Florida Insurance Law Blog

Today is the 100th anniversary of the fire that killed 146 young women and girls in 18 minutes. In the aftermath of the tragedy, where employers “compensated” the victims families by paying them $10.00 per dead person, the workers compensation laws in the United States was born. Francis Perkins, who as a young woman, watched the girls jumping from the ninth floor, Became the First woman Secretary of Labor under Roosevelt, and started the Occupational Health and Safety board.

Here is a link to learn about it: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

There is an old saying about the importance of studying and learning from history, that if you don't, you are bound to repeat it. Now, 100 years later, the crazies in political office, hacks for their campaign donors and patrons, are intent on further eliminating regulatory oversight, and removing private civil justice protections. Read, heed, and understand what is happening all around you.....

We've been litigating and trying cases against the insurance industry for almost 30 years now. (Time sure flies...). Many of the laws that govern insurance here in Florida and elsewhere, begin with "model acts" drafted by The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, whose members are the top insurance regulators from each of the 50 states.

Most often these "model acts" weaken the rights of individuals, families, and small businesses who buy insurance. This year there is a proposal to shield insurance agents from the mandates of the federal insurance reform. I expect that the industry folks will, unfortunately for the rest of us, have many friends in that group: http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/naicindustryties.pdf

If the regulators are so close to the industry that they regulate, I guess it is good for our business, since we can still represent people who have been wronged by insurers, but bad for most everybody in the long run.

The general public expects that the government, federal, state, and local, is really "watching the store", and will agressively prosecute and punish wrongdoers.

That just isn't the case.

During the past 30 years, we have eliminated, privatized, and weakened government watchdog and prosecution functions to the point that they are almost laughable. If things weren't so scary now, it would be an enormous joke......on the people.

In the March 3rd edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Matt Taibbi, who is a terrific investigative journalist, (one of the few today), wrote this article on what did not happen to Wall Street and the bankers:

Continue reading " Please explain to me why we need civil justice "reform", exactly? " »