Two Amazing Cases in Trial: A Huge Verdict & A Terrible One
Bicycle vs. Caltrans & City of Los Angeles - 9.1 Million verdict
Caltrans and LA must pay 9.1 million to a man left brain damaged after he was struck while riding his bicycle.

Robert Watts was seriously injured as he rode toward his home in Topanga Canyon. Watts came across a pile of sand and rocks on the pavement and steered into the travel lane to avoid the debris. He was struck on a truck’s side mirror and lost control of his bicycle.
Watts was an experienced bicyclist who rode to his office in Culver City for years to keep fit.

The city promotes bike riding but, if they promote it, you have to expect that they’ll keep it safe was the argument that persuaded the jury.

Caltrans owned the highway, but the city was contracted to keep the road free of debris.

In court the city blamed everyone but themselves.

Robert Watts vs Caltrans and City of LA. -- Los Angeles Superior Court


PRACTICE TIP : Be prepared to see many more bicycle and scooter accidents with serious issues especially Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Unbelievable Actress lost & will have to pay defendant insurance
A terrible nightmare is fighting a long expensive case only to get so little that your client has to pay out of pocket costs to defendant!

Actress Paula was driving a 2012 Ford Flex and was rear-ended on the freeway. Defendant Auto Club argued the accident was so minor no one could have been injured.

Paula incurred over $130,000 in medical costs. She claimed to have lost TV and movie roles. She claimed migraines, cervical radiculopathy, thoracic outlet syndrome, foot pain, neck and back pain and permanent nerve damage. The jury did not believe Paula.

Indeed, the jury did find that defendant was at fault, but it did not believe Paula was seriously hurt and was greatly exaggerating.

Paula demanded $1,000,000 before trial. Defendant offered $525,000. The jury awarded ONLY $4,862 for her medical bills and $25,000 for past pain and suffering.

Defendant paid over $70,000 in litigation costs. After deducting Paula’s award, Paula personally owes Auto Club attorneys $39,851 out of her pocket.

Paula vs. Koga -- Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Patrick Madden. 


PRACTICE TIP: Don’t let your patient get greedy.

Can Airbags Kill You?
Mercedes and most car manufacturers continue to promote an explosion of needless airbags throughout their new cars. Airbags in front, on the side, in the back and now in the ceiling. This is about marketing; giving consumers the false hope that when there's more airbags the car is safer. Not true.

The common claim is airbags saves lives. However, the heavy safety work is performed by the 3-point seat belt harness. Once you are strapped in your body cannot move. Originally the airbag was to stop the driver from striking the steering wheel or getting thrown out of the car. Today’s seat belt prevents that movement.

The driver’s side airbag inflates in 20 to 30 milliseconds, exploding out of its housing at 200 miles per hour. The technology used to deploy airbags is similar to the technology in some rocket boosters.

For a copy of this article email johntawlian@shawnsteel.com
ACE Lit Tips
--Even a ‘reasonable’ chiropractic bill can be deemed ‘unreasonable’ if your price per visit (PPV or Average Daily Fee ADF) is too high.

--At a mediation recently, I presented a seemingly-very-reasonable $4,000 chiropractic bill. However, given that it was a soft tissue case and there were 20 dates of treatment, the PPV was $200/visit.

--No matter how many body parts you start out dealing with, the average price per visit shouldn’t exceed $150 (ideally $125). We will always get push-back on this from insurance companies who threaten to bring in a billing expert to combat these bills.

--Always alert the attorney if your total bill approaches $5,000—you should be keeping rough track of your PPV.

--Adjusters and their Artificial Intelligence allies really do dissect your fees to determine the best ways to cut your fees.

Farmers vs. Chiropractic
Keep a lookout for a new Farmers ploy.

In a letter to a doctor in Los Angeles, Farmers stated they will ‘gladly pay for the treatment that is reasonable and necessary,” but they claimed we “typically do not cover manipulations (98940) and therapeutic exercises (97110) on the same day as they provide the same therapeutic benefit."

We reached out to Sam Collins, billing expert and Director of HJ Ross network for his opinion. This is what he had to say:

“Ludicrous. Exercise has a completely separate outcome from CMT. If manual therapy 97140 they could have an argument.

Collins explains: “Have the doctor highlight the purpose and goals and clearly separate. And no preclusion from CCI edits as well as standard guidelines for care.”

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