I grew up believing that when somebody got hurt, insurance companies rushed in and made things right. I’m embarrassed by my ignorance now, but I used to think that people who were injured had already received a fair offer from the insurance company — but then instead of accepting it, they sued because they wanted more than they rightfully deserved. Until you’ve gone through it, you don’t see the ugly truth about how they work.
My opinion quickly changed when my friend’s mother desperately needed a machine to help her sleep at night. Although the machine was clearly covered under her insurance plan, the insurer told her to get a doctor’s note requiring it, so she did. And then they told her to get another. And another. After she collected three separate doctor’s notes, they finally gave her the inexpensive machine nearly seven months and many sleepless nights later. No explanation; no apology; that’s just what they consider good business.
The insurance company wants it to be easier to buy the machine yourself and not make an insurance claim. They want you running around town with multiple doctor’s appointments for a $200 machine. There are probably many other people who need that machine but said it wasn’t worth the trouble. Many times, insurance companies can get out of doing what’s right just by creating unnecessary hurdles to jump. They grind you down until you get overwhelmed and just say, ‘oh forget it.’ This might sound like one silly story, but over the years, I have seen that this is their standard operating procedure: delay, deny, defend.
I guess I was always destined to stand up for the little guy against powerful interests. I remember how the treatment of my friend’s mother really stuck with me because it seemed so unfair. She had paid her premiums, but they didn’t want to do the right thing. She felt invisible and ashamed for having to keep reminding people of her condition.
I began my legal career fighting for those wrongly accused of criminal offenses, and through that work, I became a Certified Criminal Trial Specialist. During that time, I learned how to present powerful arguments to a (sometimes) uncaring and cruel judges and juries. I focused on effective advocacy and became comfortable presenting legal arguments and preparing witnesses through testimony and exhibits.
After some big successes in the courtroom, former criminal clients starting asking me to also represent them in civil cases like malicious prosecution, false arrest, defamation, fraud, and other civil cases that originally stemmed from the criminal cases. I began to see that in my heart, the same drive toward helping the individual against overwhelming odds didn’t just belong to the criminal courts, but equally — if not more so — to the wrongfully injured person in a civil case.
My trial experience shifted easily from handling mostly criminal cases into the current role of helping injured persons who will not just ‘disappear’ for the big insurance companies — people just like you. I find it incredibly rewarding to help clients achieve justice, healing, and the piece of mind knowing that their future will be secure through the awards we obtained in a favorable settlement or a generous civil jury verdict.