0:01

The next logical question that

0:04

I think comes up under this topic is,

0:07

do you need personal counsel?

0:09

So let's talk about what is the difference

0:12

between appointed counsel

0:13

by your insurance company and personal counsel.

0:16

And part of

0:17

that is understanding what's called the tripartite

0:21

relationship or basically the, uh, the, the concept

0:26

of conflict that comes up under this, um, entire subject.

0:30

So appointed counsel means the insurance

0:34

company is going out there.

0:35

They have vetted counsel that they typically use, uh,

0:39

to represent their insured's, IEU, uh, through this process.

0:44

But understand that they're the ones,

0:48

the insurance company is the ones

0:50

who are the ones who've chosen this lawyer.

0:52

They're the ones who pay this lawyer.

0:55

They're the ones who have an adjuster

0:58

involved in the entire process.

1:00

They're the ones that are literally scrutinizing every bill

1:04

that lawyer provides in defending you

1:07

and deciding what they will and will not pay.

1:09

And that is an entire process of,

1:11

it could be an entire different talk,

1:13

but just be aware that that's going on.

1:15

So this concept arises in this tripartite relationship

1:20

where the lawyer is trying to zealously represent you

1:24

yet is having to answer to the insurance company.

1:28

And the insurance company is trying to minimize payouts,

1:31

which may or may not be in your best interest.

1:35

And that's sort of, think of the concept of he

1:37

who pays the piper calls the tune.

1:41

So there is this sort of conflicted relationship

1:45

between zealously representing you

1:47

and yet answering to the insurance company,

1:50

which then brings up the issue.

1:52

Do I need personal counsel? So what is personal counsel?

1:57

Personal counsel is a lawyer that you hire.

2:00

Typically, there can be some exceptions,

2:03

but typically it's you going out

2:05

and finding an attorney who's knowledgeable in this field,

2:10

whose obligation

2:11

and whose job it is to simply look out for you

2:15

and your best interest.

2:17

They're not answering to an insurance company,

2:19

they're not providing them feedback

2:21

and notes about every meeting.

2:23

They're entirely responsible for working

2:27

for your best interest in this matter.

2:30

So what can that look like?

2:32

Well, you may, your opinion may be, you know

2:34

what, I did make a mistake.

2:36

I just want this over with.

2:37

I want the insurance company to pay the fair

2:39

and reasonable settlement in this case

2:41

so that I can move on.

2:43

And the insurance company may be like, well,

2:45

we feel we can defend this,

2:46

so we're gonna make you go through the process.

2:48

So that's just one example of where, uh, you know,

2:53

a personal attorney can benefit you.

2:55

But there are more, uh, sort of, uh, additional financial,

2:59

uh, reasons to hire personal counsel as well.

3:03

So you have to look at

3:04

what are your policy limits in your insurance policy.

3:08

Um, you have typically a million dollar policy.

3:11

So what does that mean?

3:13

Well, what is the expected value of the case if it would go

3:18

to trial and a jury would award, uh, the plaintiff money,

3:22

what are the, what's the range where this could be

3:25

and is it over your policy limits?

3:27

In which case, what are your personal assets

3:31

and might they be at risk?

3:33

So you, those are all factors that you can,

3:36

you might be able to kind of evaluate,

3:38

but a personal attorney is going to definitely evaluate

3:42

and tell you, you know, give you his

3:44

or her opinion about

3:46

what would best be the scenario for you.

3:49

And I tell people, friends, physician, friends,

3:52

that if they're ever sued,

3:54

absolutely they should get a personal attorney.

3:57

Now you can envision a situation where, you know,

4:00

you've got a million dollars worth of coverage, the case is

4:02

that worth, worth at most, 250,000?

4:07

Do you really need personal counsel? Perhaps not.

4:10

There may be other issues where it'd be helpful,

4:12

but in terms of your assets,

4:13

that may not be something that's at risk.

4:16

But I always tell people

4:17

that I think it is worth a couple hours

4:20

of an attorney's time so that they're dialed in

4:24

and making sure that you are being personally

4:29

adequately represented.

4:30

So that's the, the quick and dirty on that one.

4:33

If it's ever in doubt, just hire a lawyer.

4:36

Even if it's for a couple hours to review what's going on

4:39

and say, yeah, you're in good hands,

4:41

or, you know, maybe it, it's better for that lawyer

4:43

to jump on board and start to, um, represent you.

4:47

Let me cut in here, Kelly.

4:49

Um, the other scenario that can occur is

4:54

that you may feel that you are totally innocent

4:56

and that you did not deviate from the standard of care,

4:59

et cetera, but the insurance company recognizes

5:02

that it's going to cost them $40,000 to defend a case.

5:08

They may offer to settle, let's say for $20,000,

5:13

even though you're claiming you did nothing wrong.

5:17

But the insurance company,

5:18

because it's basically the bottom line

5:20

will make a settlement.

5:22

The issue there is that settled cases do make it

5:25

to the MPDB, the National Practitioner's Database

5:29

and you would be listed as having settled a case even though

5:35

you did not want to settle the case

5:37

'cause you thought you did absolutely nothing wrong.

5:38

So there is that possibility that that can occur

5:41

because of the financials associated with putting on a case

5:46

and defending a case

5:49

That's abso that's absolutely right.

5:50

That and the converse, which is,

5:52

you know, I did make a mistake.

5:54

I don't wanna go through this entire, you know, process

5:57

to get to the end and get it resolved.

5:59

I just wanna move on. And personal counsel can help you

6:02

with all of those situations.