Webinar Replay #51: Fleet Accidents in Today’s Litigious Culture

1
00:00:03.370 –> 00:00:11.120
Steve Kessler: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Infinit-I Workforce Solutions Fast Forward Webinar Series.

2
00:00:11.350 –> 00:00:14.079
Steve Kessler: sponsored by Vertical Alliance Group.

3
00:00:14.200 –> 00:00:25.400
Steve Kessler: My name’s Steve Kessler, and I’m gonna be the host of the program this morning. We have a really a good topic this morning. Fleet accidents in today’s litigious culture.

4
00:00:25.450 –> 00:00:31.170
Steve Kessler: Think those of us in that have commercial fleets out on the road are fully aware of the

5
00:00:31.220 –> 00:00:54.689
Steve Kessler: the problems. And the non stop lawsuits that we seem to run into. So we have a really good program set up for this morning. Why don’t you all jump on the chat and just tell us who you are and where you’re from, and maybe where you’re calling in from, and what your company while you’re doing that I’m gonna introduce a few folks first of all, my

6
00:00:54.710 –> 00:01:06.630
Steve Kessler: co-host is Mark Rhea. Those of you that have been on our webinars in the past. Mark’s a regular on our program. He’s a veteran transportation executive of about 35 years.

7
00:01:06.800 –> 00:01:10.549
Steve Kessler: So we’re always glad to have you on the program. Good morning, Mark.

8
00:01:10.760 –> 00:01:19.799
Mark Rhea: Morning, Steve. We’ve got. We’ve got a great setup today. We’re gonna talk about loss control risk management and

9
00:01:20.210 –> 00:01:29.480
Mark Rhea: today is much different than it was 5 years ago, 10 years ago. So we’ve got our friends from Shreveport, Louisiana. Really look

10
00:01:29.570 –> 00:01:33.160
Steve Kessler: forwarded the days of a seminar great

11
00:01:33.360 –> 00:01:49.769
Steve Kessler: to introduce our our panelists and our guest today, I’d first like y’all, to welcome Jeffrey Leblanc. Jeffrey is director of Lost Control Department at Kirby’s, and Nelson risk management firm in Shreveport, Louisiana. He’s been there since

12
00:01:49.810 –> 00:01:51.620
Steve Kessler: 2010

13
00:01:51.660 –> 00:02:00.150
Steve Kessler: Jeff received his Bachelor of Science Degree in business administration from Louisiana Tech University in 92.

14
00:02:00.330 –> 00:02:10.770
Steve Kessler: His insurance career, started in 94, working as a claims and accident specialist for 3 major insurance companies over a 15 year time span.

15
00:02:11.150 –> 00:02:19.119
Steve Kessler: Jeffrey has extensive background and property and casualty claims in both commercial and residential applications.

16
00:02:19.370 –> 00:02:33.780
Steve Kessler: Jeff is certified through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and has attained his associate safety professional, certified safety professional, and certified instructional trainer designations.

17
00:02:34.010 –> 00:02:40.630
Steve Kessler: Jeff has also received his certified safety and health official designation in construction.

18
00:02:40.670 –> 00:02:48.539
Steve Kessler: and his specialists in safety and health designations in general industry from the University of Texas at Arlington.

19
00:02:49.110 –> 00:02:56.520
Steve Kessler: Also, I’d like for y’all to welcome Jeff’s guests. There is Luke Whetstone.

20
00:02:56.580 –> 00:03:03.880
Steve Kessler: Mr. Whetstone. And, by the way, he’s an associate at Cook, Yancey and King and Galloway in Shreveport.

21
00:03:03.950 –> 00:03:13.799
Steve Kessler: Mr. Whetstone primarily represents and advises corporate and insurance clients, including energy and transportation companies

22
00:03:13.810 –> 00:03:16.170
Steve Kessler: in civil litigation matters.

23
00:03:16.260 –> 00:03:24.129
Steve Kessler: His litigation experience includes jury and bench trials as well as injunction hearings and administrative proceedings.

24
00:03:24.330 –> 00:03:30.290
Steve Kessler: He represents clients in a court on a variety of issues, including casualty and tort liability.

25
00:03:30.380 –> 00:03:41.649
Steve Kessler: labor and employment disputes and contract disputes. So we have an excellent panel of folks joining us this morning. Welcome, Jeff, welcome, Luke.

26
00:03:42.160 –> 00:04:00.389
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Thank you for that introduction, Steve, Mark. We’re Mark, Luke, and are very excited to be here. Talking about something that’s really a hot button item with what my, my firm does, and we see it every day, and it’s been evolving is as Steve said.

27
00:04:00.510 –> 00:04:14.929
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I I’ve got 14 years of or 15 years claims jester experience. I came to work for for Kirby’s, and Nelson started with a lost control department safety been doing that since 2013. So I’ve seen a lot of things change. And the way this.

28
00:04:14.930 –> 00:04:37.590
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the way this program of all was looking out. I’m I’m lucky to have Luke, not only as a counterpart business, but we’re we’re friends as well. We were sitting around 1 point even talking about it. The knowledge that we’ve acquired over the years is, it seems like the auto claims have changed over the years. And so we started. Put some stuff down on paper, and this is what turned out. So we’re ready to jump on in if you hit the next slide, please.

29
00:04:37.700 –> 00:04:45.069
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So, everybody, these are some pictures of I’m in North Louisiana. If if y’all are familiar with what Louisiana looks like. If you think about the Boot

30
00:04:45.120 –> 00:04:56.750
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Street ports up in the top left hand corner we’re about 30 miles east of Texas, and then we’re about an hour south of Arkansas, the architects area.

31
00:04:56.860 –> 00:05:03.530
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But these are the billboard attorneys. Not making fun of these guys or anything. But these are the guys. Everybody’s got

32
00:05:03.910 –> 00:05:24.889
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the billboard attorneys in their area. Mark just drove through Shreveport, heading to Vicksburg, and I said, man, count the billboard signs, and I drove down Gulf Shores probably about a month or so ago, and for Rustin, which is right in the middle of the boot to the state line there were 34 billboard signs just heading east.

33
00:05:24.890 –> 00:05:45.089
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and I told Mark I said I’d be willing to bet that there’s probably another 34 heading back the other way, and we were laughing before and about how many billboards there are. But if you look at these guys up in the top left hand corner Morris Bart if you all are in the goal in the lower half, you know Morris Bart. He’s the guy who kind of changed the game. When he came out of

34
00:05:45.230 –> 00:05:52.709
Jeffrey LeBlanc: out of college, he said. I’m gonna make the plan of the personal injury gain

35
00:05:52.730 –> 00:06:11.279
Jeffrey LeBlanc: very corporate. It is one call that’s all that’s his deal, and and he’s made a ton of money. You’ve got Jacqueline Scott. It’s kind of humorous. Look at our laugh because she she got a a video of her getting on a plane. It’s it’s probably a 20 million dollar jet. And jokingly I said

36
00:06:11.830 –> 00:06:23.529
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that that airplane is probably never set foot in the Shreveport airport. You know it is. It’s just amazing what they’ve got. But anyway, these guys are the the billboard guys, and everybody’s got. If you flip next slide, please.

37
00:06:23.650 –> 00:06:27.819
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So when they advertise on TV,

38
00:06:28.040 –> 00:06:38.730
Jeffrey LeBlanc: this is what they show. I mean, these are bad accidents, and they they’re warning their clients to think that every automobile accident is like this and next slide.

39
00:06:39.020 –> 00:06:42.289
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And more likely it’s just one of these.

40
00:06:42.310 –> 00:06:54.150
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and I’m watching the folks coming through the chat. They have people all over the all over the place, from Texas and Ohio and Florida, inside and Southern party United States. But most the accidents that we deal with on a daily basis.

41
00:06:54.180 –> 00:07:09.890
Jeffrey LeBlanc: or the minor parking lots, you bumping somebody at a a little fender vendor at a red line or your back and out. You’re back in someone’s park car. That’s probably 90% of what we deal with as far as from our agency side of things.

42
00:07:09.910 –> 00:07:18.350
Jeffrey LeBlanc: It used to be a simple process, but it seems like now in the auto industry in the insurance world it’s got a lot more complex.

43
00:07:18.430 –> 00:07:35.789
Jeffrey LeBlanc: There’s 2 pictures over on the right. We’ll talk about this one specifically. I’ll call this the the guy that I know, the gentleman that drive the truck name is Colt and Colt had a boo boo! And we’ll get a little bit deeper to that as we get further on down the line is turned into quite a little bit interesting. Claim for us. Slide, please.

44
00:07:36.780 –> 00:07:40.229
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So whenever they do these advertisements

45
00:07:40.540 –> 00:07:52.519
Jeffrey LeBlanc: by the by, the plaintiff attorneys, if they show the injuries in. Granted. I’m not making light any way, share before there are people that are average that are hurt as a result of an automobile accident.

46
00:07:52.550 –> 00:08:16.249
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But the parking lot accidents that was basically just a minor fender vendor. They have a process. These plaintiff attorneys have a process to go through in order to make a claim against the insurance companies, and they have the medical bills, and they require surgery, and they have neck pain. And all these new things down, bottom right hand is the traumatic brain injury. That’s that’s kind of the hot button right now.

47
00:08:16.310 –> 00:08:29.889
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But it it goes for a little minor hiccup of I’m sorry to next thing you know, there’d be $200,000 worth of worth of surgery to repair a 5 mile an hour accident. But that’s $1,000 for the damage to the vehicle next slide, please.

48
00:08:31.040 –> 00:08:36.320
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So I went down a rabbit hole one evening, and I started looking to see what the advertising dollars were spent.

49
00:08:36.380 –> 00:08:51.590
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and I don’t know if we have people on this for many people on this webinar from any of these States. But look at the amount of money and the amount of ads that are that are run. But if you got the total amount, plus the number of ads that are running each state.

50
00:08:52.190 –> 00:09:01.609
Jeffrey LeBlanc: That’s an entirely large amount of money. And my response, Luke, we got to laugh. And about when I sent it. I said, Man, they’re spending that much money and advertising.

51
00:09:01.720 –> 00:09:13.179
Jeffrey LeBlanc: They’re making that much money, and it’s all come down your insurance premiums. Okay. Everybody wants to know. Seems like the hot button. Our office is my auto rates keep going up. Auto rates keep going up.

52
00:09:13.310 –> 00:09:22.419
Jeffrey LeBlanc: This is direct link to why it’s going up because they’ve got to cover their costs, and then they get the collections, and you know they’re like I said they should visit it. They’re making it

53
00:09:22.440 –> 00:09:27.500
Jeffrey LeBlanc: next slide, please. Then I went down a deeper rabbit hole.

54
00:09:27.550 –> 00:09:40.390
Jeffrey LeBlanc: This is just Louisiana. We’re one of the most I mean. I’m born and raised Louisiana. I love my state. We’re one of the most litigious States that we that out there, if not number one, was that fair to say? Loop, as far as

55
00:09:40.640 –> 00:09:42.730
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that’s absolutely fair. It’s

56
00:09:42.760 –> 00:09:52.570
Jeffrey LeBlanc: highly litigious. I think it’s, you know. Pardon me. but it’s been considered a judicial hellhole by multiple companies and

57
00:09:52.690 –> 00:10:17.060
Jeffrey LeBlanc: groups that track that kind of thing. It’s absolutely, incredibly, as as business, friendly as the politicians want to set it. We are, and sometimes it’s a struggle, because there, right now, we’re having some struggles with some of our insurance companies are pulling out because it is so. But what’s really interesting is, it’s a quarter 4 for 2020. There was

58
00:10:17.260 –> 00:10:39.820
Jeffrey LeBlanc: 3 million advertisement for 237 million, and then the total gross domestic product for Somalia was 444 million. So that’s just an eye opening amount, I mean, would you agree with that, Steve and Mark? Yes, and that these numbers are 2020, I can assure you those numbers are trending up into the right

59
00:10:40.800 –> 00:10:46.509
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Yup, and then, you know, top law firms, I mean Dudley DeBossier. They are the official

60
00:10:46.980 –> 00:11:09.529
Jeffrey LeBlanc: playing or injury attorney for LSU football. That’s their new thing. They’re hanging back. And also, I think they’re doing the Saints. And I’m like, How did how do we go from professional college football to being attorney, and that’s just the way the world’s going. And I give them credit. They’re master marketers, cause I know they can make the money, and that’s their master marketers, and they’ve got, you know. At 1 point Gordon McKernan, I heard the

61
00:11:09.560 –> 00:11:18.149
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I heard the number out there that he was spending close to half 1 million dollars a month just in billboard advertising. And that is crazy amount of money. Next slide, please.

62
00:11:19.300 –> 00:11:22.900
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, so we’re gonna get in the meat and potatoes. Phase of this

63
00:11:23.030 –> 00:11:32.579
Jeffrey LeBlanc: one of the things I like to ask my customer when I sit down with them. And even guys that are established, and or new customers. Are you a lucky company, or are you a good company?

64
00:11:33.060 –> 00:11:39.119
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And they kind of look at me. What do you mean by that? We could be a great company and never, ever have

65
00:11:39.300 –> 00:11:53.269
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the big one? But, statistically speaking, if you’re if you’ve got fleet of vehicles at some point you’re gonna have a a pretty significant automobile accident, and you need to be prepared for that automatic.

66
00:11:53.380 –> 00:12:03.270
Jeffrey LeBlanc: or you just been lucky. And you’ve never had it. And are you prepared for that scenario? You have to ask yourself that question next slide, please.

67
00:12:05.430 –> 00:12:09.590
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Alright. Luke and I sat down and laughed about this because it’s it.

68
00:12:09.650 –> 00:12:12.770
Jeffrey LeBlanc: These I call these the truism of auto claims.

69
00:12:12.940 –> 00:12:19.039
Jeffrey LeBlanc: If these plans attorneys are spending that much money advertise and talk about that. They’re making that much money on advertising.

70
00:12:20.500 –> 00:12:31.779
Jeffrey LeBlanc: working in the insurance industry for so many years. It’s kind of truism that their thought process is always, if you throw money at it, it’s gonna go away.

71
00:12:31.870 –> 00:12:48.760
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, the problem is, yeah, that works. But there’s mentality that’s been formed in society, that if I can get an automobile accident. I can make some money and by throwing money and trying to make it go away it’s cost challenges, because these.

72
00:12:49.430 –> 00:13:09.199
Jeffrey LeBlanc: settlements keep getting larger and larger and larger. Across the board, and Luke can kind of add a little color to this in terms of these don’t generally like to take auto claim to trial in front of jury. Is that is that fair to say Luke? No, that’s absolutely true. And it’s gotten. It’s gotten a lot worse, especially since Covid. We’ve seen

73
00:13:09.450 –> 00:13:22.199
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Covid. And then inflation have really started to skyrocket jury awards. Even for minor claims. In this area alone there was a recent 49 million dollar verdict.

74
00:13:22.210 –> 00:13:30.060
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I think there was another one north of 50, about little under a year ago. It’s it’s really just kind of taken off.

75
00:13:30.090 –> 00:13:36.520
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So insurance companies do not want to be in front of juries. They’re scared of juries, which and I understand that

76
00:13:36.700 –> 00:13:46.189
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the problem is as Jeff’s mentioning when you start throwing money at a problem. Eventually, it’s gonna cost more and more and more money to make that problem go away.

77
00:13:46.750 –> 00:13:56.160
Jeffrey LeBlanc: sure. And then, with some people don’t know like we, I’ll go back to Gordon McKernan. He’s a big attorney out of Baton Rouge that over the last,

78
00:13:57.180 –> 00:14:06.009
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I don’t know, I’d say last 5 or 10 years that parents say you think they figured out that, hey? We can make a lot of money on these large

79
00:14:06.070 –> 00:14:17.169
Jeffrey LeBlanc: these large insurance claims. And so the private equity money that was out of out of New York state. They’re like, Look, we’re we’re taking. We’ve got a large amount of assets

80
00:14:17.350 –> 00:14:24.820
Jeffrey LeBlanc: we’re putting in the stock market here investing it, and they’re making a return of I don’t know 7 to 12% on a good year. Kind of thing.

81
00:14:24.880 –> 00:14:38.749
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, they’ve reached out to several, and this is another. This is happening in Dallas as well. Some of the larger, plaintive attorneys. And they’re saying, Hey, we’ll back you. Because in order to take a in order to take a a, a claim to trial.

82
00:14:39.070 –> 00:14:50.350
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I mean minimum. 6 figures. Is that fair to say? I agree with that. If you go through all discovery, you take the depositions you do. The red discovery motions, pretrial motions, dispositive motions

83
00:14:50.810 –> 00:15:11.949
Jeffrey LeBlanc: week, long trial, maybe some post trial motion degrees. Yeah, I think it’s it’s about, I usually quote between 75 low end, and 6 figures. Yes, 6 figures. So for a for a law firm to front that money that’s that’s huge on their capital. Well, so the private equity firms come in and say, Hey, we’ll front this money because we know

84
00:15:11.990 –> 00:15:29.750
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that we can. You’re gonna win this case. There’s about 80% chance you’re gonna we’re gonna get something out of the deal, and so they may take it and and and invest a hundred grand. But then they get a hundred-thousand judgment on it. Well, they just tripled, quadrupled, whatever the number may be after expenses.

85
00:15:29.750 –> 00:15:50.749
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and they’re making a calendar on this. I know there’s several, South Louisiana said. There’s a big law firm out of out of Dallas that I know. It is one of the long view. There’s a couple out of that Little Rock that I’ve heard that have been back by private equity money. So if you’re aware of that, that’s what’s driving a lot of this advertising because it’s a corporation. This is a corporate.

86
00:15:50.770 –> 00:15:55.929
Jeffrey LeBlanc: a corporate money-making process is what it is, and they figured it out next slide, please

87
00:15:57.180 –> 00:16:04.510
Jeffrey LeBlanc: alright. So this is really the nuts and bolts of what we’ve kind of put this thing together on. Here’s the playbook.

88
00:16:04.910 –> 00:16:24.060
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Everyone’s hurt, no matter if you hit him on 5 miles an hour. You hit him on 50 miles an hour. Everyone’s hurting. Everybody needs an attorney, and people consistently get rich. It’s attorney, if you like. I’m friends with attorneys on both the defense and the plaintive side, and they’ve got lots of toys because they work real hard through money, and they make they make a decent living.

89
00:16:24.090 –> 00:16:30.690
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Most of these plaintive attorneys like there’s one down street that we we deal with all the time. Personally.

90
00:16:30.710 –> 00:16:32.070
Jeffrey LeBlanc: he’s got

91
00:16:32.370 –> 00:16:52.450
Jeffrey LeBlanc: an agreement. Is that a fair statement? I have to watch what I say here. It’s an agreement with a doctor that they’ll oh, we need to get seen about a medical doctor. Let me hook you up with Doctor X, and how that typically works. Yeah. So that’s I don’t want to get too much into what’s coming later. But that’s

92
00:16:52.500 –> 00:17:03.219
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the biggest development that we’ve seen. I just wanna loop back real quick what Jeff is saying. The days of plaintiff lawyers being Wild West Bandito’s is that

93
00:17:03.500 –> 00:17:31.460
Jeffrey LeBlanc: they are serious corporate actors, and they’re trying to make money, and they do a good job of it. At least I will share that. I interviewed with one. I saw someone say that Texas Hammer exactly. I interviewed with one of the firms. I won’t say which one, and they shared with me that they had just bought outright the marketing company that they had been using is they’re making so much money. They brought them in house to just their work.

94
00:17:31.680 –> 00:17:42.520
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And so what you have to understand is, these people all go to conferences throughout the country, and they learn the new strategies, and the most recent one is what Jeff has there on number 2

95
00:17:42.840 –> 00:17:47.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: juries don’t like lawyers. Most people don’t like lawyers to be fair, so don’t blame jurors.

96
00:17:47.720 –> 00:17:55.050
Jeffrey LeBlanc: but juries like doctors. So what plant lawyers have done is they found these doctors.

97
00:17:55.420 –> 00:18:06.259
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and I don’t. I’m not miss merging anyone, but they have found doctors who are more agreeable to their proposed long-term plans of treatment.

98
00:18:06.270 –> 00:18:21.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And so a jury is not going to give huge general damages because a lawyer asked, but a jury will give huge special damages of medical records of a doctor says so. So that’s kind of the trend that we’ve seen recently

99
00:18:21.730 –> 00:18:34.229
Jeffrey LeBlanc: like when I was doing claims adjusting here in Shreveport there was one particular plaintiff attorney, and he would send every one of his clients to a certain chiropractor here in town.

100
00:18:34.360 –> 00:18:58.000
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and it almost became a joke where, when I get a letter of rep with you and I became friends with the attorney and I call him up and said, Okay, I bet you lunch that the doctor’s bills we’re going to be between $2,500 and $2,900. It’s like, How do you know that, Jeff? Will you take the previous 10 folks that you sent to him? And I hold the bills up to them. They’re exactly the same in the report, exactly the same, except for they change the name on it.

101
00:18:59.100 –> 00:19:07.629
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I don’t believe in coincidences, but it and we kind of like I said it became a I buy you lunch, you buy me lunch. We were just trying to get through the process, and so

102
00:19:07.890 –> 00:19:20.270
Jeffrey LeBlanc: there’s certain agreements and arrangements that are out there, and and they fill in the blank for the lawsuits as well. And you know, that’s fair to say a lawsuit. They’re already pre-built, ready to go, and they all read the same. These

103
00:19:20.320 –> 00:19:41.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: these 5 attorneys are going out ridiculous settlements request, and they just want to see what happens. And Mark and Steve and I were talking about that. We’re in Texas. It seems like they’re they just demand policy limits. I mean, though, demand out they’re just gonna go for a policy limits and see what happens. And loose tact is is to go. No, I need a demand. What number we whatever we talking about

104
00:19:41.680 –> 00:19:48.659
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and kind of go from there? They’ll file suit. They fill the names, and they’re all pre-built

105
00:19:49.090 –> 00:20:01.230
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Now, with the new tech that we’re seeing is, we received a lawsuit sitting on my desk upstairs probably 3, 4 months ago, and there was 43 pages worth of discovery.

106
00:20:01.360 –> 00:20:20.350
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and when I’m telling you it is everything from the gas receipts at the pump to whether or not you put air in the tires in the truck to where was the guy working, you know, 12 years ago? I mean, it’s literally designed to overwhelm the defendants with a request for information.

107
00:20:20.350 –> 00:20:34.059
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And then you tax with Steve mentioned, or Mark mentioned about the raptor. They’ve got the raptor. Was the deposition, and then they’ve also got. Yeah. The reptile theory that’s

108
00:20:34.060 –> 00:21:02.629
Jeffrey LeBlanc: is that change a little bit from the reptile. It moves around a lot. But as I mentioned earlier, these kind of lawyers all go to the same seminars. They all learn the same thing. There are these, this is not a joke. There are these special books on these strategies that you’re not allowed to buy unless you’re planning. You have to literally prove your plan, for in order to get one. But it’s it’s something as minor as I won’t get too deep into it for these depositions. They’ll say

109
00:21:02.680 –> 00:21:16.260
Jeffrey LeBlanc: to the opponent, which is usually a corporate rep, hey, safety is important, right? And of course you answer, yes. Then they take a step further. Okay, so safety is the most important thing, and everybody wants to give a good answer, and so they say yes.

110
00:21:16.340 –> 00:21:35.950
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and then again, I won’t get too deep into. They just spirals from safety is the most important thing to you’ve done everything wrong, you do not take safety is the highest priority. Thus this person is in here does pay me $100,000, and that can be overcome, but it requires a lot of work, both from the attorney side and from the insurance side.

111
00:21:36.990 –> 00:21:43.769
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And then the final thing there is, go to trial or settle. I had a conversation with the attorney of South Louisiana, and

112
00:21:43.930 –> 00:21:49.720
Jeffrey LeBlanc: liability was clear cut. I’ve worked lots of claims with this guy. He helps us out. A lot of workers come a lot of auto claims.

113
00:21:50.200 –> 00:22:06.359
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and I was talking to John, and he said liability was clear cut on this deal. We had a pretty good amount of insurance. We had one primary, we had 10, we had 16 set up there, total as far as coverage, and it was a really bad plan, and we knew

114
00:22:06.390 –> 00:22:14.739
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that we were gonna like policy limits. There was no doubt. I mean, there was fatality involved, serious injuries, and all, we had 16.

115
00:22:14.950 –> 00:22:28.430
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So basically, the attorney, our attorney called said, Hey, we’re ready to write a check. Let’s get this thing done. And the attorney said, absolutely not. I take every trial to claim every trial, every claim trial.

116
00:22:28.850 –> 00:22:38.469
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And he said, Why is it always got 16 in the attorneys? Response, the plan. Attorney’s response is, I can get more in front of a jury.

117
00:22:38.730 –> 00:23:07.430
Jeffrey LeBlanc: It all only wound up settling for 16 million. But it was. I think it was more. We’re gonna take it and try to make a precedence and see if we can get 20 or making up a number and see if we can get more, and maybe we can dig into the owners pockets on a on a punitive side of things. But I don’t. I think it wound up they negotiated it and wanted to pay a little bit, but ultimately just it wound up, settling for the for the policy limits next slide.

118
00:23:11.560 –> 00:23:19.389
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay. put this together because it seems like I even talked to the folks that they’ve been doing this for a long time.

119
00:23:19.500 –> 00:23:34.429
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and then back in the fifties and sixties and seventies. Hey? I bumped into your car. Let me pay for your damages and people, you know, for the insurance people were self insuring themselves, and it’s just kind of the way it was. They always bought insurance a lot of times. It wasn’t very expensive, so they would just pay for it.

120
00:23:34.650 –> 00:23:45.220
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, then, it kind of evolved to. I’m sorry I bumped into your car. Let me get you my insurance information, and that was seventies, and these kind of standard practice. And people were like, Okay, just take care of a car. But I’m going to be good.

121
00:23:45.580 –> 00:23:47.270
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, I started working

122
00:23:47.400 –> 00:24:03.549
Jeffrey LeBlanc: in 19. I started working claims in 1990. Maybe. There’s an insurance. Here’s intern insurance information. Let me take care of your car. And now you’re injured. Even then we’re talking about a minor accident here.

123
00:24:03.630 –> 00:24:30.019
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Let me take care of your Bible entry claim. So the the insurance companies were right. Check for the damages, and then they write a bottle entry claim. Well, then, this is evolve and kind of got. The plate of attorneys got involved with the the corporate side of things. Here’s my insurance information. I need to get my car taken care of my model, the injury claim. I’ve got a loss of use, my rental loss of wages, and it didn’t value the claims, and that just seems to really blow it blown up

124
00:24:30.080 –> 00:24:36.260
Jeffrey LeBlanc: from 2000 to 2010 middle of middle of 2000. Now.

125
00:24:36.290 –> 00:24:58.940
Jeffrey LeBlanc: you know, we’ll bump into somebody 8 0’clock in the morning by 8:45, and the police literally haven’t let the scene and they’ve already called. They’ve already called the plane as attorney, and by the end of the day, with a traumatic brain injury, middle language, loss of consortium. PTSD, that’s the new one, too. Right? Traumatic brain. And PTSD, that’s the hot buttons right now. And then. The oh, I need back fusion surgery. But the real

126
00:24:59.020 –> 00:25:23.359
Jeffrey LeBlanc: thing that is really really taken off is these long term injections. And I’m gonna let loop just a little bit as far as talk a little bit about that. Yeah, we’ll get to deep into it. But one of these things that the plan of lawyers have picked up is what’s called a Life Care plan. They get Life Care planners, which is basically somebody who will take your plaintiff and say, okay, the plan is gone and gotten

127
00:25:23.650 –> 00:25:44.890
Jeffrey LeBlanc: chiropractic treatment. Pt, conservative treatment. And now they’ve had one to 2 what’s called ESI’s girl steroid injections or ablations basically, well, getting to even the week. It just is more treatment for the back which you can get between one to 4 times a year.

128
00:25:45.130 –> 00:25:56.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: What the Life Care Planner does is, they said cool, based on that. You’re gonna need this every year for the rest of your life, and I calculate you will live X number of years.

129
00:25:56.730 –> 00:26:01.849
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And so I don’t see a Life Care plan case for less than a million dollars

130
00:26:02.840 –> 00:26:03.660
Jeffrey LeBlanc: ever.

131
00:26:04.230 –> 00:26:08.679
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, okay. But thank you, Luke. So next slide.

132
00:26:09.670 –> 00:26:22.529
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So I put together the perfect world scenario, and actually had one of these happen Monday morning. I mean, it was a little minor fender vendor where the insured vehicle rearrange the plane would be able minor damage 8 o’clock on there all the way to work

133
00:26:22.710 –> 00:26:43.340
Jeffrey LeBlanc: no injuries. I got damaged to my bumper. I got no damage to the insured vehicle. The insured driver gets out courteous to the courteous to the driver. Hey? I’m sorry I bumped you at the bank parking lot. Let me get your let me exchange interns information with you, went ahead and call the police to get a report per standard company policy

134
00:26:43.340 –> 00:26:59.599
Jeffrey LeBlanc: injury driver gets out, he takes pictures, gets it’s all the documentation and gets good contact information on the claimant. He didn’t. Just he or she didn’t just sit in the car and wait for the police to get there. We’ll go down that rabbit hole in just a second. Okay? The answer report was reported. Police.

135
00:26:59.600 –> 00:27:14.309
Jeffrey LeBlanc: The employer immediately calls employer and says, Hey, I’ve bumped into Suzy. Here’s your information. Got minor damages. I’ve got good pictures. The police write the report, and then, next thing you know, it’s the the police report will be ready in 24 h.

136
00:27:14.420 –> 00:27:20.630
Jeffrey LeBlanc: That’s not happening nowadays. It seems like it’s really changed. The employer immediately gets all the information.

137
00:27:20.710 –> 00:27:48.669
Jeffrey LeBlanc: He reports it to the insurance carrier, the broker, or the directly reports to the agent. It’s assigned to an adjuster, and then by the end of the day the claims adjuster has made contact. We’ve got them set up to go to the shop. We got them set up with a rental. There’s no, they confirm. There’s no injuries, liabilities, clear cut. Should the claim it takes to the body shop to get an estimate. They upload it. And then, you know, payments issue later that week, and it’s mailed to the claimant.

138
00:27:48.960 –> 00:28:03.299
Jeffrey LeBlanc: The chances of this happening is probably less than about 5%. Nowadays. It seems like couple of things that’s going on is like the police. You know. I’ve been working with Shreveport police for years. We used to be able to get police reports turned around in within 24 to 48 h.

139
00:28:03.300 –> 00:28:28.269
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Now for some. They they computerized it, which was supposed to make it more efficient. And now it’s taking 7 to 10 days. Hmm, so it’s doesn’t make any sense. Claims adjusters. What we’re seeing from the claims adjuster side. There was a big turnover and in in claims, gestures as far as knowledgeable claims adjusters leave in the industry during Covid. So you’ve got a lot of inexperience on

140
00:28:28.270 –> 00:28:37.900
Jeffrey LeBlanc: claims that they’re trying to get 14 days, 6 months in Houston. Yep, if you go to the Louisiana State Police it’ll take 4 months

141
00:28:38.010 –> 00:28:48.960
Jeffrey LeBlanc: to get it to get a losing State police report depending on how fast they process it. But get back to what I was saying, we’ve just noticed that there’s a lot of innocent inexperience claims adjusters, and

142
00:28:49.790 –> 00:29:04.989
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I was one for 15 years. Claims adjusters are overworked, underpaid, and overwhelmed, and they might have 200 files sitting on their sitting on their desk, and they just can’t flip them as fast as they used to. Next slide, please.

143
00:29:06.580 –> 00:29:28.030
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So a real life auto accident, I mean, this is a true, you know injury driver ruins claim it less $1,500 would damage to places call and you may be exchange information. We we talked to our our, we talked to our clients about what, and try to teach their guys what to say how to say it, when to say it that kind of stuff, and wait for the report to be ready. What the problem is

144
00:29:28.620 –> 00:29:54.800
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the business might wait 3 or 4 days. They’ll get whatever information they have, and they might take one or 2 pictures. And then they’ll wait 3 or 4 days to report, and then they call the agency or or the company the claim adjuster gets it. They sit on it 48 h before they make a call, and chances are the claimant becomes frustrated because they there’s a big misnomer out there, in the general public that they think that they were involved in an accident

145
00:29:54.800 –> 00:30:18.279
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that the police are gonna call the insurance company report the claim for you. It doesn’t. That doesn’t work that way. It’s never worked that way in the 20 something years I’ve been working in the insurance world that’s always been this big misnomer that’s sitting out there that oh, please should have recorded it. No, you need to teach your folks. They have to let you know. The faster they let you know the better it’s gonna be next slide.

146
00:30:19.650 –> 00:30:32.929
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So know that the the the claim clock is ticking. The first insurance company that I’ve worked for was Progressive for about 5 and a half years Progressive was a big deal for them, and I will get their credit. They figured it out

147
00:30:33.210 –> 00:30:48.550
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the faster you get it reported, the faster you start, cut, and checks, the more likely that claim is going to settle faster and for less expenses. It would. If you just sit on a twill your thumbs and also they’re less likely to seek legal advice

148
00:30:49.670 –> 00:31:13.109
Jeffrey LeBlanc: changed a little bit because people are so geared and marketed that they have to go in an attorney if they have an automobile accident. We saw that in previous slides the amount of marketing is out there. But they’re still, if you have the opportunity to get a vehicle looked at their injury. Taken care of. If they’re written care of. Statistically, it’s gonna change. It’s gonna close a lot faster next slide.

149
00:31:14.360 –> 00:31:23.459
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, this was the we’re circle back to the picture. This is the call claim I know. Call personally to good Guy, so he’s a kind of contractor that I work with.

150
00:31:23.980 –> 00:31:27.689
Jeffrey LeBlanc: He is sitting at a red light.

151
00:31:28.950 –> 00:31:38.859
Jeffrey LeBlanc: he said. The red light. The minor little small little town over here, about 30 miles east to here, and he bumps into a the car in front of it.

152
00:31:39.710 –> 00:31:44.559
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well, he thinks his employer is going to be mad at him, so he doesn’t report the claim.

153
00:31:45.100 –> 00:32:00.599
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And he said, tells the guy, Hey, man, I’m gonna take care of this for you. Don’t worry about it. I got this covered. So he gets a little bit of information from the gentleman because they he’s gonna pay for it out of his pocket, he said. He takes work he takes to. These are the 2 pictures he took.

154
00:32:00.680 –> 00:32:03.020
Jeffrey LeBlanc: We’ve got the front of his car and the back of his car.

155
00:32:03.320 –> 00:32:23.350
Jeffrey LeBlanc: The police report takes about 2 and a half weeks. What was pretty pretty interesting was there was police officer that was sitting across across across from the accident, actually saw the accident happened. He didn’t even want to write a report upon it, but the claimant insisted on it. Actually, our guidelines, that’s company policy took about 2 or 3 weeks to get get our get our report.

156
00:32:24.300 –> 00:32:33.069
Jeffrey LeBlanc: The the climate waited. I don’t know. 2 or 3 days went and got an estimate for the estimates for $7,500.

157
00:32:33.250 –> 00:32:34.240
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Well.

158
00:32:34.360 –> 00:32:42.949
Jeffrey LeBlanc: this guy’s an A/C technician. He just doesn’t have 8 grand is kind of laying around in his pocket, and so he goes back and kinda had his head

159
00:32:43.160 –> 00:32:47.350
Jeffrey LeBlanc: head, Dad, and talk to the business owner and said, Hey, I bumped into somebody.

160
00:32:47.600 –> 00:33:03.979
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Bumped into somebody, and there was no damage. Well, you all can see very clearly right there. There’s actual damage to this vehicle, and it did damage to the bumper, the the rebar of the absorber accident. So there’s a lot of hidden damage on this thing, and

161
00:33:04.020 –> 00:33:27.069
Jeffrey LeBlanc: so we sat down, and we it took about 10 to 12 days before we actually knew about the claim. After everything was said and done well, the claimant calls our office screaming at the top of his long. He needs a rental, and he’s mad at the delay. Well, ultimately this thing we got demand for it. That was they’re asking for almost three hundred and eighty-thousand for this.

162
00:33:27.240 –> 00:33:36.799
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So this is a real live wheels falling off the employee was trained on what to do.

163
00:33:37.010 –> 00:33:49.740
Jeffrey LeBlanc: He knew what to do, and went over the scenarios a gazillion times with our training he was scared because he thought he was in getting trouble with his employer. One of the things when I talk to him. When I talk to my guys.

164
00:33:50.250 –> 00:33:53.030
Jeffrey LeBlanc: guys, what’s done is done.

165
00:33:53.140 –> 00:34:05.179
Jeffrey LeBlanc: If if you bump into somebody I need to know about it because it it yes, bleeding is happening, but it needs to stop the bleeding faster rather than later. This thing probably could have could have been

166
00:34:05.260 –> 00:34:26.099
Jeffrey LeBlanc: mitigated a lot faster, but because he sat on it and sat on it, sat on it. It’s gotten out of control, and we have no control of the client, we literally reacting to everything. Now versus being proactive. Or do you see a lot of these what you tell me your experience as far as when you get situations like this.

167
00:34:26.100 –> 00:34:39.850
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So, I’ve seen it both ways, and I’ve actually seen them both ways this week. I have one client. It’s a large commercial carrier, incredibly proactive. All of their employees know if there is any accident at all.

168
00:34:40.139 –> 00:34:49.509
Jeffrey LeBlanc: You let them know immediately. They let the insurance company know immediately. They let me know immediately, and then we better build investigator, and then I’m on it. I’m running it. Which, by the way.

169
00:34:50.030 –> 00:34:59.570
Jeffrey LeBlanc: you want that you want an attorney involved, because there’s a strong argument that a lot of the stuff that gets discussed then is protected and doesn’t come out and discover.

170
00:34:59.850 –> 00:35:06.260
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But I understand not everybody can do that. But the thing is, when an employee hides a wreck

171
00:35:06.550 –> 00:35:17.809
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and a lawsuit is filed. Here’s the conversation that I then have with the adjuster who gives me the file. I said, Okay, we got the petition. What what else you got for? What do we know about this lead? Just says I’ve got nothing.

172
00:35:17.840 –> 00:35:21.079
Jeffrey LeBlanc: What do you mean? You have nothing. I just found out about this claim today.

173
00:35:21.520 –> 00:35:31.360
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, what do you want me to do about this? I don’t know. And then we have to go through discovery. There’s no chance of an early resolution. I don’t have all the facts on the front.

174
00:35:32.120 –> 00:35:34.760
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, next next slide, please.

175
00:35:35.590 –> 00:35:38.459
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So here’s some strategies we came up with.

176
00:35:38.700 –> 00:35:58.700
Jeffrey LeBlanc: If you’re not having a conversation when you have those toolbox talk, or you have those drivers meeting, and you’re not actively going over with your drivers what to do when they have an accident. You’re doing yourself a disservice. Okay? And and it doesn’t have. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes. I just need some basic pictures.

177
00:35:58.700 –> 00:36:11.210
Jeffrey LeBlanc: some basic information. And inevitably, whenever I get get pictures from these from these guys or folks that are driving. I will get 200 pictures, literally of a headline.

178
00:36:12.350 –> 00:36:37.409
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I don’t care about the headlight, the headlice, 400 bucks. It is what it is. I need you to take a picture of the front of the car, and you take a picture of the side of the car, and you take picture of the corner of the car. Take a picture all 4 corners because a it helps me understand what kind of car it is, what the license plate is. If you can get a picture of the ven. That’s great. But it gives me the whole picture. Take a picture of the intersection. Take a picture of the parking lot.

179
00:36:37.410 –> 00:36:50.560
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But inevitably I’ll get 10-15 pictures of the damage great, the damages, or what they are really don’t care on the grand scale of things. They’re really gonna be $1,500, $5,000 but backup and give me a bunch of pictures.

180
00:36:51.080 –> 00:37:07.980
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Everybody has a phone in their pocket. It costs you nothing to take a picture. Years ago we used to provide our clients with little disposable Kodak cameras and everybody. We keep them in their dog on a glove box. Don’t do that anymore. Everybody’s got a camera. It doesn’t cost a single dime to take a picture.

181
00:37:08.090 –> 00:37:14.570
Jeffrey LeBlanc: documentation is key because the plane attorneys are gonna ask for everything.

182
00:37:14.700 –> 00:37:42.870
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Get those drivers to write down what happened? Not on one sentence or 2 sentences. I bumped into Suzy at the at the at the at the parking lot. I need a detailed what were you doing where we headed which direction you were going? You wanna lock those drivers in a really good story because one of the things. And I tell my folks guys, if you’re at fault, we talk about. If you’re at fault, I need to know about it, because that way I can defend you

183
00:37:42.890 –> 00:37:59.130
Jeffrey LeBlanc: from the moment that it happens versus sitting there in a deposition, and it’s happened where the driver all of a sudden changes his story in the middle of a dog on deposition. And we’re like holy start. Our whole defense just went out the window.

184
00:37:59.300 –> 00:38:04.720
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And so it it’s real, real, real sensitive to something like that happens.

185
00:38:05.840 –> 00:38:33.349
Jeffrey LeBlanc: folks, if you’re running a fleet, be organized. Have one or 2 people in your office that’s responsible for gathering data. These plaintiff attorneys are asking for everything. If you’re running on making up a number. If you’re running 25 trucks, and you’ve got 25 units every one of those vehicles should have a file, you know. Unit 1, 2, 3, 4. Every time you all do something that truck with us all change, or you know, A/C service, or whatever it may be.

186
00:38:33.640 –> 00:39:01.309
Jeffrey LeBlanc: keep that in a file, and that makes it so much easier that way. When that driver is involved in an accident. With that vehicle you go to that file, you grab, and you say I have everything that I need right here. Digital storage is easiest. Yes, paper files. Great. I’m old school. I like paper files, but I’m more and more on going to digital everything. I’m every time I have a file, sit there and I’m digitizing it. So all I gotta do is point and click, so that when I need to send it over to his office.

187
00:39:01.310 –> 00:39:11.490
Jeffrey LeBlanc: everything’s there. I’m not spending 2 h scanning it. It involves an accident secures much data as soon as possible. We had a fatality that took place

188
00:39:12.090 –> 00:39:33.030
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I don’t know 6, 8 months ago, and I told the business owner whatever you have on that driver on that vehicle, any mechanical record on any training you have on that guy. You need to grab that information and stick it in your safe, because ultimately it’s going to be being asked for depending on your your statue limitations. Louisiana is one, Texas is 2, Arkansas, 2 or 3.

189
00:39:33.120 –> 00:39:37.210
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I think it’s too. Most most are, too. Next slide.

190
00:39:38.660 –> 00:39:43.400
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay? So you’re served with a lawsuit. Now, what? Okay?

191
00:39:44.730 –> 00:40:06.470
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Yeah, I’m I’m speaking in Louisiana, in Louisiana. We’re served, whether you’re served directly by the sheriff, or it’s long serve to a what do they call it when they, when they hand it to a representative agent for service. Okay, make sure to get that lawsuit to either your broker or the insurance company asap. If 14 days in Louisiana just increased it.

192
00:40:06.470 –> 00:40:16.980
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, so how many days is 21? It’s 21 days to respond. If you don’t respond you automatically, whatever they’re asking for, basically you get. I mean, that’s kind of the way it works.

193
00:40:16.980 –> 00:40:22.189
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So we have to make a response to the the plate of council.

194
00:40:22.330 –> 00:40:47.130
Jeffrey LeBlanc: gather up all your records, secure them, and then work with the claims adjuster. One of the key things that my firm has been working with is like the insurance companies, big insurance companies might be out of Dallas or New York or Pennsylvania, or whatever is they automatically assume that attorneys South, I 10 down in New Orleans and back rooms, or smarter than people up in North Louisiana and Luke, you know.

195
00:40:47.340 –> 00:41:04.530
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But if you take an attorney out of New Orleans and bring him into cattle parish in North Louisiana, he’s gonna get massacred because he’s not from here. Okay, we had one other day and talking to my friends in Houston. It was a big loss in Houston. They assigned Dallas Council.

196
00:41:04.560 –> 00:41:19.000
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and and we’re like, no, we wanna make sure that we have local counts as if you all need to work with your claim adjuster to figure out who your your your counsel is, because it does make a difference in the way the world works.

197
00:41:19.590 –> 00:41:22.610
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Play the defense counsel, play the counsel.

198
00:41:23.040 –> 00:41:37.819
Jeffrey LeBlanc: They duck up together, they fish together, their wives and Rotary club together. It all plays in. So if you take a guy in New Orleans in in Plus. We really got frustrated with one insurance company because they kept hiring this one firm out of New Orleans. Great firm, New Orleans.

199
00:41:37.930 –> 00:41:46.190
Jeffrey LeBlanc: He was charging us 6 h to drive up here from New Orleans at $300 an hour, or whatever it was, just to take their depositions.

200
00:41:46.290 –> 00:41:57.620
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and finally, I call the the adjuster, and I’m like I literally can walk across the street and have lunch with Luke, and he doesn’t charge me anybody to walk across the street. But we’re spending thousands of dollars

201
00:41:57.810 –> 00:42:02.759
Jeffrey LeBlanc: on these attorneys coming from different parts of the state.

202
00:42:02.790 –> 00:42:14.250
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that when we’ve got perfectly capable attorneys that know the judges that know the plan of attorneys. They know that they know their their playbook, and it just it works a lot better

203
00:42:14.490 –> 00:42:23.310
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Thursday. But I mean I couldn’t agree more. You you could not pay me to take a trial in New Orleans. I don’t know who those people are.

204
00:42:23.410 –> 00:42:40.700
Jeffrey LeBlanc: whereas up here. I know everybody. I’m in different associations with them. We have lunch sometimes, and it’s not just Louisiana, as you said. I mean Houston and Dallas. I mean I wouldn’t send a Dallas attorney to Houston, or a Houston attorney to Dallas. It’s look

205
00:42:40.870 –> 00:42:50.600
Jeffrey LeBlanc: if you made it through law school, and you’re a good firm. I understand you want the big city. I understand. A lot of clients want the big name

206
00:42:50.960 –> 00:42:53.969
Jeffrey LeBlanc: that’s great. You’re still gonna get popped.

207
00:42:53.980 –> 00:43:01.610
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and it’s not going to be worth it. It’s like, Okay, cool. I hired XYZ top 10 firm in the country, and then I paid 20 million dollars.

208
00:43:02.470 –> 00:43:07.450
Jeffrey LeBlanc: It’s not. It’s not worth it. I’m understand it sounds like I’m being very biased. But

209
00:43:07.900 –> 00:43:13.679
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I see it from the ground we just that for that reminds me that 49 million dollar case

210
00:43:14.070 –> 00:43:20.389
Jeffrey LeBlanc: out of town council got absolutely smoked. A great top tier law firm.

211
00:43:20.690 –> 00:43:27.790
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Does. You know today it’s just it’s just not worth it definitely higher local council anytime you can, anywhere it can.

228
00:46:22.860 –> 00:46:45.929
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay? So I previously talked about, I’ve got sitting on my desk 40-43 pages of discovery for a big one that I’m working on right now. So these are some of the things that this is almost carbon copies. If I get a lawsuit, this is pretty much what they’re gonna ask for. What’s your due diligence and hiring drivers? You know, I do a lot of will feel work.

229
00:46:45.930 –> 00:46:57.989
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And the good man. He’s a good guy, man, he he’s my brother’s uncle, and I’ve known him all my life. Great is he a good driver? You know. What is his MVR look like? Okay, have you? Have you run

230
00:46:57.990 –> 00:47:19.520
Jeffrey LeBlanc: due diligence before you hired this guy? And handing the keys to a $250,000 truck with a whole bunch of insurance. Did you find out? Did you investigate this guy? Okay, what was your onboarding process? Did you do a road test? Did you actually follow the guy around? Put a mentor in the truck with him to see if he knew what he did. He might have been driving for 5 years not to drive for 5 days.

231
00:47:19.920 –> 00:47:35.490
Jeffrey LeBlanc: What fun! One phone runs off always gotten and deal with construction. Well, feel, guys is to these younger folks that are coming up. They know how to backup a train. I mean, it’s crazy that some of these folks they’re going to work on these construction companies. They don’t know how to backup train.

232
00:47:35.670 –> 00:47:38.479
Jeffrey LeBlanc: What are your trainer qualifications?

233
00:47:38.670 –> 00:47:49.579
Jeffrey LeBlanc: That was a hot button on a couple of that we’ve seen is they went down a rabbit hole as far as you. Gotta. You have a person that is training our drivers.

234
00:47:49.810 –> 00:48:01.150
Jeffrey LeBlanc: What is his or her qualifications for training them? And they wanted everything. And they wanted to know everything about that person. Their experience, and went on down the road

235
00:48:01.160 –> 00:48:15.629
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Drug and alcohol testing, making sure you’re abiding by your policies, guys, if you’ve got a drug and alcohol testing policy, and it says that after every accident we’re gonna drug and alcohol test. You better dog on do it because you know what one time you don’t is the one time you’re gonna get burnt

236
00:48:15.930 –> 00:48:34.019
Jeffrey LeBlanc: daily, weekly vehicle inspection forms. I cannot stress this enough. Whether it’s DOT. I know they’ve got pre and post the non DOT. Is where we seem to get hammered, because that plaintiff attorney says, Hey, when’s the last time you did an inspection on that vehicle?

237
00:48:34.430 –> 00:49:00.889
Jeffrey LeBlanc: A lot of times I’ll get a deer in the head like look from the business owner, and it’s like we’ve never inspected. We had a there was a a big case here in in in street port, where it was a church van that they were taking a road trip to Dallas for over the youth trip. And there was, I don’t know, 10 or 15 kids in there, and ultimately one of the back tires wound up, blowing out, and one or 2 kids were seriously hurt. I think there’s one fatality in it.

238
00:49:00.890 –> 00:49:08.819
Jeffrey LeBlanc: The second question from the plaintiff attorney representing the child that had been killed was, let me see your inspection form on that bus.

239
00:49:09.030 –> 00:49:11.710
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and there literally was a deer in the headlight book.

240
00:49:11.830 –> 00:49:18.470
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and that went from a manageable claim to a very expensive claim very, very quickly.

241
00:49:18.480 –> 00:49:39.069
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Driver, driver training MVR, and then previous, and fractions. One of the things we started pushing pushing through our clients was, Mark, help me on. This is the PSP. Through the DMT. Is that right? And and what we did was, it’s an investment. I don’t know how much it is, but it’s like this tells you

242
00:49:39.890 –> 00:49:54.039
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the inspections that have taken place for John Smith or Jane Smith, these drivers, and if you’ve got a consistent pattern that these folks are getting getting pulled over and written tickets. You’re hiring your next problem.

243
00:49:54.040 –> 00:50:16.269
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So be very cautious of that, and if you’re getting a bad vibe that, hey? This doesn’t add enough as far as the number of inspections in the out of service, and they’re not doing their due diligence as that driver of taking care of their fields. And it’s really worked positive. The guys that we recommended that to you kind of watch that number go down slightly because they quit hiring their problems

244
00:50:16.600 –> 00:50:17.970
Jeffrey LeBlanc: next slide.

245
00:50:19.070 –> 00:50:30.030
Jeffrey LeBlanc: More information asked for in discovery vehicle. We’ve been over that vehicle. Maintenance records. I mean anything they can think of. Okay, cell phone records. Now, here’s the thing, the new

246
00:50:30.100 –> 00:50:35.889
Jeffrey LeBlanc: they’re asking for cell phone records. Everybody’s kind of trying to drive a cell phone policy out there.

247
00:50:36.140 –> 00:50:47.730
Jeffrey LeBlanc: but they also are pulling their personal as well as their business phones. They had a case here in Shreveport, where there was a car salesman. It was on a Sunday. The

248
00:50:47.960 –> 00:50:49.909
Jeffrey LeBlanc: dealership is not even open

249
00:50:50.910 –> 00:51:01.969
Jeffrey LeBlanc: because the car salesman gives out their phone number to work through the process. The client called the car salesman. He’s driving down Burkin’s on his personal phone on his day off

250
00:51:02.400 –> 00:51:06.799
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and have an accident. The plaintiff attorney subpoenaed the records.

251
00:51:07.020 –> 00:51:29.639
Jeffrey LeBlanc: got the cell phone records, saw that he was on the phone discussing a business transaction. So therefore, guess what it looped the company in. So it went from his $50,000 personal limits. All of a sudden. We’re sitting up there with 1 million dollars. So it became very interesting to know that I also want personal phone. They still can of those records

252
00:51:29.980 –> 00:51:46.800
Jeffrey LeBlanc: they’ll ask for toll receives. You have to receive. This is all DOT stuff, GPS tracking camera video dispatcher files. Then we went down one with the dispatcher. They wanted to know everything that that person had been dispatched for that week as well as that month. That’s a lot of data that we had to gather

253
00:51:46.920 –> 00:52:03.830
Jeffrey LeBlanc: police reports on any previous accidents in regards to the accident involved. But it’s also any other previous accidents for the company for the last 5 whatever a year they 5 to 10 years. So we had to go back and track down basically every file that we had been in an accident with. With this phone company coming

254
00:52:04.150 –> 00:52:13.300
Jeffrey LeBlanc: photos of the vehicle, written statements. I mean anything and everything as far as specification to it. So big data is out there.

255
00:52:13.400 –> 00:52:38.449
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Know that the better you use technology, we’ll get a technology a second, the better you use technology and store that technology the better that, you’re gonna be as far as setting yourself up. Is there anything you want to add on any of this for? I think we’re running a little long, so I’ll just say briefly all of your drivers need to know that if you get if they you get their cell phone records, it’s not just who’s calling. Who’s texting? Who

256
00:52:38.620 –> 00:52:43.110
Jeffrey LeBlanc: you can find out if they’re streaming, because there’s a difference in dating.

257
00:52:43.790 –> 00:52:58.010
Jeffrey LeBlanc: And what one to you. If your employee is streaming the game while driving, as an accident is that will come out, and then you’re in a whole world of trouble. So I next slide. So I need to consider that we we put together. This.

258
00:52:58.040 –> 00:53:05.210
Jeffrey LeBlanc: a good defense is a great offense, you know. Be a defensible client. Mark and I had a conversation about that. We need you to be defensible

259
00:53:05.440 –> 00:53:32.410
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and being compliant, compliant, or I am OSHA compliant, man, that’s just that’s just scratching the surface. You have. Go back to the are you good, or are you lucky? You have to be good investing technology now, going with it, investing technology like cameras, GPS training platforms such as great. What we’ve got here with these guys on on board right here. It’s great love it. I’m a big proponent of it. Doing background checks.

260
00:53:32.460 –> 00:53:43.220
Jeffrey LeBlanc: something that the underwriters or are certain insurance companies now. The underwriters are moving to, and pretty much if you don’t have cameras in your vehicles now.

261
00:53:43.220 –> 00:54:09.239
Jeffrey LeBlanc: it’s gonna be real hard to be getting to be getting insurance over the next couple of years within the next. I’m saying the next 5 years, and maybe even faster than that. If there’s not cameras sitting out there and depending on what kind of cameras? Well, what platform are you running? Are you running a cheap one from Target, or you run into really good move from XYZ company. It does make a difference. And then monitor, your employees got all this technology you got cameras. You got GPS, you got all this stuff.

262
00:54:09.350 –> 00:54:23.500
Jeffrey LeBlanc: If you’re not monitoring that information, the plantiff attorneys will absolutely hammer you on this. Oh, you knew that he had speed the last 20 times he got in the car. Oh, you knew that he had made hard breaking, and you’re not pulling your employee and go, and I’m not saying

263
00:54:23.910 –> 00:54:47.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: use it as a disciplinary thing. Use it as a a learning opportunity, hey? We’ve noticed over the last couple of couple of days that you’re all set hard breaking. Is there something we know about as far as the route that you’re taking you on? Is there? You know, you’re you’re doing your speeding through this school zone, you know. Schools back. Use it as a coaching in the mentoring process next slide.

264
00:54:50.090 –> 00:54:54.910
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, have good record report and stitch. You talk about that. One of the things

265
00:54:55.540 –> 00:55:07.279
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I’m employed with several of my clients folks. If you don’t have a first movement forward procedure, and you drive a lot of times a lot of service trucks. They’ll do a lot of mechanical contractors and contractors.

266
00:55:07.580 –> 00:55:26.990
Jeffrey LeBlanc: and you’re the first movement, for when you get in that truck, and like, I’ve got one account of contractors that have the the tool boxes on the side, it’s really hard to see on those things, and they’re they’re always hitting non-moving vehicles, or a pole, or a tree, or whatever it seems like. Make it to where your first movement is forward.

267
00:55:27.230 –> 00:55:48.380
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I’ve implemented that with several of my old clients, and they’re literally their their boo-boo accidents where they’re bumping in something that one movement went down by like 80%. Make sure there’s a great great process to put in when they pull up to a store park out back into the parking spot, park away, and that helps you keep them from hitting something.

268
00:55:48.410 –> 00:55:55.929
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Train your employees what to do, what to say and how to save when they get in an accident, and one of the examples I give

269
00:55:56.030 –> 00:56:02.720
Jeffrey LeBlanc: person get they bump into somebody or red light to walk up to it. I am so sorry that I hit you if I say that. What if I just admit it?

270
00:56:02.940 –> 00:56:20.400
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Yes, just a little bit. So what if you say I’m sorry we met this way. Are you injured? Cannot call somebody for you. You said exactly the same thing. You’ve shown compassion, but you’ve not admitted liability.

271
00:56:20.400 –> 00:56:46.660
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, train your employees to take pictures. We talked about that as far as a lot of pictures, lot of pictures, lot of pictures, and then the bottom there. Consider. If you have policies, procedures, make sure to stick to make sure somebody’s not deviating from your policies and procedures. That’s a huge hammer on the lawsuit side of things. Correct? Yeah, absolutely. And if I’m just gonna take a few things from the list just put together, my my dream list here is

272
00:56:46.890 –> 00:56:53.579
Jeffrey LeBlanc: dash cams. That helps me know whether or not the that helps me defend the actual driver.

273
00:56:53.820 –> 00:57:00.870
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Training is huge. That is become a big thing in our jurisdiction. I know what others. If you have records of training.

274
00:57:01.150 –> 00:57:21.099
Jeffrey LeBlanc: we’re great, because here’s the thing. Juries sometimes will be sympathetic to a driver, you know, just a good old boy didn’t mean no harm. It happens they are not sympathetic to a company. They will pop a company, especially if there is no record of training like I’ve got a few insured trucking companies where

275
00:57:21.520 –> 00:57:24.690
Jeffrey LeBlanc: they hire you site unseen, and you just go.

276
00:57:25.090 –> 00:57:35.480
Jeffrey LeBlanc: They’re getting popped every time. So those are things that I really would like to see. Okay, Steve, how are we on time? I got about 10 min left. We? Good. Okay, alright real quick.

277
00:57:35.520 –> 00:57:36.700
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Next slide.

278
00:57:37.820 –> 00:57:41.050
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, your broker expectations. If you’re dealing with broker

279
00:57:41.130 –> 00:57:50.259
Jeffrey LeBlanc: on average, you’re spending about making up a number. If you spend a hundred $1,000 wonder insurance. You’re paying 10% of that premium to your agent to help you with that?

280
00:57:52.350 –> 00:58:21.750
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Does your broker know all the programs and safety? Is he going to the underwriter and saying, Do, here’s what makes Company A better than Company B. We talked about under riders being overwork. If he’s got 50 files sitting on his on his or her desk. What makes that file go up to the top? Okay? Meaning instead of having number 49 out of 50. What makes you go to the top is that broker know all the programs safety technology that you have in place? Specific types of technology?

281
00:58:21.760 –> 00:58:47.420
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Are they presenting this information? See? To get to get better premiums? Because if those underwriters know that you’re doing the right thing, you got the technology, you’re doing all that stuff. It’s gonna make them look better in their eyes. And are you working closely with your underwriter? Your claims represented that broker should be fighting for you. If you’re spend $100,000 on premiums and 10,000 that go into your broker when you calling when the ship hits the sand.

282
00:58:47.620 –> 00:59:06.219
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Is he just flipping you to the insurance company and saying, Handle it? Okay? Or is he actually helping you manage the claim through the client work through the claim work with council and doing all the things you’re paying to do. I call home generator theory or theory right now. Home generators are big because we’ve got all the hurricanes and stuff.

283
00:59:06.570 –> 00:59:24.979
Jeffrey LeBlanc: I guarantee that if I walked in some of these business owners and they just bought $20,000 home generator that they know more about their home generator and what it can do for their house and all that kind of fun stuff versus what their insurance policy you can cover, or how their broker can help them with that process of having a claim next slide.

284
00:59:26.490 –> 00:59:43.990
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Okay, strengthen your relationship. Does that? Does that broker you’re paying that 10%, does he have a claims department in house? We’ve got a claims department with an in-house attorney also got a DOT sitting there, and I’ve got another. I’ve got 2 claims, folks that we help these clients manage these claims.

285
00:59:44.050 –> 00:59:54.530
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Are they ensuring? We hit long time that are getting local, counseling Alison in my office. Who’s our in-house counsel? She hammers those claims, gestures going. We want somebody local.

286
00:59:54.570 –> 01:00:02.220
Jeffrey LeBlanc: We and she’s mean about, she’s good about it. Are you doing active claims, reviews? If you have a couple of others?

287
01:00:02.220 –> 01:00:25.769
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Do you know what’s going on with your claims? If you just turn it over the insurance company and think they have your best interest in place, they don’t. Okay, they want to settle it, but they might have to spend another 25,000 to make it go away. But if you have a claims manager at your broker level to go look, we think we have a good case that we can work with. We can get it settled for 10,000 versus 35,000.

288
01:00:25.770 –> 01:00:36.589
Jeffrey LeBlanc: That’s within that claims review monthly quarterly. Sometimes we even have claims, reviews week on these big, nasty claims that we know what’s going on final, I’m gonna touch on this real quick

289
01:00:36.630 –> 01:01:03.299
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Is a group captive insurance program fit for your company. That is a total, another webinar. But there’s a lot of information out there, and our company is really good. Good with it. We’ve got about 30 to 40 clients that are in group captive insurance companies. It’s a way that customers can save on their insurance rates. It doesn’t work for everybody, because there’s certain things. And Mark and I had a long sense of conversation about this. There are certain programs that are out there that are helping

290
01:01:03.300 –> 01:01:15.169
Jeffrey LeBlanc: the good thing about a cap that are helping them kind of flatten their insurance costs, and it’s a great deal if you can, if you can meet some of the the requirements of that program.

291
01:01:15.830 –> 01:01:17.820
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Final slide.

292
01:01:19.130 –> 01:01:29.680
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So those questions we went through. If you answer no to any one of those questions. You might have the wrong broker. I mean, we’re good and what we do. I’m sitting here telling you that we can help you with your with your process.

293
01:01:30.060 –> 01:01:51.650
Jeffrey LeBlanc: My name and number looks, name, number, mail, the back of this thing. We’re happy to help you. Questions about any of this stuff at a much deeper level. Happy to visit with you. Got got the can producers that can talk to you, and and walking down some of the path. I do more of the lost control and safety side of things. And I’m happy to talk to you about those? Any any questions, Mark? Steve?

294
01:01:53.190 –> 01:02:08.680
Steve Kessler: Yeah. Thanks a bunch. Jeff and Luke. Some fantastic information. Couple of questions did come in, you, answered one, and we had a question about captive insurance. But do you ever recommend

295
01:02:08.680 –> 01:02:35.430
Jeffrey LeBlanc: training, or even simulating a crash as part of training or making sure that people are prepared and can get the information necessary, when these lawsuits do come in? I’ll go out to to clients offices and actually set up an accident one time it was just a minor. We we back 2 trucks up to one another. Presentations that I do. It’s about accident investigations.

296
01:02:35.470 –> 01:03:01.510
Jeffrey LeBlanc: We have a literally have a little dummy car or model car, and assigned a picture from here like, if this is the car, I need pictures on all 4 corners. I need pictures all the way around it. I need pictures of the streets. I need pictures of the stop lights. I need a video of, you know, one of the big things that we’re having trouble with years ago down South Louisiana, is you would. There was a thing that took place down in New Orleans, where it was the setup, and it was it was one that organized crime

297
01:03:01.510 –> 01:03:06.100
Jeffrey LeBlanc: where they would have a predetermined route into that buses going on, and there’d be.

298
01:03:06.160 –> 01:03:25.930
Jeffrey LeBlanc: you know, 10 people on the bus. We have a minor accident full of folks, and then they stop at the at the the predetermined location. The bus driver would get off to go talk to the, to the person that bumped in, and about 15 or 20 people would get on, and all of a sudden 10 people on bus and having 40 people on the bus, everybody’s injured.

299
01:03:25.990 –> 01:03:30.720
Jeffrey LeBlanc: So taking pictures, if you can, of how many people were in the vehicle.

300
01:03:31.380 –> 01:03:43.670
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Yeah, do exactly. And you know, get there, officer. There was only 2 people in this car, all of a sudden this carload of people showed up another 5 people in the car that just that’s just blatant fraud happens every day. Unfortunately.

301
01:03:43.910 –> 01:03:54.659
Steve Kessler: No, that’s great. Thank you for that. One last thing that I’ll point out here you mentioned several times. That’s important to

302
01:03:54.820 –> 01:04:00.180
Steve Kessler: to provide training for your clients. Do you recommend online training?

303
01:04:00.250 –> 01:04:12.559
Jeffrey LeBlanc: Absolutely. Yeah. The the challenge 90% of my clients have is getting those drivers out of the field into a predetermined location because it’s downtown. Yeah.

304
01:04:12.740 –> 01:04:30.440
Jeffrey LeBlanc: But the the program that you offer through Infinit-I is awesome, like. So we do a lot of a lot of drivers. And if they’re sitting waiting to load. And you’ve got 5 assignments that you got for these guys for the month. They literally go on their phone and you press a button, and they watch the 3, 5, 7 min video.

305
01:04:30.740 –> 01:04:51.830
Jeffrey LeBlanc: It gives them good training. It gives them stuff is recorded. So when you do have the accident. You can go pull the records for John Smith and hand them directly over to to Luke to go. Hey? He went. Took this on speeding on this day. At this time it works great. I’ve got several customers that are on your program, and they absolutely love it.

306
01:04:52.110 –> 01:04:55.409
Steve Kessler: Great. Thank you for that. So

307
01:04:55.460 –> 01:05:22.890
Mark Rhea: I think we’ve pretty much come to the end of our time. Here, guys, thank you so much. Jeff and Luke. Fantastic information. Mark, do you have any final comments? No, I just I know that. If you are not a client, that we could certainly get you set up with a demonstration. Free demonstration immediately. There’s a poll question right there you can literally get some content going out to your

308
01:05:22.890 –> 01:05:32.899
Mark Rhea: drivers this afternoon. The other thing is is, you know, Jeff made some spectacular observations about what to do at the same immediate actions

309
01:05:32.900 –> 01:05:56.739
Mark Rhea: that can take that can turn a nothing into a multi 1 million dollar. That’s that’s a trainable event. And custom content can be developed to get to your driver, so they know what to do. You know, they might not always do exactly what they’re trained to do, but at least you have inform them of what needs to happen

310
01:05:56.750 –> 01:06:01.529
Mark Rhea: at the scene of an accident. So that’s a that’s a great custom content

311
01:06:01.620 –> 01:06:14.280
Mark Rhea: opportunity. Thank you. Guys, thank you guys a lot. We know where to go in the event, we have something in Northern Louisiana. So we appreciate that very much.

312
01:06:14.400 –> 01:06:41.609
Steve Kessler: Jeff, Luke. Thank you both. Thanks for everybody joined us this morning. I think it was a great conversation, a lot of really good information. Maybe we’ll have you guys on again sometime in the future, Jeff, if that works out for you, thank you all for coming. And look for us on the next webinar program. So thank you all for joining us today. Alright, bye, bye.