consequences

May 20, 2013

On Dec. 7, 2001, I wrote a letter to the then CEO of Farmers Insurance Co., Martin Feinstein. I did this based on an article in a Readers Digest that gave suggestions on how to handle an auto accident. I already was aware of the difficulties but thought that a letter to the top guy would get some results. Of course he was not in. The naivety of our society is profound.
I started with: "The trust and loyalty I have placed in Farmers Insurance for many years has not been merited with regard to an auto accident I was in November 1, 1999. For this reason I am turning to you for help in getting the lost wages and medical treatment I deserve and desperately need. There have been so many complications, but for the sake of brevity I hope to make this letter a brief overview of damages and injuries, and difficulties I've encountered with the claims department here in Colorado Springs.I then listed injuries, state statutes, lost wages, consequences of failure to receives the benefits of my policy. By this time I realized that our policies are contracts and should be treated as such.Some of the consequences listed from failure to receive the allotted PIP wages and medical treatment were-Repossession of vehicle, compounding inability to access appropriate medical treatment and all personal needs, Forced to live on Social Security disability and food stamps, inability to purchase basic needs for granddaughter and self, inadequate funds to sustain mortgage, payments, Isolation, Excessive pain, to the point of drug addiction, depression, and contemplation of suicide. I wrote "There is no way to express the anguish of the last two years of my life."
It was a demand letter as I would find out later, although I was not demanding. My southern genteel manners were apparent. There was more. By law and by right I should have been paid. i expressed in my article the difficulties I faced with the lawyers in Colorado Springs. What I faced was called conservative and if this was conservative then it was everything right gone a muck.
The focus on settlements is base on a sum of money that does not reflect the needs in  the initial recovery process nor in the long term needs.
!4 1/2 years later I rely on drugs just to function on a very basic level. There have been more days where I have not been able to do more than get myself to the bathroom, my policy afforded me funds for help in the first year. I had none. I was to receive rehabilitation in every area, physical as well as work related. None. I tried over the years to get them to do what was right even filing my own lawsuit but without the funds I could not pursue this.
I think back on Catherine Catherman who said to me "now why would you need money". Part of their strategy to keep from paying. They do this to people who are suffering. What I don't get is that they are supported by the courts. Fraud is the least of the charges that should be brought against them. I have not been able to get the name of the original manger of the claims department on Academy who was the person responsible in the beginning. He was there in November of 1999. He was also supposed to be a friend of my agent Bob Yaswa. Later, someone named Jarvis was there and I approached him. Nothing. The names
 of others are in my files. I would like to see jail time for there crimes.
Yes it was a long time ago but I have suffered the consequences of their choices to not do their fiduciary duty.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ. And forgiveness is part of the plan and has been granted but justice is also part of His plan.
Why do we need reform? There are many whose lives have been destroyed not just by the accidents but by these leeches of society. AND WE PAY THEM TO DO IT.
Are we stupid or what?