Vested Interest March 2021

Fellow Trial Lawyers & Friends,

It was just over one year ago, on March 11, 2020, that life as we knew it came to a screeching halt! On that day, came the announcement that we were in the midst of a global COVID-19 pandemic, the likes of which had not been seen in the last 100 years. As a result of this crisis, our lives, our practices and our country as we knew them would be shut down for the foreseeable future. In the weeks and months to follow, we were introduced to 6-foot social distancing and mask wearing requirements, the cancellation of public and private gatherings, and the frequent use of a gubernatorial emergency power known as the Executive Order.

Simultaneously, our practices, and more importantly our clients’ claims, were ravaged not just by the impact of the pandemic on their lives, but by insurers, corporate defendants and hospitals. The risk managers and insurance adjusters took advantage of the pandemic by hiding behind the masks and under the capes of the heroes delivering care to justify stopping settlement negotiations on meritorious cases, refusing to proceed with discovery, and pushing our governor to extend immunity protections through Executive Orders without notice or warning. While the world was blindsided by the pandemic, our clients experienced a double whammy with their wrongfully caused injuries increasing their risk of further injury and death from COVID-19 and their claims for justice being under siege. [read more]