LM Claims Repair is Cavalry to the Rescue

It’s a sickening feeling to realize something has gone wrong in a case.

It’s even worse if you have to deal with it alone.

That’s why over the past 40 years, so many lawyers have found support, solace and guidance in the Claims Repair program of Lawyers Mutual.

“When a claim is reported, one of our top priorities is to determine if the error can be corrected or the damage lessened,” says the LM Claims Department. “Our Claims Repair program is led by an experienced team of in-house claims attorneys and outside counsel. Each day, these professionals work side-by-side with our insured attorneys in Claims Repair efforts large and small. The results are often amazing. Sometimes, claims can be fully repaired. Other times, the dollar amount of the loss can be greatly reduced.”

Case Study in Claims Repair

One attorney who recently underwent a successful Claim Repair described Lawyers Mutual as the “cavalry” that came to the rescue in the nick of time.

The insured is a solo attorney who was representing the defendant in a hotly contested civil matter. The case was problematic from the start. One issue was that the plaintiff seemed to be a “professional litigant” – with a history of suing businesses, lawyers and health care providers.

And though it is almost always risky to represent professional litigants, this case shows it can also be dangerous to square off against them.

Emotions were running high when a dispute arose over language in a purported settlement agreement. Then came a double whammy: (1) the plaintiff brought a motion for sanctions against defense counsel, alleging various misdeeds, and (2) the plaintiff expressed an intention of suing defense counsel as soon as the current proceedings were over.

That’s when the cavalry was called in.

Lawyers Mutual quickly dispatched an attorney to represent counsel at the sanctions hearing, which ended favorably. The LM attorney also helped clean up some of the disputed language in the agreement, so that all parties eventually signed off on it.

In hindsight, counsel says two lessons were learned:

• Be wary of clients who look like trouble from the start – even if they are on the other side.
• Lawyers Mutual was a smart pick for professional liability coverage.

To learn more about reporting claims or the Claims Repair program, click here.

 To read more by Jay Reeves, check out our monthly Put Into Practice newsletter. 

Sources:

• Lawyers Mutual http://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/
• Lawyers Mutual Claims Repair http://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/claims-repair