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CCarr
Canada
1200 Posts |
 Posted - 02/12/2003 : 16:30:18
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Alan mentioned class action claims recently, and I mentioned it a few weeks ago, relative to it being an alternative or additional source of 'claims event' type of work for adjusters.
Maybe it is worthy to start a thread, in which I hope we can hear from a good cross section of claims people, PA's and litigators regarding the issue.
The USA is of course pretty accoustomed to CAC's, and we as little brother north of the 49th, are quickly catching on to that phenomenon.
The adjuster gets brought into the picture, by the lawyers for the class action suit. Lawyers want to litigate for the award, not necessarily deal one on one with all the plaintiffs. The courts, once a class action suit is certified, will appoint a 'claims administrator'; to work with plaintiff counsel. There are only two or three vendors in North America, that I have heard of, that seek out this lucrative work.
As the 'adjusting' done on a pure property cat, is unlike 'true adjusting' of a day to day claim; so is 'adjusting' on behalf of the 'claims administrator' quite unique from normal day to day claims. In general, it is probably the 'easiest' yet of the three 'types of adjusting' noted; but varies significantly by type of class action and the amount of plaintiffs.
I'll list a number of the current CAC's on the go up here that are current, some seem pretty silly, others more worthy; but none the less all but the smallest will involve a 'claims administrator' and hence have the need for 'adjusters'.
What do you see as the potential based of these examples and examples happening in your own backyard?
Has anyone actively pursued this work?
Fee wise, it is a lot more lucrative than weather related 'fee schedules', the 'pot' is derived from defense money.
The work is at times template in nature, getting plaintiff details to fit onto a custom designed assessment form; the interesting part is getting the correct and adequate information. As 'property cat work' is akin to inspecting and estimating; class action claims work is akin to assessing and evaluating and can require substantiating documents to be obtained.
These are presented in no specific order, and come from a Swiss Re current Canadian review and summary on the issue.
(1) 200 Air Transat passengers, who suffered psychological trauma, when an Airbus 330 ran out of fuel in the mid-Atlantic and glided to an emergency landing in the Azores.
(2) Thousands of Blockbuster Canada customers, over alleged exorbinant and unlawful late fees on video and DVD rentals; following a similar $9.25M US award.
(3) a $1.25B lawsuit on behalf of 100 families who contend their children were damaged by a vaccine produced by Aventis.
(4) a $17.0M lawsuit for about 60 plaintiffs against a company that processed a Greek pasta salad that made them sick. The province also joined the suit to recover their incurred health care costs. (In the 'old days', this would have been a great commissary claim for one adjuster handling the products liability for the salad people).
(5) a $600M class action launched against Bernardo's, the largest children's charity in the UK, as a result of its child migration program which emigrated about 3,000 minors to Canada, where many are alleged to have been subjected to abuse and mistreatment.
(6) an $80M class action against Horti-Pak, as a result of a plastic fire in a small town of several thousand families, alleges that the fire and the consequent wrongful release of smoke and toxins into the air, water and soil, vegetation and lands and premises throughout the town, constituted both a private and public nuisance for which the defendent is responsible.
(7) a $300M class action for up to 3,000 shoppers in a grocery store over a few days, claiming they purchased tainted vegeatbles and wre required to get Hepatitis A vaccine treatment.
(8) a $12.5B class action, by 91,000 people who attended Indian residential schools across Canada, and claim they were wrongfully misplaced from their homes and mistreated.
(9) a $500M class action against a town whose water supply became tainted and toxic, resulting in a number of deaths and thousands of injuries.
Any claims here, that you could see some potential in 'working' on behalf of a vendor 'claims administrator'? |
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Newt
USA
657 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2003 : 17:19:35
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AlanJ mentioned smoke damage and I agree, it is actually worse than mold, not the smoke itself but the toxic gas that penetrates wood, cloth and concrete and is slowly released over a long period.
In todays homes there are a lot of plastics and electronic gear that gives of a gas that carries the smoke to the surface. The smoke is on the surface, the gas penetrates. It is impossible to seal all if it, and the only problem is to have the gas displaced by another that is non toxic.
This requires tenting the structure by a licensed fumigator, and some extensive testing. It may be neutralized but that would require more research than is available at present. |
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KileAnderson
USA
875 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2003 : 22:57:11
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| The last thing this country needs is more people in the law suit business. We already have way too many lawyers suing way too many people for nothing. The only people who profit from litigation are the lawyers. |
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Admin
547 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2003 : 08:31:38
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The author of this topic has alerted us to "Off Topic" posts. A review of the topic found the following questions.
quote:
What do you see as the potential based of these examples and examples happening in your own backyard?
Has anyone actively pursued this work?
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Class Action claims
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