Minor Impact Defense Biomechanics Dr. Michael Freeman Dr. Arthur Croft

Important New Study Clarifies Science of "Minor Impact" or "MIST" Cases

Important new research on "minor impact" cases: "the injury risk of real-world minimal damage rear impact crashes was estimated to be at least 2000 times greater than for any ADL. The results of our analysis indicate that the principle underlying the biomechanical injury causation approach, that occupant acceleration is a proxy for injury risk, is scientifically invalid. The biomechanical approach to injury causation in minimal damage crashes invariably results in the vast underestimation of the actual risk of such crashes, and should be discontinued as it is a scientifically invalid practice."
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New Reptile in MIST Cases Webinar by David Ball and Gary Johnson

New Reptile in MIST Cases Webinar by David Ball and Gary Johnson

Auto cases the insurers designate as "Minor impact" due to minimal visible vehicle damage are amongst the most difficult plaintiff cases to win, despite there being no correlation between vehicle damage and occupant injury.

Join trial consultant David Ball and veteran trial lawyer Gary Johnson for a webinar called "Reptile in MIST Cases." This webinar will discuss the use of the Reptile method to win "Minor Impact Soft Tissue" cases.

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Dr. Art Croft

Overcoming "Minor Impact" Defenses in Auto Cases Live Webinar CLE

Many motor vehicle cases involve cases with "minimal" vehicle damage. In the early 1990s State Farm, Allstate and others started handling these claims differently as "minor impact" or "Minor Impact Soft Tissue" (MIST) cases.  Insurers started making little or no offers on these cases, despite US government data showing people are being injured in these crashes.  As Allstate's profits soared the rest of the auto insurers followed.  Lawyers started rejecting these cases, despite a huge number of people being injured every year in these crashes.
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Should you settle or try your "minor impact" cases?

Should you settle or try your "minor impact" cases?

Minor Impact Soft Tissue (MIST) cases can be some of the most difficult cases to prove and win. We all know what whiplash is, but can you explain it? Can you explain how a crash causes a muscle strain or ligament sprain, and how the direction and force of the impact can impact your client? Do you really know how the body systems function, and why the junk science doesn't add up?

If you are trying "MIST" cases or if you are settling them, you need all the help you can get. Imagine walking into a settlement conference or a courtroom, armed with solid, irrefutable facts about the seriousness of the plaintiff's condition. Imagine cross examining the defense expert and proving the basis of his opinion to be false. Dr. Arthur Croft's new book, Whiplash and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries can help you do just this.

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New! Error Odds: Exposing the Lack of Accuracy in Malingering Tests

Trial Guides introduces Error Odds: Exposing the Lack of Accuracy in Malingering Tests, a continuing legal education webinar recording featuring Dr. Michael D. Freeman, Ph.D., MPH, D.C.

Your client is hurt, but the defense claims that his/her injury could not have resulted from the impact—that your client is malingering. Sound familiar? Join Dr. Michael D. Freeman, noted doctor, expert witness and author of Litigating Minor Soft Tissue Impact Cases for this CLE course on the Error Odds test and the lack of accuracy in malingering tests.

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Mastering Motor Vehicle Cases CLE Aaron DeShaw

Mastering Motor Vehicle Cases - CLE Seminar with Dr. Aaron DeShaw Esq.

Trial Guides is pleased to present an intensive two-day seminar on handling motor vehicle cases with Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq.

The seminar will cover advanced topics in how to handle motor vehicle cases in a modern insurance environment. As author of the definitive text on Colossus, DeShaw will discuss how claims are segmented at auto insurers, and how each of these claims is handled.

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Books for lawyers on minor impact cases

David Ball on Handling Minor Impact Cases

While all of the national attention on From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves has focused on David Berardinelli's section on the McKinsey Documents, the new edition of the legal text contains Dr. Michael Freeman's chapters about the background and junk science used by insurers in minor impact cases, as well as information on dealing with defense biomechanists and accident reconstructionists.
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Florida Court Suspends Allstate in Florida

Florida Court Suspends Allstate in Florida

Late Friday, April 4, 2008, the District Court of Appeals, First District, State of Florida upheld the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s suspension of Allstate from writing insurance in the State of Florida. The Office had suspended Allstate earlier this year for a refusal to produce the McKinsey Documents during an investigation of Allstate. That investigation, started as a result of the media surrounding Trial Guides book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, and J. Robert Hunter’s reference to it. These resulted in Allstate being cut off from a market comprising 17% of its national sales.
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Former Casualty Manager Testifies Against Allstate - Cites Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Claim Handling

Former Casualty Manager Testifies Against Allstate - Cites Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Claim Handling

Former casualty manager testifies against Allstate
By Brandon Ortiz
Allstate's claims practices sent injury victims to biased doctors and
subjected them to intimidating interviews and invasive medical record
requests in an effort to bully them into accepting low-ball offers for
their pain and suffering, a former Lexington casualty manager
testified yesterday.
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CNN Investigative Report Exposes Insurance Claim Denials - Cites Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

CNN Investigative Report Exposes Insurance Claim Denials - Cites Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

On February 7, 2007, CNN released its findings from an 18 month investigation into Allstate and State Farm Insurance, and the companies' decision to deny claims to increase profits. The feature focuses on the Trial Guides book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, and features co-authors David Berardinelli, Esq. and Dr. Michael Freeman.
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