Bradley Lakin of the Wood River Lakin Law Firm--a Madison County class action goliath--showed his might by filing seven class action lawsuits Feb. 14 on behalf of four local chiropractors against eight different insurance companies.
Madison County chiropractors have filed more than 40 class action lawsuits since 2003, nearly all of them handled by Lakin's firm.
In the most recent case filings, chiropractors allege the insurance companies improperly applied Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) discounts, withheld payment for valid insurance claims and unfairly profited by their schemes.
According to the complaints, the insurance companies' "acts and omissions" constitute fraud, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and are in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.
The cases include:
Bemis claims Safeco's policies require them to pay all reasonable expenses for medical treatment in "covered" accidents. According to the complaint, Safeco defrauded Bemis of payments for which he was entitled.
Plaintiffs allege Focus used biased software to re-price submitted bills to reduce costs for insurance companies in order to boost sales and profits.
The cases have yet to be assigned to a judge and all seek damages not to exceed $75,000 per class member.
Freed & Weiss, a Chicago law firm, will assist Lakin in the cases.