Personal Injury Law

Habush v. Cannon - part V

Posted on November 20, 2009
A quick note too, the recent Journal-Sentinel article is wrong in asserting that the "Sponsored link [is] gone."I again just searched Yahoo! and Google as well as Bing and all three have sponsored links when you search for "Habush" or "Rottier" that lead to the website of Cannon & Dunphy...

Habush v. Cannon - part IV

Posted on November 20, 2009
JS Online now as an article about the war of words and a quote from Cannon saying of the lawsuit and Habush, "It's ridiculous. He looks like a buffoon." Personally, I don't think either is true here. Let's take a look at the legal basis for the Habush v...

Habush, Habush & Rottier sues Cannon & Dunphy

Posted on November 19, 2009
Habush, Habush & Rottier, an old-guard Wisconsin personal injury law firm, is suing Cannon & Dunphy, another such firm for paying Google to link to the Cannon & Dunphy website when Google user searchs the name Habush or Rottier. It's actually quite interesting given that the Habush law firm was one of the first to advertise quite heavily on T...

Habush v. Cannon - part III

Posted on November 19, 2009
AP has a story on this now in which the two reputable Wisconsin pesonal injury attorneys are now having what can only be described as an ugly war of words. Per the story, among other things, Attorney Bob Habush said: "If Bill Cannon thinks this is a correct way to do business he needs to have his moral compass taken to the repair shop...

To access blog feed reader register for free. (You will also learn about new ways to read and access the freshest law blogs.)

Habush v. Cannon - part II

Posted on November 19, 2009
Given the Chicago Tribune's report that Attorney Bill Cannon "calls the lawsuit "laughable" and without merit," perhaps my speculation that Habush and Rottier believed that Cannon wouldn't stop the practice was dead on and they could have been wasting their time if they had expressed concern before filing the lawsuit...

Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers in Milwaukee Magazine

Posted on November 13, 2009
Milwaukee Magazine is out with its December 2009 issue, which again this year has the Super Lawyers list of attorneys in Wisconsin. Super Lawyers tries to identify the top 5% of all Wisconsin attorneys and its Rising Stars list tries to identify the top 2...

Wisconsin Informed Consent Law

Posted on August 02, 2009
Wisconsin medical malpractice law has a doctrine known as informed consent. This was recently addressed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Bubb v. Brusky. Maryland personal injury lawyer Ron Miller has a very good post on the Bubb decision here. The basic take away from the decision is that physicians have a duty to fully inform patients of treatment alternatives that reasonable patients may choose...

Top Wisconsin Lawyers List

Posted on July 16, 2009
I blogged on Wisconsin personal injury Super Lawyers before. But I just received great news from one of Super Lawyers editors via email. Specifically, I was told that in 2009, I will be rated one of the TOP 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers.This honor is pretty cool considering that the answer to the question How many lawyers are in Wisconsin? is about 14,000...

Medical Malpractice Double Standard

Posted on July 13, 2009
Estate of Genrich v. OHIC Insurance Company is the latest example of the double standard present in Wisconsin's medical malpractice cases. Supreme Court Justice Crooks really sums up that decision where he states in his dissent: "The approach adopted by the majority in this case----that a three-year statute of limitations on a wrongful death claim somehow runs before three years have elapsed after the date of death----unfortunately may foster a public perception that common sense sometimes is lacking in court decisions...

Wisconsin asbestos mesothelioma decision

Posted on May 12, 2009
Wisconsin Asbestos & Mesothelioma Blog has a post on a recent decision from the Court of Appeals in a Wisconsin mesothelioma car brakes case.Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Help Increase Auto Insurance Liability Limits in Wisconsin

Posted on May 08, 2009
With the legal minimum insurance in Wisconsin at $25,000, you could easily be seriously injured in a car accident through no fault of your own and later find out the other driver doesn't have enough car insurance to pay for your medical bills. Governor Doyle has proposed increasing the liability limits for auto insurance...

Wisconsin Car Insurance Reform

Posted on April 06, 2009
Driving Auto Insurance Reform in Wisconsin discusses Governor Doyle's car insurance proposal. It makes excellent points about the fact that car accident victims are greatly effected by (1) health care costs skyrocketing 250%-300% and (2) the cost of cars increasing since 1982, the last time Wisconsin addressed its minimum car insurance limits...

Two Die in Marinette County Car Accident

Posted on April 05, 2009
A single-vehicle car accident in Marinette County claimed two lives Friday evening in Lake, Wisconsin. According to the County Sheriff, the car veered off the road entering a ditch and striking a tree. Law enforcement believes the driver was driving too fast for conditions...

Wisconsin IME Doctors

Posted on April 01, 2009
In Defense "Independent" Medical Examinations and Medical Defense Doctors, I blogged on IME doctors in Wisconsin and an outfit brokering Wisconsin IME docs. Today's New York Times' Exams of Injured Workers Fuel Mutual Mistrust peaked my curiousity and so this time, instead of picking on the same firm as the last two posts, I'm blogging on Medical Systems, Inc...

Phone Call and A Check

Posted on March 26, 2009
In How many lawyers do you need? I discussed hiring attorneys and lawyer advertising. Now, I'm going to rip a specific form of lawyer advertising, which is the former client or an actor holding a check and saying something like: all I did was call personal injury attorney ____ and I got $____...

Wisconsin Police may be Listening

Posted on March 12, 2009
In a loss for child molesters or those attempting to molest children (and advertising that on the Internet), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals handed down State v John David Ohlinger, 2008AP135. Ohlinger's horrific personal legal history can be see (partially) on Wisconsin's Circuit Court Access...

How many lawyers do you need?

Posted on March 02, 2009

Corporate Employees Email Legislators

Posted on February 24, 2009
Wisconsin's insurance corporations are so afraid of losing profits over Governor Doyle's Car Insurance Proposal that the companies are attempting to make employees email and phone all members of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin State Senate...

Governor Doyle's Car Insurance Proposal

Posted on February 23, 2009
In 1995, insurance companies in the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance conned state legislators and the governor into believing that if they change the law Wisconsin citizens would pay less in car insurance rates. Well, the bill became law, Wisconsin citizens lost many rights they had, and car insurance rates never went up...

Preemption Garbage Strikes Wisconsin

Posted on February 21, 2009
Blunt v. Medtronic, 2009 WI 16, is another bad example of how the U.S. Supreme Court has screwed up products liability law for consumers. Blunt is likely consistent with the litany of horrific decisions from federal courts, but the result is simply unfair to consumers...

Unethical Ambulance Chasing?

Posted on February 19, 2009
In the past I talked about Wisconsin personal injury attorneys sending letters to recent car accident victims, similar Wisconsin law firm's letters, and accident lawyers who post about recent accidents.In the newest twist, NY injury attorney Eric Turkewitz talks about the ethics of personal injury lawyers creating Flight 3407 related websites and buying related Google Adwords in Flight 3407 (Buffalo Crash) Web Site Established By Law Firm (Contravening Ethics Rules?) and DC Firm Jumps Into Cyber-Solicitation Fray, Chasing Buffalo Air Crash Clients...

Wisconsin Car Accident Deaths Down

Posted on February 12, 2009
According to this report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, Wisconsin car accident deaths were down 20% in 2008 from the year prior. This article from the Wall Street Journal explains that nationally car accident deathss were down about 10% in 2008...

Dangerous Car Accident Vehicles

Posted on February 11, 2009
Forbes caught my attention today with Most Dangerous Vehicles Of 2009. The vehicles listed were the Chevy Aveo, Chevy Colorado, Chevy Trailblazer, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Nitro, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, GMC Envoy, Hummer H3, Hyundai Accent, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler, Kia Rio, Mazda B Series, Nissan Frontier, and Suzuki Equator...

Wall Street! How do you like CAPS now?

Posted on February 04, 2009
President Obama wants to limit certain CEO's pay to $500,000 so I'm wondering now how Wall Street likes caps now. Wall Street CEOs like ex-AIG man Hank Greenberg and the Wall Street rag are always asking for tort reform and love CAPS on personal injury damages!Wisconsin has caps in nearly all wrongful death, medical malpractice, and municipality cases...

Wisconsin Cheerleading Lawsuit

Posted on January 28, 2009
Wisconsin's Supreme Court issued Noffke v. Bakke yesterday and it's been discussed in the news, Wall Street Journal's Blog, and by legal professors, Legal Profession Blog and Sports Law Blog. The Blogosphere discussion seems to focus on cheerleading as a contact sport, which I'm sure law scholars can debate ad infinitum...

True Justice from the new Dept of Justice?

Posted on January 22, 2009
In a prior post, I explained how federal agencies can and have been used to strip Americans of legal rights. In Revival of Justice: What Obama's DoJ appointees should do first, Yale Law School's Judith Resnik sets forth some ideas for the new administration to revive true justice...

Ingenix Lawsuit Settled

Posted on January 15, 2009
UnitedHealth Care through an outfit called Ingenix allegedly engaged in some insurance company behaviors I've mentioned. So it settled the lawsuit relating to that paying $350,000,000.00 to resolve class action lawsuits and $50,000,000.00 to the NY AG...

Olbermann Countdown Gets 3 Cheers

Posted on January 04, 2009
Almost missed posting on this well done piece. Unbeknowst to many Americans, sometimes an administrator at some federal agency can strip them of their rights.Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

BUY Uninsured Underinsured Car Insurance!

Posted on December 17, 2008
Today's news had a scary story about how the bad economy is causing a href="http://www.insurance.com/aboutus/pressreleasedetail.aspx/index/657"drivers to let their car insurance lapse/a. On my firm's web site, we talk about a href="http://www.injurywisconsin...

Drunk Driving Car Accidents in Wisconsin

Posted on December 16, 2008
Wisconsin has a severe problem with drunk driving and to reduce that problem, Wisconsin is considering interlocking systems. Clearly, this is a good idea to prevent Wisconsin car accidents and wrongful deaths.Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Dangerous Toys

Posted on December 02, 2008
U.S. PIRG is a federation of state Public Interest Research Groups that stands up for our health and well-being addressing issues involving product safety, prescription drugs and other consumer issues. It recently published two papers that are quite informational for those shopping for toys during Christmas: Toy Shopping Guide and Trouble In Toyland: The 23rd Annual Survey of Toy Safety...

Wisconsin's Mayfair Road Car Accidents

Posted on November 30, 2008
Wisconsin car accidents make up the majority of my law firm's personal injury practice and car accidents on Bluemound and Mayfair roads in Brookfield, Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa are frequently a part of that practice. So when I saw the article Avoiding a holiday crash on Mayfair Road, it caught my attention...

Wisconsin Personal Injury Super Lawyers

Posted on November 22, 2008
Super Lawyers published its list of the best lawyers in Wisconsin, which you may find in the December, 2008 Milwaukee Magazine. The list tries to identify the top 5% of all Wisconsin lawyers and its Rising Stars list tries to identify the top 2.5% of Wisconsin attorneys under age 40...

Insurance Company Tricks

Posted on November 12, 2008
I've blogged on insurance companies discussing their ways, but a new report from the American Association for Justice formalizes and confirms some of what I've said. Check out Tricks of the Trade.Here's the executive summary (minus the footnotes) of behaviors:"The U...

Verity Medical Defense Doctors

Posted on November 11, 2008
A while back I blogged on defense medical examinations, which defense lawyers and insurance companies love to call "independent", and I referred to an outfit known as Verity Medical posting it's October-November 2006 schedule.Verity has since wised-up and tried to bury its calendar of doctors doing these exams...

Accident insurers put on the boxing gloves

Posted on August 13, 2008
I saw this from the American Association for Justice and it says what you need to know about Allstate and car accident insurers listed as the worst insurers, like Farmers, Liberty Mutual and State Farm. I might add Progressive, American Family and Sentry Insurance...

Worst Insurance Companies

Posted on July 13, 2008
No surprise here that Allstate tops the list of the Worst Insurers for Consumers. Among others listed are Farmers, Liberty Mutual, and State Farm. The report described in the news article confirms much of what I've said about insurers. Buyer beware.Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Allstate's issues continue

Posted on May 30, 2008
Allstate cuts deal on excess charges in Texas, insureds come last and profits come first. Not a surprise.Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Allstate's Obstructing Justice

Posted on January 17, 2008
Allstate guarding profits scheme is the title of an article in the Miami Herald today. Seems pretty consistent with what I've said about insurance companies before. Some highlights: "Allstate is facing contempt charges in Missouri -- with a $25,000-a-day fine -- and now it can't sell new auto policies in Florida, in part, because it wants to protect a report written by a corporate consultant...

Wisconsin's Business Climate: WMC lying?

Posted on January 16, 2008
I've ripped on Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce before but this time WMC's is exposed by another Chamber of Commerce in Illinois.WMC launched its propaganda last week in the early stage of an effort to unseat Justice Louis Butler of the Wisconsin Supreme Court...

Personal Injury Attorneys Blogging

Posted on December 12, 2007
Kevin O'Keefe, formerly a Wisconsin personal injury attorney who moved west and out to the blogosophere, has an interesting post: Personal injury lawyer blogs going too far? What do you think?Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Holiday Shopping Online

Posted on November 30, 2007
Below are some tips for smart Christmas shopping on the Internet, but let me begin by stating: if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Now the tips:Check out the seller. Read the site?s privacy policy. Read return policies carefully.Know what you?re getting...

Milwaukee Car Accident Verdict Upheld

Posted on October 14, 2007
A $16.8 million jury verdict to a Milwaukee man who was badly injured in a car crash was upheld on Friday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.I know this may become fodder for those that stand against civil justice (because at the time, the man was 79-years-old, now 84, and the woman causing the crash was volunteering for a Milwaukee Archdiocese Church), but there are several items to keep in mind:1) The defendant ran a red light;2) The defendant was fully insured up to $40 million;3) The victim's injuries included:~ Amputation of one leg;~ Quadriplegia, paralysis from the neck down;~ Loss of bladder control;~ Loss of bowel function;~ Inability to feed himself;~ Required 24-hour care;~ Losing his part-time job as a barber; and ~ $558,366...

Doctors move to curb patients' free speech

Posted on August 29, 2007
I previously posted on Wisconsin Doctors ratings and now an outfit called Medical Justice Services, a company that seemingly helps doctors fight medical malpractice claims, has launched a program allegedly aimed a protecting against "online defamation...

Insurance Companies again

Posted on August 17, 2007
Ex-Insurance Company Commissioner, Herb Denenberg, writes in his August 01, 2007 column, his opinion that Allstate Insurance Company has plead guilty to a six-count indictment alleging it is the leading insurer when it comes to anti-consumer insurance practices...

Wisconsin Registered Sexual Offenders

Posted on August 11, 2007
Wisconsin Sex Offenders, Court & Corporate records were a prior topic, but here's a neat website for viewing maps of registered offenders, seeing their photos, addresses and convictions.Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Independent Medical Examinations revisited

Posted on August 01, 2007
So after just posting on ratemds.com, I reviewed my other posts with the label "medical examinations." One was on Verity Medical, which has now removed the calendar of all the doctors whose opinions are bought by insurance companies and their defense lawyers...

Wisconsin Doctor Ratings at RateMDs.com

Posted on August 01, 2007
Wisconsin Doctor Ratings at RateMDs.com can assist you in learning others' opinions about Wisconsin doctors. Keep in mind though that those are just random opinions.Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Attorney

Two Recent City of Brookfield Appointments

Posted on July 28, 2007
I'm pleased to announce the following two appointments I recently received:City of Brookfield, Wisconsin Mayor Jeffrey Speaker with the approval of Brookfield Aldermen Ron Balzer, Scott A. Berg, Christopher Blackburn, Bill Carnell, Mike Franz, James A...

Asbestos and politics

Posted on June 27, 2007
A Washington Post article on Fred Thompson's connection to asbestos interests has driven some to contact me as a result of my last two posts. Tort Deform.com blogs on this and so does Congresspedia on Fred Thompson. My assessment is that though this may be somewhat inconsistent with Thompson's true conservatism, it's not completely as asbestos in Wisconsin and elsewhere is more of a national issue, then say medical malpractice or car accidents...

Thompson, Torts, and True Conservatism

Posted on June 16, 2007
Thompson, Torts, and True Conservatism is another great article from the Center for a Just Society. See also its outstanding pieces on "Tort Reform":Tort Reform Part I: The Social Purpose of Tort LawTort Reform Part II: Preserving the Right to Trial by JuryTort Reform Part III: Who Decides?Tort Reform Part IV: Solutions Depend on Facts not SpinWisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Fred Thompson

Posted on May 31, 2007
Fred Thompson has basically said he's running for President and I'm pretty excited about that. Though I consider myself to be fairly conservative and I've supported certain Republicans in the past. e.g. Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, I generally fall on the Democratic side of the ticket due to my very strong belief that tort reform is wrong and those without the ability to pay lawyers hourly rates (upwards of $200+ per hour) ought to have the same access to the courts as those with the ability to pay...

Wisconsin Lawyers Sponsoring Golf Outings

Posted on May 14, 2007
The Wisconsin lawyers I know generally try to share the benefits of their practice with charitable groups. This year my firm is sponsoring the Sharon Lynn Wilson Center for the Arts Golf Classic on June 18, 2007 and the Saint Francis Seminary Golf Benefit on July 30, 2007...

Wisconsin Litigation Skills for Legal Staff

Posted on April 04, 2007
In Brookfield, Wisconsin, on June 15, 2007, I will be moderating and speaking at Lorman's Litigation Skills for Legal Staff. The seminar is targeted to junior associates, paralegals and legal assistants who perform critical functions related to the maintenance and organization of the case, especially relating to discovery issues...

CNN exposes on insurance companies

Posted on February 07, 2007
Days ago I wrote how an insurer sued an 81-year-old for failing to shovel and showed other examples of what insurance companies want:~ Premiums not claims~ To deter valid lawsuits~ People to hate lawyers so they never get one~ You to feel guilt for making legitimate claims~ You to think you're "not the kind of person who files a lawsuit"~ Juries to think a person who files a suit is dishonest~ Jurors minds made up before evidence is heard~ Your rights minimized or removed~ Their rights maximized and preserved~ People to feel juries give away money~ Verdicts for damages to be less then what is fair~ Caps on damages to minimize your justice~ Judges who will avoid holding them accountableAnderson Cooper's 360 Blog for 2/7/07 is "Insurance companies fight paying billions in claims...

Insurer Sues 81-year-old Woman for Failing to Shovel

Posted on February 02, 2007
Insurance companies never cease to amaze. Today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on how Wisconsin insurance company Sentry Insurance is suing an 81-year-old Brookfield woman because Sentry Insurance had to pay worker's compensation to a delivery person injured after falling on ice on the elderly woman's driveway...

Bucher, Gatzke & Ruppelt Solicitations

Posted on January 28, 2007
Paul Bucher shops his letter of the law is in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discussing Attorney Bucher's "ambulance chasing" letters to those running for public office that essentially hold him out as an expert in Wisconsin election law, which I wouldn't doubt...

Milwaukee Magazine Super Lawyers honor

Posted on December 28, 2006
Milwaukee Magazine Super Lawyers honored me in this month's issue. It's great to get this Rising Star designation, which means Wisconsin lawyers voted me into the top 2.5% of Wisconsin attorneys under age 40. However, I can honestly say my greatest "award" to date is CNI Newspapers readers naming me "Best Attorney...

Falls leading cause of death for over 65

Posted on November 20, 2006
Falls causing injury or death to senior citizens are far too common according to this article from the Washington Times: Accidental falls a leading cause of death over 65. Having handled numerous slip, trip & fall cases involving senior citizens, I was unfortunately well aware of the risk...

How to hire a personal injury lawyer

Posted on November 15, 2006
Ran into a Milwaukee criminal lawyer today. His firm handles drunk driving, misdemeanors and felonies in Milwaukee. The lawyer told me his law firm may "start advertising for Milwaukee personal injury cases." Thus, the lawyers there may dabble in Milwaukee personal injury cases even though they have never handled or tried a personal injury case in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin or elsewhere...

Defense Medical Examinations

Posted on October 12, 2006
Defense medical examinations are one of the insurance company tactics used to avoid proper payment of a personal injury claim or Wisconsin workers compensation claim.An example of a defense medical examination outfit is Verity Medical, Inc. Read for yourself about its "independent medical examination services", but the bottom line is insurance companies pay doctors and outfits like Verity Medical, Inc...

Findlaw

Posted on October 06, 2006
Another lawyer tells me that a salesperson from Findlaw just used my firm in trying to sell its expensive product. Let me just say that Findlaw would have to pay me. This is what I tell all the outfits calling me, I get about 5 calls/week, trying sell me web services - such as the lawyer matching services...

Bob Dolan's Successful Travel Show

Posted on September 20, 2006
Bob Dolan and his wife Beth's show has been discussed here before and today the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has a nice story discussing the Dolan's success, which I'm very proud to be a small part of.Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

E. coli Spinach cases in Wisconsin

Posted on September 14, 2006
Wisconsin E. coli outbreak blamed on SpinachNews out today, see my firm's web page at E. coli Spinach cases in Wisconsin.Wisconsin E.coli Lawyer

Wisconsin, Alcohol & Car Accidents

Posted on August 23, 2006
Wisconsin may no longer have the top party school (though UW is "first place for beer drinking") but Milwaukee can now declare itself as America's Drunkest City according to Forbes magazine. No wonder so many Wisconsin car accidents involve alcohol and sadly nearly half of all fatal car accidents in Wisconsin are alcohol-related wrongful deaths...