Wisconsin Super Lawyers 2011

Pasternak & Zirgibel is again honored in Milwaukee Magazine via Super Lawyers (December 2011).  Both Jeff Zirgibel and I have now appeared in the Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers, which is an incredible award since there are about 14,000 lawyers in Wisconsin.

Super Lawyers tries to identify Wisconsin attorneys in the top 5% of all Wisconsin lawyers and Rising Stars under age 40. Super Lawyers also publishes a Top 50 list discussed below.

For 2011, there are only eight Wisconsin personal injury law firms represented in the Top 50 list:

• Cannon & Dunphy, Brookfield
• Domnitz & Skemp, Milwaukee
• End, Hierseman & Crain, Milwaukee
• Gingras, Cates & Lubke, Madison
• Habush Habush & Rottier, Multiple
• Laufenberg, Stombaugh & Jassak, Multiple
• Murphy & Prachthauser, Multiple
• Pasternak & Zirgibel, Brookfield

Wisconsin victims of car accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, etc., could do far worse than to start by interviewing these law firms to get help with their personal injury cases.  Mostly in Milwaukee personal injury law firms, they have been recognized by peers as outstanding in their field. 

Hiring lawyers or law firms because they advertise a lot on television or Google, chase ambulances with letters or Wisconsin chiropractors or postings on the web or dabble in personal injury is simply a bad idea. 

If you want a high quality “expert,” look for a personal injury lawyer who shares the traits that these firms do.  This includes injury attorneys who are Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings and active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.
Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

(888) 232-1274 Milwaukee Family Chiropractic?

(888) 232-1274 is a phone number for what appears to be an outfit attempting to contact personal injury car accident victims.  Callers from 888-232-1274 identify themselves as working on behalf of Milwaukee Family Chiropractic.  These Milwaukee Family Chiropractic reps include: Mr. Presley, Yolanda, Tanya, and Shalanda.  Individuals calling from this phone number contact people after Wisconsin motor vehicle accidents.  In fact, they even call individuals as far away as Madison, Wisconsin.

After googling, I found this site.  Anonymous web users report individuals stating they were called the day after a traffic accident and received multiple calls from same number, 888-232-1274.  Others report receiving ambiguous messages stating they were "calling in regards to your accident."  Most everyone reports that callers leave no company name.  Often, people called were not even injured. Some opine that Milwaukee Family Chiropractic is working on behalf of unethical personal injury lawyers. I say unethical because in Wisconsin it is unethical for personal injury attorneys or reps to cold call accident victims.  I hope that this is not the situation, but based on the information below it appears they may be working with at least one Wisconsin lawyer.

I googled "Milwaukee Family Chiropractic" because one report I received regarding its involvement was from a known source and I found this site.  Interestingly, comments there give sordid details about this outfit and have serious allegations including the involvement of a personal injury attorney.

If you get a call from (888) 232-1274, ignore it and don't respond.  In fact, if you get any cold calls from doctors, lawyers, chiropractors, clinics, or anyone else, other than your own car insurer, do not talk to them or respond.  If you're seriously hurt after a car accident, get a referral from a lawyer you trust for reputable lawyers who focus on personal injury cases.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Car Insurance Law Proposal

Oshkosh newspaper has a solid editorial: Go slow on rolling back insurance law. It has a great quote:

"Ask anyone who has had significant injuries from a car crash and they'll tell you that a $50,000 limit on personal injury, much less $25,000, doesn't come close to covering the cost of hospital treatment, recovery and rehabilitation. Rolling back the insurance requirement merely furthers the harm done to those already injured in an accident."

A hand full of legislators want to go back to the car insurance levels in Wisconsin that were enacted in 1982. What? The also want to revisit the law which give greater protection to those severely injured or killed by drivers who fail to carry insurance (uninsured) and drivers who carry the lowest legal limits (underinsured). When Wisconsin 4th Cheapest State for Car Insurance, it makes no sense at all to do this. Unfortunately, legislators hope to punish trial lawyers with this law, but the fact is changing these laws hurts Wisconsin families.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin 4th Cheapest State for Car Insurance

With last year's changes in the laws benefiting Wisconsin car drivers, there's been talk on talk radio in Milwaukee about griping car insurance. The changes were great for anyone seriously injured in car accident in Wisconsin, but weren't so great for car insurance companies, which continue to try to lobby politicians for ending the law. Specifically helped by the new laws are those hit by uninsured drivers, those hit by drivers with little car insurance, and those who own multiple cars.

So here's some news for consumers, based on data directly from insurance industry, and it contradicts the nonsense: Wisconsin is the 4th cheapest state for car insurance. Only Ohio, Vermont and Maine are cheaper. Here's the link to insure.com which did this study.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Insurance Settlement Scam on Attorneys

Having read various emails directed to me and on lawyers listservs, I thought I'd link to this lawyers settlement scam story. Below are tips from secretservice.gov:

How do I report a case of advance fee fraud (also known as "4-1-9 fraud")?

The perpetrators of advance fee fraud, known internationally as "4-1-9 fraud" (after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses these schemes), are often very creative and innovative. A large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for no apparent reason.

If you have suffered a significant financial loss related to advance fee fraud, please contact your local Secret Service field office. Telephone numbers are available in the Field Office Directory on this website or may also be found on the inside cover of your local telephone directory. Any investigation regarding this type of fraud will be conducted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the local Secret Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.

If you ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery, DO NOT respond. These requests are typically sent through public servers via a generic "spammed" e-mail message. Usually, the sender does not yet know your personal e-mail address and is depending on you to respond. Once you reply, whether you intend to string them along or tell them you are not interested, they will often continue to e-mail you in an attempt to harass or intimidate you. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail of this nature, the best course is to simply delete the message.

Due to a number of aggravating circumstances, such as the use of false names, addresses, stolen/cloned/prepaid cell phones and remote email addresses, verifying the location of and subsequent prosecution of these persons or groups is difficult. The act of sending an email soliciting strangers' assistance in a financial transaction is not, in itself, a crime. The installation of a credible spam filter and contacting your Internet Service Provider may help deter these unsolicited emails. However, there is currently no available program to completely block these types of messages.

How can I protect myself against check fraud?

-Don't give your checking account number to people you don't know, even if they claim they are from your bank.
-Reveal checking account information only to businesses you know to be reputable.
-Report lost or stolen checks immediately.
-Properly store or dispose of canceled checks and guard new checks.
-Report any inquiries or suspicious behavior to your bank, who will take measures to protect your account and notify proper authorities.
-Do not leave your automated teller machine receipt at the ATM; it may contain account information.
-Check your bank statements carefully and often.
-Use direct deposit.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers in Milwaukee Magazine

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 2.5% of Wisconsin attorneys under age 40. Super Lawyers also publishes a Top 50 list, which I discuss here. If you wish to browse the whole list by area of practice, you may do so here. I referred to the publication back in July posting on Top Wisconsin Lawyers and with last year’s publication in Wisconsin Personal Injury Super Lawyers.

This Wisconsin personal injury lawyer is again honored to be on the list and more so this year as I was chosen to be among the Top 50 Super Lawyers in Wisconsin. Only eight plaintiffs personal injury law firms are represented in that Top 50:

Cannon & Dunphy, Brookfield
Domnitz & Skemp, Milwaukee
End, Hierseman & Crain, Milwaukee
Habush Habush & Rottier, Various
Laufenberg Law Group, Milwaukee
Murphy & Prachthauser, Milwaukee
Pasternak & Zirgibel, Brookfield
Previant, Goldberg, et al., Milwaukee

A Wisconsin accident victim (car accident, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, etc.) could do much worse than interviewing these law firms to help with his or her personal injury case. How? Well, they could go to Wisconsin attorneys who advertise "have wreck, get a check" or chase ambulances with letters or just dabble in personal injury.

The twelve plaintiffs Wisconsin personal injury lawyers in the Top 50 are:

Larry B. Brueggeman
William M. Cannon
Merrick R. Domnitz
Patrick O. Dunphy
J. Michael End
Laurence J. Fehring
Robert L. Habush
Robert L. Jaskulski
Lynn R. Laufenberg
Frank T. Pasternak
Don C. Prachthauser
Daniel A. Rottier

Though all different, some common professional traits we have include being Peer Review Rated: AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 (see The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings),
and active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.

In alphabetical order, below are all the Top 50 Wisconsin lawyers found in the list, including their law firm and main area of practice:

Steven A. Bach, Cullen Weston Pines & Bach, Family Law
Emile H. Banks, Jr., Emile Banks & Associates, Insurance Defense
Stephen C. Beilke, Murphy Desmond, Family Law
Peter C. Blain, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Bankruptcy
Bruce T. Block, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Real Estate
Larry B. Brueggeman, Previant, Goldberg, et al., Personal Injury
Brian E. Butler, Stafford Rosenbaum, Dispute Resolution
William M. Cannon, Cannon & Dunphy, Personal Injury
Michael J. Cohen, Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols, Business
Gregory B. Conway, Liebmann, Conway, et al., Business
Barrett J. Corneille, Corneille Law Group, Insurance Defense
Claude J. Covelli, Boardman Suhr Curry & Field, Litigation
Randall D. Crocker, von Briesen & Roper, Bankruptcy
Michael P. Crooks, Peterson, Johnson & Murray, Insurance Defense
Merrick R. Domnitz, Domnitz & Skemp, Personal Injury
Patrick O. Dunphy, Cannon & Dunphy, Personal Injury
J. Michael End, End, Hierseman & Crain, Personal Injury
Laurence J. Fehring, Habush Habush & Rottier, Personal Injury
Nathan A. Fishbach, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, Criminal Defense
Michael J. Fitzgerald, Glynn, Fitzgerald & Albee, Criminal Defense
Robert H. Friebert, Friebert, Finerty & St. John, Business Litigation
Lori Gendelman, Otjen, Van Ert & Weir, Insurance Defense
Stephen M. Glynn, Glynn, Fitzgerald & Albee, Criminal Defense
Robert L. Habush, Habush Habush & Rottier, Personal Injury
Philip J. Halley, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, Estate & Probate
Scott W. Hansen, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Business Litigation
Gregg M. Herman, Loeb & Herman, Family Law
Stephen P. Hurley, Hurley, Burish & Stanton, Criminal Defense
Jesse S. Ishikawa, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Real Estate
Robert L. Jaskulski, Habush Habush & Rottier, Personal Injury
Terry E. Johnson, Peterson, Johnson & Murray, Insurance Defense
J. David Krekeler, Krekeler Strother, Bankruptcy
Dean P. Laing, O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong, General Litigation
Lynn R. Laufenberg, Laufenberg Law Group, Personal Injury
Michael P. Malone, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Insurance Defense
Stephen J. Meyer, Meyer Law Office, Criminal Defense
James T. Murray, Jr., Peterson, Johnson & Murray, Insurance Def.
Timothy F. Nixon, Godfrey & Kahn, Bankruptcy
Frank T. Pasternak, Pasternak & Zirgibel, Personal Injury
Bruce M. Peckerman, Peckerman & Klein, Family Law
Charles I. Phillips, Phillips & Gemignani, Family Law
Don C. Prachthauser, Murphy & Prachthauser, Personal Injury
Daniel A. Rottier, Habush Habush & Rottier, Personal Injury
Thomas W. St. John, Friebert, Finerty & St. John, Family Law
Carlton D. Stansbury, Burbach & Stansbury, Family Law
Marie A. Stanton, Hurley, Burish & Stanton, Dispute Resolution
Dean A. Strang, Hurley, Burish & Stanton, Criminal Defense
Daphne Webb, Stafford Rosenbaum, Family Law
Todd M. Weir, Otjen, Van Ert & Weir, Insurance Defense
Brady C. Williamson, Godfrey & Kahn, Business/Corporate

Congratulations to all who made Super Lawyers! It surely is an honor to be listed given that there are about 14,000 lawyers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Help Increase Auto Insurance Liability Limits in Wisconsin

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 has had the same minimum rates of liability coverage since 1982.

Higher limits are necessary and even automobile insurers admit that higher liability limits will make it easier for health insurers and healthcare providers to be paid. Please take time to send a short email to your State Representative and State Senator just by clicking here to read the message and send it.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin Car Insurance Reform

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. I've heard Milwaukee area talk-show pundits complain about the bill, but I'm sure the two most popular - Sykes and Belling - both have limits that exceed those proposed by Gov. Doyle - $100,000 per individual, $300,000 per incident.

Call your state legislator and senator and tell them to support reforming car insurance in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Two Die in Marinette County Car Accident

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. If you or a loved one are involved in a serious accident causing injury or death, contact me.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Governor Doyle's Car Insurance Proposal

In 1995, insurance companies in the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance conned state legislators and the governor into believing that if they changed the law Wisconsin citizens would pay less in car insurance rates. Well, the bill became law and car insurance rates never went up. Oh, does that sound to good to be true? Exactly. What really happened was that Wisconsin citizens LOST many rights they had under their insurance policies and of course, car insurance rates WENT UP.

Here are WIA's members:

A I G
Allied Insurance
Allstate Insurance
American Family Insurance
Ameriprise Auto & Home Ins
Auto Club Insurance Assn
Badger Mutual Insurance
Capitol Indemnity Corp
C N A
Church Mutual Insurance
CUNA Mutual Insurance Group
Farmers Insurance
1st Auto & Casualty Insurance Co
General Reinsurance Corp Kemper Auto & Home
Germantown Mutual Insurance
Homestead Mutual Insurance Co
Integrity Mutual Insurance
Ixonia Mutual Insurance Co
Jewelers Mutual Insurance
League of Wisc Municipalities Mutual
Liberty Mutual Group
Manitowoc Mutual Insurance
Maple Valley Mutual Insurance
McMillan/Warner Mutual Ins
Mount Morris Mutual
Nationwide Indemnity
Old Republic Surety Co
Partners Mutual Insurance Co
ProAssurance Progressive Northern Insurance Cos
QBE Regional/General Casualty
Racine County Mutual Insurance Co
Rural Mutual Insurance Co
SECURA Insurance
Sentry Insurance
S F M
Sheboygan Falls Insurance
Society Insurance
State Auto Insurance Cos
State Farm Insurance
Sugar Creek Mutual Insurance Co
Travelers
United Wisconsin Insurance Co
Waukesha Cty Mutual Insurance
WEA Property & Casualty Co
West Bend Mutual Insurance
Western National Mutual Ins Co
Wilson Mutual Insurance
Wisconsin American Mutual Insurance Co
Wisconsin Assn of Mutual Insurance Cos
Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Co
Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Co
Wisconsin Reinsurance Corp

Recall Insurance Company Tricks and my recent Car Insurance post.

The Governor's bill, which is in the budget, reverses the insurance companies' 1995 nonsense giving back Wisconsin citizens the rights that were taken away and raises car insurance limits from the 25-year-old $25,000 minimum to $100,000. Who's looking out for you? It's not Wisconsin’s property and casualty insurers. Here, it is absolutely Governor Doyle!

Contact your legislator and let him or her know that you SUPPORT Governor Doyle's Truth in Auto Insurance Law.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin Car Accident Deaths Down

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. Interestingly, the WSJ article sets forth various speculative reasons for the decrease, including the fact that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety uses "the power of shame to push car makers to beef up their designs for crash-worthiness." What about the power of product liability lawsuits holding car manufacturers responsible for failing to incorporate reasonable crashworthy designs? Not that I'd expect the WSJ to ever give personal injury lawyers any credit for positive change.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Dangerous Car Accident Vehicles

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.

Wisconsin Car Accident Lawyer

BUY Uninsured & Underinsured Car Insurance!

Today's news had a scary story about how the bad economy is causing drivers to let their car insurance lapse. On my firm's web site, we talk about Wisconsin Car Insurance & Umbrella FAQs.

In light of today's news, I can't impress on you enough the urgent need to have Uninsured Motorist Coverage (“UM”) as well as Underinsured Motorist Coverage (“UIM”) in case you are in a Wisconsin car accident (or car accident elsewhere for that matter). I've seen some horrible car accident injuries and the worst accidents are very frequently caused by someone who has minimal car insurance limits of say $25,000 or $50,000. Often my clients think their agent gave them "full coverage," but that's far from true.

UM and UIM car insurance protects you! Buy it for yourself to protect you from Wisconsin drivers who have no car insurance or little car insurance. I tell friends to carry UM and UIM car insurance limits of at least $250,000. With the increased cost of medical car and horrible changes in Wisconsin law (lobbied for by companies like American Family, State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Sentry, etc.), limits of $100,000 are not enough. In fact, if your family income is more than $100,000, it certainly makes sense to have an umbrella insurance policy with UM and UIM coverage for $1,000,000 or $2,000,000.

Why so much? If your family is driving to Grandma's for Christmas and an uninsured driver crosses the center line and hits you head on, which I've seen, you can easily have insurance claims that amount to $1,000,000 or $2,000,000. And if such a horrific car accident should happen, don't trust the good hands of your insurer to pay your family fairly because as Allstate Claims Manual shows those represented by personal injury lawyers settle claims for about 3 times more than those who do not have reputable personal injury lawyers.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Drunk Driving Car Accidents in Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin's Mayfair Road Car Accidents

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 Lawyer

Accident insurers put on the boxing gloves

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. Car accident insurance companies really want:

~ Premiums not claims
~ To deter valid lawsuits
~ The public to think lawsuits are bogus
~ You to feel guilty for making legitimate claims
~ You to say "I'm not the kind of person who files a lawsuit"
~ Jurors to think plaintiffs are dishonest
~ Your rights minimized and theirs preserved
~ Verdicts for damages to be less than fair
~ Caps on damages
~ And judges who won't hold them accountable.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Worst Insurance Companies

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

Personal Injury Attorneys Blogging

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