Blog 
Auto Accidents
General Personal Injury Claims We Handle
- One of our own attorneys is featured in Virginia Lawyers Weekly again.
- Nanotubes Connected to Lung Cancers-New Article Posted
Trucking/Tractor Trailer Accidents
General
Practice Areas
- Auto Accidents
- Railroad Accidents, Occupational injuries/diseases
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Wrongful Death Claims
- Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
- Trucking/Tractor Trailer Accidents
- General Personal Injury Claims We Handle
Firm News
- Surgeon sues his own Spinal Surgeon for Medical Malpractice, Alleges Back Surgery Medical Negligence
- Single-Vehicle Tanker Trailer Crash Kills One
- Teen Driver Killed by Garbage Truck
- I-81 Tractor Trailer Accident
- Two Williamsburg, Va., Teens Killed in Crash
- John Cooper is Elected Chair of the Railroad Law Section of the American Association for Justice
- Trucker Health Problems Could Cause Collisions
- Truckers: Know your English or Pay the Fine
- Toxic Heavy Metal in Chesapeake, VA Water?
- The Jere Beasley Report – June 2008 “Jury returns verdict of $8,000,000 for seaman”
Library
Auto Accidents
- High traffic and bad driving cause headaches and accidents
- Road Fatalities Fall as Gas Rises
- Hazardous Road Conditions in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) Seriously Injuring Motorists
Railroad Accidents, Occupational injuries/diseases
- Train Accident in Massachusetts Caused by Speed and Possibly Cell Phone
- The Higher Duty Owed by Railroads
- What Not To Do In A Railroad Accident
Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Head injury: forgotten trauma
- Spinal cord injuries are frightening.
- Hurrican Katrina: Seventeen Months and Counting
Wrongful Death Claims
- Having A Good Support Staff Is Key To Being A Strong Personal Injury And F.E.L.A. Law Firm
- Confidentiality Agreements Keep Information About Personal Injury Settlements From The Public
- Videotaping Lay Witnesses Can Be A Powerful Settlement Tool In Personal Injury And Death Cases
Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
- BREAST IMPLANT CASE WINS SUPREME COURT APPEAL
- Five Tips for Choosing a Cardiologist
- Stroke Symptoms & Diagnosis
Trucking/Tractor Trailer Accidents
- FMCSA Hours of Service Regulations
- Six Things You Must Remember if You're in a Truck Accident
- Top 10 Causes of 18-Wheeler Accidents
General Personal Injury Claims We Handle
- INSURANCE COMPANIES CONTINUE TO OVERCHARGE CUSTOMERS AND UNDERPAY CLAIMS
- North Carolina's Court System
- Boating accidents and injuries in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA)
Co-Counsel
Firm Newsletters
General
Insurance Doctors Use Unscientific Tests Against Car Accident Victims
When our firm handles personal injury lawsuits for people hurt in car accidents, it always amazes me, how low the insurance defense lawyers and their hired gun doctors will go to prevent the victim from getting fair compensation. One recent example of this is a psychological test, the so-called “MMPI fake bad scale”, which is often used by the doctors hired by the insurance companies to defend these cases. The doctors for insurers State Farm, Geico and AllState use this trick to say that someone is faking or exaggerating their pain symptoms even though the national organization, the American Psychological Association, indicates that this test should not be used because it is not scientific. The basic idea is that the doctor hired by the defense lawyer, and paid by the insurance company, will come in and say based upon some answers to test questions to the plaintiff in the case that they must be malingering or lying. In this way, the insurance companies hope that the jury will simply go with the hired gun doctor’s assessment as conformation as the natural suspiciousness which jurors often show toward people hurt in car wrecks these days.
The problem is that the “scale” is junk science. The test will make a person who in fact has chronic pain from the injuries suffered in the accident sound like they are exaggerating them. The test also punishes people who don’t think most folks are liars, like religious people who believe in the basic goodness of humanity. In this warped world view, the person injured in a car wreck can never win. The doctor hired by the insurance company knows he/she is going to end up saying that, the victim of the other driver’s recklessness isn’t really hurt and is lying because that is what he has been hired to say. It’s hard for a jury to see behind this apparent “test.”
Most plaintiffs’ lawyers like myself, meaning lawyers who only represent injured people and never the insurance company, are trying to fight back against this unfair and biased test. One way is to try to get the judge to prevent the doctor for the defense from even being allowed to testify about it because it’s so unscientific. It is less reliable than a lie detector test which is not admissible because it is not reliable. However, sometimes the better approach may be to let the defense come in and try to show that the test itself is not valid and is substantially disagreed with by other experts in the field.
This “fake bad scale” is just the latest in the kinds of dirty tricks that insurance companies use to fight even meritorious cases. I as an attorney for families of people hurt in car accidents know that this is just a game that they play. Sometimes I fear that I will not be able to adequately convince the jury of that. The jury may hear from two doctors, one who treated the patient for the injuries from the crash and another who pretends to be independent, although they are really hand picked for their anti-plaintiff bias by the insurance company defending the case. Even though I know that this is junk science, I have to convince the jury of it in order to get a good result for the family that I am helping at trial. I try to combat this kind of testimony used by lawyers, for the at-fault driver by preparing with my experts on behalf of the plaintiff to show the lack of validity of the test and the opinions of the defense doctor. I also try to bring in family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers to testify as lay people about the real affect the injury has had on my client’s life.
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Quick Contact
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C.
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Case Results
Auto Accidents
- Pedestrians Stuck by Automobile Recover $540,000.00
- Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome brings verdict of $170,000.00
- Crosswalk Accident With Broken Leg Settles For $227,000.00
- Soft Tissue Injuries Caused by Auto Accident
- Serious Auto Accident Causes Death of Infant
Railroad Accidents, Occupational injuries/diseases
- Railroad-Roadway Crossing Accident - Car Passengers Injured
- FELA
- AMTRAK ENGINEER SETTLES WITH AMTRAK AND CSX OVER DERAILMENT
- Locomotive Engine Fire causes Rail Engineer right arm and wrist surgery
- Shoulder Injury requiring surgery for Locomotive Engineer
Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
- Gallbladder Surgery Error
- Medical Negligence
- Pharmacy-Prescription Error
- Gastric Bypass (stomach stapling) Surgery complications
- Retained Surgical Sponge and Subsequent Complications
Trucking/Tractor Trailer Accidents
- Collision Between Two Big Rigs Creates Fireball
- Automobile Accident Causing Coma and Paralysis
- Virginia Automobile Accident
- MACK truck wreck causes leg fractures
- Automobile wreck with drunk driver causes connective tissue injury
General Personal Injury Claims We Handle
- Department Store Shelf Falls on Customer
- Pilot Suffers Electrical Shock Injury At Hotel Ending Commercial Pilot’s Career--Settlement Soon Before Federal Court Jury Trial
Other
- Hotel Guest-Glass Coffee Carafe Shatters-Hand Injury
- Faulty Product - Fiberglass Stepladder Failure
- Skiing Accident
FAQs
Auto Accidents
- What should I do if I am involved in a car accident?
- I was in a car crash. How quickly do I have to find an attorney and file a lawsuit?
- What is the minimum car insurance I'm allowed to carry in my state?
- What is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and why should I think about having it?
- Does my state have a primary enforcement law for seat belts?
Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
General Personal Injury Claims We Handle
General
- Do I really need a lawyer?
- Can I afford to get into a lawsuit?
- How long will the whole process take?
- What if I do not want to go to court because I am getting nervous about testifying?
- How much am I likely to recover when in court?