa.

The Govna wanted Godfrey to resign claiming inter alia that Godfrey's actions were getting in the way of job creation in Iowa. Essentially the claim is that he wasn’t doing a good job; a claim which is seriously flawed to the point of being frivolous. (On this point you need only read how the Iowa Economic Development Authority sells this state to the business community.) Iowa’s workers’ compensation program is heralded as one of the best run programs in the country. Godfrey’s suit says if I am doing a good job what else is left but a right-wing attack on my sexual preferences? 

"Iowa’s workers’ compensation costs are among the nation’s lowest. The average cost of workers’ compensation insurance for manufacturers in Iowa is 16 percent lower than the national average. Iowa law provides for employer choice of doctor." (Actuarial and Technical Solutions, 2009) - quote from Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa's Business Advantages LINK

I'm not sure in Iowa I've seen this level of dirty politics being played with the Iowa Industrial Commissioner position. As someone who is a registered Republican and who has practiced before the commission for over 30 years I have to say Chris Godfrey is doing an excellent job. His decisions find balance and frankly the Commission under his administration hasn't favored the injured workers. There is a balance struck that favors no one side. He sticks to the law. His decisions are as fair to the employers as they are to the injured workers. The facts seem to dictate the outcome and if I had to pick a side I'd say the Commission favors the employers. So come on Govna what the heck are you doing?

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Question: What should I do if my employer assaulted me at work? Out of rage, my employer struck me in the face at work. There has been similar behavior in the past. The police were called and a report was filed. The officers said that the charges would likely stick. Should I seek some sort of civil action against my employer as well? Would I need an employment lawyer or a personal injury lawyer for a case like this?

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Some days we look back at what we did and wonder why we didn't see how dumb it would look in retrospect. Here are a few recent examples.

An Iowa convenience store chain manager created a contest for employees. The employees were asked to name the next co-worker to be fired. An Iowa judge called the contest deplorable. This mis-manager may need a time out. There is no indication if anyone picked themselves. 

The imaginary-baby adoption lady is said to have violated probation and in trouble again.

The Iowa Supreme Court puts down its foot with police monitoring of attorney “confidential” visits with arrestees. Private and confidential means just that – private and confidential. You mean that video recorder and making the lawyer scream at his client through Plexiglas makes that impossible? See Barney Fife being told to go to jail, do not pass go, just go straight to jail.

Nip it in the bud Barney. Here is an actual scene from the Ankeny Police Department video interrogation. 

http://youtu.be/sL9TunUh_bw

If only they understood The Cobra method of interrogation. 

Trust me, I can't make this stuff up. My imagination doesn't work this well. 

Oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court are now live and streaming on the Internet. Unless you’re a lawyer, and in most cases involved in the case, you’ll find this about as exciting as watching corn grow in August. There was an outcry the courts were too secretive and maybe something fishy was going on behind those closed doors that allowed the gay marriage decision to come out of the Constitutional closet. 

The idea that somehow the Iowa Supreme Court operates in secrecy is preposterous and leads me back to the Law of Molly. Whenever there is thunder, our dog Molly hides her head under the bed as if that alone will protect her. The photo is Molly after the thunder stopped and she finished hiding her head - just as the Vander Platts group wants you to do. Each is acting foolish.

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Iowa's Version of MMA Tort-Reform Was A Recipe for Disaster 

“No thought was given to the human cost of unregulated MMA.”

That statement comes from “The Underground”, the MMA Warehouse in an article Sherdog wrote as Part II of Zach Kirk’s fight and his being paralyzed for life.

Here is the real disgrace.

In days, Kirk went bankrupt. The rest of Kirk’s medical care costs -- hundreds of thousands of dollars -- was paid for by the citizens of Iowa. 

This is what you get when farmers turn legislators and think they know law and can assess legal risk. Like lawyers trying to plant a straight row of crops, farmers’ legislating makes for a lousy result. Deciding what corn to plant isn't the same as analyzing the legal principles and making sensible public policy. No lawyer in his right mind would have voted to deregulate MMA fighting. Boxing I understand, MMA I do not get. It's nothing more than what Romans did with lions fighting slaves. What's attracting young men to the sport is the lack of regimented training and the promise of big money. Regulations and fighter protections are not just necessary for the fighters but also for the taxpayers who end up footing the bill when fighters through fighting become seriously, permanently and totally disabled. 

Like I said, I'm not planting corn any time soon. But put me on the Boxing Commission and I'll protect the Iowa tax dollars. 

Spectators sometimes became part of the Coliseum show -

Although the typical Coliseum of Rome combatants were trained gladiators, convicted criminals and prisoners of war, occasionally glory-seeking individuals volunteered to fight. Often they overrated their skills and suffered the consequences.

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There is nothing worse than a bunch of lawyers with not enough clients and too much time on their hands. These videos it's well worth the fifteen minutes of laughter.

So You Want to Go to Law School

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMvARy0lBLE

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Before talking to the insurance adjuster or defense attorney or the case mismanager remember this from I Claudius, don't touch the figs.

The premise held by most clients is that this system of law is fair. They'll say they want only to be treated fairly. When representing themselves they make the assumption that when defense lawyers talk to you they will be fair. Well I'm here to tell you, you had better not trust in being treated fairly. I mean exactly that and it has nothing to do with whether or not the defense lawyer or the insurance company is dishonest. They don’t have to be “honest” and they aren’t trying to be “fair”. Fact is they are hoping you aren’t smart enough to ask the right questions so they don’t have to not answer you. You think I’m kidding? Hell no. I’m not and I can prove I’m right. Here let me prove it to you.

Defense work has nothing to do with treating people fairly. If it did you could come up with the name of at least one defense lawyer who has said in the past, "I don't think you're asking for enough, can I pay you more?" Or, "Did you know you're entitled under the law to be paid more for your damages?” Go ahead find me one insurance company representative that has said that in the entire history of insurance. Go ahead, think real hard; I can wait, go ahead and think harder.

Umnnn dee dum, dee-dum... Have you remembered one? No? I didn't think so. I've not heard anything like that in 30 years.

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What’s in your wallet? 

I buy gas using a credit card and a recent email pointed out we should all be hitting the "CLEAR" button at the pump after concluding our purchase. The email pointed out there is a way for someone to come along after you've left and to charge gas on your card. True? I'm not sure, but for the sake of safety I'm willing to push the clear button. But what about those stories that say electronics have advanced enough for someone to read the information off of your CC while it's still in your wallet? Can that happen and if so how will technology protect us?

We all find the Captial One commercials funny, or least some people do. But what about those electronic strips on your credit cards and identity theft issues that we read about and with fingers crossed sort of ignore? Need we be concerned about someone surreptitiously gathering the info off of our cards? Well, to understand the answer to that question we need to go back to high school science class to learn about the faraday cage. If you learn this lesson you'll be a long way to understanding the direction technology is heading.

Will the faraday cage protect a bird on a cage and what's in your wallet?

It may, but for you to appreciate why and what you need to know let’s first learn about the faraday cage?

Four options for learning about the faraday cage; although for purposes of this article you probably don’t need this detailed an understanding. Option One, Two, Three and Four.

Now let’s get back to the bird on a wire. High Power Electrical Line Maintenance Worker or as their Instructor says, "On a magic carpet".

A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material or by a mesh of such material. Such an enclosure blocks out external static electric fields. Faraday cages are named after the English scientist Michael Faraday, who invented them in 1836.

A Faraday cage's operation depends on the fact that an external static electrical field will cause the electrical charges within the cage's conducting material to redistribute themselves so as to cancel the field's effects in the cage's interior. This phenomenon is used, for example, to protect electronic equipment from lightning strikes and other electrostatic discharges. 

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The issue in this next case is pretty straightforward, but the outcome is anything but that. A contractor has an accident but he doesn't have the right insurance coverage. So he sues his insurance agent for not placing the right coverage. The contractor loses the case against Farm Bureau because the insurance agent has no legal duty to select coverages. What we have is the insurance industry saying one thing and doing another. Watch the video of the Farm Bureau commericals and ask yourself if they hold themselves out to be experts on what you need for insurance coverage. Does FB say they offer expert advice?  Then consider the decision in Merriam that says they don't have a duty to do so because they aren't experts in selecting insurance coverage. Isn't that exactly how FB holds it'self out? You be the judge.

What about that "knowledge you can count on" pledge? After Merriam it sure seems to ring hollow.

Remember those Farm Bureau agents saying they make insurance simple? Here get caught up and listen to the agents telling you how simple they make insurance so you can feel good about your future; and then there is the make simple by providing knowledge you can count on. As you listen ask yourself if somewhere in there, there is a promise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFMnwpw-LLg

Here listen again to the Farm Bureau insurance made simple pledge and then let’s see how it plays out in real life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4DHSGeuQQE

Remember what you just heard. Come on it's all pretty simple to remember. Basically you can trust us to make it simple for you. Got it?

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Interesting; a few weeks ago I noticed the Iowa DPS site was down and a press release indicated the site had been compromised. It was an unintended Amber Alert that put the DPS on notice that its website had been breached. So what or who hacked into the site and why?

Here is a link to the  press release from November 29, 2010. For those who aren't familiar, the Iowa DPS is the Department of Public Safety which includes the Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa Fire Marshall and a whole host of other critical safety agencies.

The corrective press release said little about what the breach was or who did what and when. What was the cause? Here is the ‘explanation’ from December 14, 2010.

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Growing up in a seaport town you learn early that when rats are leaving the ship it means it’s going to sink.

Following the stock market meltdown I’d hope corporate America would change how they view and treat the stockholders. That is a hope we will never realize. This next story made me wince at the thought of how naïve some boards and CEO’s see the shareholders. Let me set this one up with a short explanation. Normally when a company issues stock the board approves the offering for the purpose of growing the company and increasing the value to shareholders. So if you were to issue $10,000,000 of new stock and not use that money to grow the business you would essentially be taking $10,000,000 of value from the shareholders. It's referred to as dilution. With a company having a market capitalization of $691 million dollars that’s a significant dilution to the shareholders. Now read this article that was in the Iowa business newspaper.

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Since 2004 the American Postal Workers Union has been complaining to the PTB that while wind and hail don't stop the mail, electrical shock can. (PTB = Powers that be.) Their complaints  about electrical hazards were falling on deaf ears so OSHA got involved about the bulk mail centers. These BMC's are no small operation. There are 350 bulk mail centers in the lower 48. And the size of each can be enormous.

“The first fine, $97,500, came in January against a postal plant in Des Moines, Iowa. The largest fine was $558,000 against a plant in Providence, R.I.

A Dayton plant was fined $225,000 in August, and a Cincinnati plant was fined $210,000 in September.”

These bulk mail centers are huge and I mean H-U-G-E. The center in Columbus is described as the size of 18 football fields where mail for 49 counties is handled.

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Most golf course owners who were a part of the Royal Links, USA hospitality cart advertising program lost a lot of money. Advertising that was supposed to pay for lease payments never materialized and the program eventually collapsed leaving the owners with making monthly lease payments amounting to over $20,000. It would not have been so bad if the owners hadn't paid $12,500 for what amounts to a Styrofoam cup with wheels and a canopy. It wouldn't cool if you didn't add ice and couldn't keep anything warm unless it was made warm. You could pull it behind a golf cart but it wouldn't move on its own. For $12,500 you could have purchased a fancy riding mower and pulled a $200 cart behind it with coolers filled with ice and at least you would have a useful piece of equipment.  Many of the leases required venue in Polk County, Iowa, which is why I became involved with representing golf course owners who were sued by the leasing companies after they refused to make the agreed monthly payment. And that's where we all learned about the hell-or-high-water clause.

Royal Links USA - Claim Form – Victim Impact Statement

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That's the sound of your $$ in the insurance adjuster's pocket. To the insurance industry it's called promoting the float. The float is the money they keep while you wait. It's insurance wealth that belongs to you, but insurance uses it during the delay that they create. Ka-chingggggggggggg!!! Thanks!

Insurance Lullaby: Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching! Insurance Executives: Thank you juries! We fooled you again. Remember we're not to blame, it's those trial lawyers! The ones trying to help you! Oops sorry I wasn't supposed to remind you. We're your good neighbor; you know the one's you're in good hands with! Smile! Bigger ka-ching!

Sorry, when it comes to the insurance industry I love being sarcastic. A lady wrote asking me if the insurance adjuster can unilaterally assign her 50% fault for the accident even though she was not ticketed and the other driver received a citation for failing to yield the right-of-way.  The adjuster believes a driver is automatically at fault, no matter what, and he deducts 50% from the property damage. My advice is pretty straightforward and simple. He's trying to delay paying you. Can you say ka-ching?

Today let's talk about the American styled insurance that protects the float by promoting delay. When you're in an accident you need to know how to protect your claim. Because if you don't protect your claim by keeping the facts straight, you allow the adjuster to promote the float through their delaying a fair resolution. You may be honest, but don't be dumb and allow the adjuster to maladjust your case.

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I can always tell when FOX’s ratings are slipping because the producers decide it’s time once again to pick a fight with lawyers who help the injured. Either that or my Republican Party needs campaign contributions and they are going to stir up the doctors to get out their credit cards. I read the teaser on FOX titled, This Week’s Show: Parasitic Tort Lawyers,  and see it’s about medical malpractice and how evil some lawyers are for assisting patients to legally file a lawsuit. Oh my! I think the sky is falling. Frankly I’m not going to watch or read anything more than the teaser because the doctor says my blood pressure is already too high as it is. So this morning I’m sitting in front of the computer writing this blog since I know of no cheaper form of therapy.   I have to tip my hat to FOX, because they really know how to sell ice cream to the public. FOX treats news as if there are flavors of the facts; like Baskin Robbins has 32 flavors of ice cream.

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