Carrier Underpayments in PIP Claims | Callagy Law

Important Information Regarding Carrier Underpayments in Personal Injury Protection Claims

The purpose of this post is to help assist healthcare providers and owners with questions they have concerning their business or relevant knowledge in the field. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.

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Do you have the proper information regarding carrier underpayments? Everyone is generally familiar with payment denials in PIP.  They are usually for some form of lack of medical necessity—IME Denial, MDR Denial, Maximum Medical Improvement has been reached—or some shortcoming on the part of the patient–Lack of Eligibility or Failure to Cooperate. But there are also many reasons why carriers might unreasonably underpay claims that are sometimes more difficult to detect.  Some of these reasons are discussed below.

21-Day Notification.  Medical providers must notify PIP carriers that they are treating a patient injured in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) within 21 days following the commencement of treatment. If not, the insurance carrier can apply payment reductions in the following manner:

22 to 30 days after the commencement of treatment: 10 percent reduction.

31 to 60 days after the commencement of treatment: 25 percent reduction.

61 to 120 days after the commencement of treatment: 50 percent reduction.

121 to 160 days after the commencement of treatment: 75 percent reduction.

161 or more days from the commencement of treatment: 100 percent reduction.

New Jersey Administrative Code 11:3-25.

If the services were performed in an emergency context, the carrier cannot apply these reductions. It is important to understand these regulations so that PIP carriers are not unduly penalizing your practice.

Pre-certification Penalties.  These reductions are fairly common. Medical products and services are required to be pre-certified when performed on a patient injured in an MVA, and a pre-certification denial must be appealed in a timely fashion to avoid a pre-certification penalty. These requests and appeals should be done immediately and a provider needs to make sure they obtain and retain proof that pre-certifications were sent and received.  If not done properly and in a timely manner, the provider might have to suffer a 50% payment penalty.

Fee Schedule Payments.  Reimbursements for PIP claims in the State of New Jersey are governed by a state-mandated fee schedule.  This does not mean that PIP claims paid “according to the fee schedule” are always paid at the correct amounts.  First of all, not all codes are on the fee schedule, which can generate controversy as to the appropriate reimbursement amount.  There are also disputes as to what codes might or might not be separately reimbursable, and under what circumstances.  There are multiple procedure reductions that sometimes are misapplied.  And there are flat-out mistakes, as where a carrier pays an ASC the physician rate or vice versa.  Any payment which seems inconsistent with amounts set forth on the fee schedule should be closely scrutinized.

Downcoding.  Another reason underpayments occur is down coding. Because there are levels of complexity with things like office visits—some visits requiring more time for effective evaluation than others—there can be debate as to the correct level of reimbursement.  Downcoding occurs when the carrier believes a lower level of payment is called for than the level billed, so they will pay at the lower-level CPT Code.

This is not an exhaustive list of why underpayments can occur, but it is some of the more common ones.

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We hope you have found this information helpful and interesting. Please reach out to us here with any questions or comments regarding healthcare legal matters, or if you are a medical provider that has questions regarding Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance.. Feel free to search us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.

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Law Library TV – Episode 1.4, ‪#‎AskSeanCallagy‬ October 29, 2015

Law Library TV – Episode 1.4, ‪#‎AskSeanCallagy‬ October 29, 2015 #Callagylaw, #Lawlibrarytv, #Legalfacts, #Legalnews, #Lltv, #Seancallagy

Why Not #6 – Why Not Say Goodbye to Motivation? October 29, 2015

Why Not Say Goodbye To Motivation? And Hello To Something Infinitely More Powerful?

I had a game changing meeting with a friend of mine, Rey Rostami, the New Jersey Training Coordinator for AFLAC, yesterday. Rey has a tremendous life story, rising above some very challenging childhood years on the inner city streets of Los Angeles, to becoming a commission sales person for AFLAC, to becoming an award winner and leader, to now being the head of training for AFLAC, New Jersey.

Rey also uses a significant amount of my training principles for himself and his AFLAC trainees. So, when I asked Rey what he thought of our “Why No Huddle”, I was shocked to hear his answer.

Rey hesitated and looked uncomfortable as I waited to hear his thoughts. Finally, he said, “I haven’t seen it. In fact, I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t even know it started yet.”

I actually felt a lot of excitement when Rey told me this. Our Callagy Law Facebook has already grown by 700 “likes” in just a few days. Now, I completely understand that out of our 10,000 “likes,” still only a fraction of the 10,000 has even seen the posts about “Why Not”. As more people see it, which we ask everyone’s help with changing that, we will watch the numbers grow like crazy. I’ll explain in a moment why that’s a good thing for everyone.

Something far more amazing happened though in the next stage of our conversation. Rey became very excited about the idea of his sales people having the ability to watch the “Why Not Huddle” everyday for motivation. He explained the obvious fact that sales is full of frustration and how important “motivational videos” are.

This is where our breakthrough moment occurred. After the next 10 minutes of our conversation, Rey was more blown away and excited than I’ve ever seen him.

I asked Rey to now explain what I had just shared with him as though he was speaking with sales people at AFLAC to help them understand how critical, unique and valuable the “Why Not Huddle” is for them.

Rey summarized our conversation as follows: “Motivation is for people who are ‘At Effect’. It means that you are riding external stimuli to move you.

The consequence of this is that if you receive negative stimuli, you are equally susceptible to stop acting. The key is to stay ‘At Cause,” which is the opposite of ‘At Effect’ and means that you are in control, through an entirely different philosophy, of your feelings, thoughts and actions. The value of ‘Why Not’ isn’t to motivate, is to keep you ‘At Cause’, which is so much more valuable it’s incredible.”

“Precisely my friend”, I shared with him. Rey added, “My entire philosophy of training and producing results has shifted in the last 10 minutes.” Rey also added some incredibly complimentary words for me, which I will leave out.

What??????!!!!!!!!! Yes, motivation is weak. Motivation is fleeting. When people call me a motivational speaker it bothers me.

During our conversation, Rey helped me clarify my burning “why”, or my drive, for doing all of this. I want to help people at an unprecedented level to improve the mental and emotional quality of their lives. I believe that it is so easy to lead a life of more passion, positive energy and results than most people do. This is why I do this.

Here is the key of all of this though: the “Why Not Huddle” is NOT about motivation!!!!!!! It is about changing your life philosophy so you don’t need external motivation. External motivation can be nice and fun, but it is fleeting and ineffective. It is like going from a car that has a one gallon gas tank, a person relying on motivation, to an oxygen powered car that is perfectly self sustaining as oxygen is everywhere, which is the equivalent of having a life philosophy of being “At Cause”.

We will talk more about this on today’s “Why Not Huddle” and tomorrow’s article. For today though, please try and get this into your heart, soul and

brain: you are the only person or thing that can make you feel how you feel.

Remember, your feelings control your thoughts, your thoughts control your actions, your actions give you your results and your results create your destiny. Thus, the difference between living in motivation versus living “At Cause” is a completely different destiny.

Please, please, please, read tomorrow’s article as we will explain this enormous distinction. For today, understand that living “At Cause” is about you being in charge of how you feel, think, act and produce results minute to minute, day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year. The “Why Not Huddle” will help you achieve this level of mastery of your life and yourself AND it will be FUN!

This applies for peak athletes, business owners, sales people, stay at home moms and dads, teachers, lawyers, accountants, politicians, celebrities or whatever. The “why” behind “Why Not” is to make your life better and the world a better place through leaving behind negative emotional reactions, thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

AND just so this doesn’t sound like I’m suggesting we become weird robots, let me illustrate a point I made to Rey about the importance of feeling even sad feelings versus having those feelings produce negative outcomes. I used my grandfather, who passed away in 1999, as an example.

I miss my grandfather very much. I loved him with all my heart, and he was amazing as a source of support, love and teaching for me. He was incredibly positive when it came to him telling me who I am and how great I could be.

“When I think of him”, I explained to Rey, “I feel certain and confident, and I want to live an amazing life of balance, fulfillment, giving and success in tribute to all that he was and all that he taught me.”

This is a simple example of feeling very real feelings of missing my grandfather, but having those feelings serve my life as opposed to depress me because my beloved grandfather isn’t here anymore. All of that is a choice with tools to help make that choice a reality, all of which we will cover over time on our “Why Not Huddle”.

As we begin to touch on these topics, you may start to feel a bit challenged or even irritated by these concepts, or me. A natural human response is:

“you don’t know my problems. Mine are worse. This wouldn’t work for me!” All I can say is, yes, many people suffer from horrible challenges and trauma.

I’m sure some people exist that need some additional help. I simply believe that way more people can be masters of their own destiny that most people believe.

AND, I will close with this: medical science says I’m going blind from a hereditary eye disease that my beloved grandfather had and was blind from.

I’ve stopped driving and watching TV has become incredibly difficult as I pretty much see double, plus have huge contrast problems and blind spots. I need help telling me what’s happening on the TV screen pretty often if I watch a show like my favorite, “Walking Dead”. Yet, I have zero fear. I don’t feel fear and get rid of it. I don’t feel it in the first place. I have absolute certainty that I will be cured AND before I am, I will cope and adapt perfectly and enjoy additional advantages from my disease. One of those advantages is keeping me “At Cause” at an accelerated rate to take advantage of the vision I have.

So, while many people have worse disability challenges than I do, 95 percent of the population DOES NOT. Thus, I can speak from a place of absolute certainty when I tell you that you, with whatever challenges you have, can live an amazing life of being “At Cause” and enjoying life’s wonder, beauty, amazement, abundance, joy and passion.

Carpe Diem and enjoy your day “At Cause”!!!!!!!!

In your service,

Sean Callagy

You can see all of our WHY NOT – HUDDLE videos by clicking here and subscribing! If you have questions about any of the content you see or to have your questions answered on an upcoming show by Sean, please email your questions directly to him by clicking here.

Why Not #6 – Why Not Say Goodbye to Motivation? October 29, 2015 #Callagycoaching, #Callagylaw, #Motivation, #Seancallagy, #Success

Callagy Law - Quote of the Day

Please enjoy Callagy Law’s Quote of the Day! #callagylaw #callagyquotes #callagyspeaks

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Disclaimers and PIP Insurance Benefits

A PIP insurance policy will likely include language requiring the insured to cooperate with an investigation concerning a claim filed for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident.  An insurer will have the right to seek information, but this right is not unfettered.  The principal case in this area is New Jersey Auto. Full Ins. Co. v. Jallah, 256 N.J. Super. 134 (App. Div. 1992).  The Court held that discovery disputes are subject to ordinary standards of reasonableness and fairness.

What then is “reasonable and fair”?  This often arises when someone is injured in a motor vehicle accident, but does not have their own PIP insurance.  In this instance, the patient may seek benefits under someone else’s policy.  Let’s say the patient was a passenger in a vehicle when an accident occurred, and files a PIP claim under the insurance policy of the driver of the vehicle.  The insurer will likely want to conduct an investigation to make sure there is not another PIP policy that would be primary in such a scenario.  For example, if that patient lived with a relative at the time of the accident, and that relative had PIP insurance, that policy would be primary to the driver’s policy.  An insurer would have the right to conduct reasonable discovery to determine answers to this line of question.

Do not ignore mail from your insurance company!  A PIP insurer may request that you appear for an Examination Under Oath (“EUO”).  If you receive a letter from the insurer requesting that you appear for an EUO, read the letter.  If you have an attorney handling a liability claim concerning the accident, promptly provide a copy of the letter to that attorney.

Next, determine if you are available at the time requested for the EUO and if you are able to appear.  If you have a conflict, let the insurance company know you are unavailable at the time requested.  You should provide such information in writing, and in a way you can someday prove that you did respond to the insurer.  If you agree to an alternative time with the PIP insurer, make sure to keep this appointment.  If something happens and you cannot appear for this EUO either, make sure you contact the insurer (again in a way that can be confirmed someday) and reschedule another time.

It is important to recognize a failure to cooperate can result in a disclaimer of PIP benefits.  If this happens, the patient will be responsible for the bills incurred pursuant to the New Jersey PIP fee schedules and regulations.

Disclaimers and PIP Insurance Benefits #CallagyLaw, #Disclaimers, #PipBenefits, #PipInsurance, #Seancallagy

Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Tips for Success

Callagy Law’s Successful Entrepreneur of the Day:

Here at Callagy Law, we love to hear success stories from entrepreneurs around the world. They all have things in common. Below you will find a list of things Sir Richard Branson does to be successful.

1. Follow your dreams and just do it.


2. Make a positive difference and do some good.


3. Believe in your ideas and be the best.


4. Have fun and look after your team.


5. Don’t give up.


6. Make lots of lists and keep setting yourself new challenges.


7. Spend time with your family and learn to delegate.


8. Try turning off the TV and get out there and do things.


9. When people say bad things about you, just prove them wrong.


10. Do what you love and have a sofa in the kitchen.

Original Post Here

Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Tips for Success #BusinessOwner, #Callagylaw, #Entrepreneur, #Seancallagy, #SirRichardBranson, #Stepstosuccess

Callagy Law - Quote of the Day

A fun, simple and effective way to improve the quality of your life.

 

#callagylaw #callagyquotes #quotes #quoteoftheday #motivation

Callagy Law - Quote of the Day #Callagylaw, #Callagyquotes, #Quoteoftheday, #Seancallagy

Callagy Law"s Quote of the Day

Success is doing what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want, as much as you want!

Callagy Law"s Quote of the Day #Callagylaw, #Seancallagy, #Success, #Tonyrobbins

The Fear of Technology

The fear of technology is not what people think it is.  Many think of it as fear of the unknown, or fear of the future, or the discomfort with deviating from what we have grown to know and get used to.  I disagree.  I believe the fear of technology amounts to the fear of losing touch with being human and everything that we know as being human—genuine sensory stimulation, interaction with others like us, tangible things–and that this has been true throughout the hundreds of thousands of years of our history.

As we go back in time, we realize that technology is nothing more than real things being replaced by representations of real things.  Before tools we did everything with our own limbs.  We ate with our hands, we traveled using our legs. The automobile replaces walking so that distance takes on a different meaning—it is not as burdensome as it was and therefore traveling has less of an impact on us.  Television is the image of what is occurring in the world, not something we are experiencing directly.  It is the same with radio.  All of technological advancement is the receding of our sensory perceptions.  The virtual world is exactly that.  But all technology that preceded the computer and the web were forms of this same growing detachment from what is real.  I hear people say, “pick up the phone and call someone,” rather than email or text them.  But didn’t the phone call replace the in-person visit?  So isn’t texting and emailing simply the next step in the alienation process?

As adults we talk about how our kids don’t go outside enough, how they are losing people skills, they don’t get enough exercise, but this has been going on for generations.  The difference in what is happening today with technology is that, in light of the computer, the advances are coming at such an exponential rate that we see ourselves growing more and more alienated from each other in much shorter increments of time.  We are no longer talking about generation gaps, but extraordinary changes from one year to the next.

Not only are books and magazines disappearing into cyberspace, along with movies and records, but all knowledge is doing so.  And once all knowledge disappears into cyberspace, at the disposal of any and all, interaction ceases to be necessary.  That is the fear of technology.

 

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The Fear of Technology #Advancement, #Callagylaw, #Fear, #HumanCommunication, #Seancallagy, #Technology

Callagy Law: Kids Love Our Why Too!

This photo was sent in by Callagy Law employee, Jacqueline P. We hope everyone enjoys our WHY: “To fundamentally change the way people feel about lawyers, one client at a time.”

Callagy Law: Kids Love Our Why Too! #Callagykids, #Callagylaw, #Seancallagy, #Why

Callagy Law"s Quote of the Day

Callagy Law’s quote of the day was designed to give you a daily dose of motivation. We hope you enjoy this daily post and welcome any comments!

Callagy Law"s Quote of the Day #Attorney, #Callagylaw, #Inspiration, #Lawyer, #Motivation, #Seancallagy

Citizens United and Hypocrisies

I always find in interesting how our political parties feign outrage over developments that tend to benefit their opposition.  The latest case in point is the outcry from the left at the Supreme Court’s Citizens Uniteddecision.  Whether or not the outcry is justified is not the issue.  The outcry is from the political left, because they believe the decision disserves them politically.  The right would be just as outraged if the decision disserved their interests, similar to the way the right was outraged at Chief Justice Roberts swing vote upholding the Affordable Care Act.

The Citizens United decision determined essentially that organizations can spend as much as they like in support of or in opposition to particular political candidates.  They are still limited in the political contributions they can make, but they can spend freely on ads and in other ways to make their political views known.  Accordingly, on the grounds of the First Amendment’s free speech protections, corporations, unions, trade associations and similar organizations are free to spend as much as they like in favor of or opposed to political candidates.  Spending is speech, determined the court, whether it is by an individual or an organization.

Critics of the decision complain that organizations are not people.  Freedom of speech and other rights under the Constitution are aimed at benefiting individual citizens, not organizations, and especially not powerful multinational corporations.  These critics might very well be right, but do they really believe corporations should not be regarded as “citizens” separate and apart from the individuals who comprise them?  If so, do they believe corporations should not be separately taxed?   if corporations are not entities separate and apart from the individuals who comprise them, why do we tax corporations through our corporate tax rates, and then again tax the shareholders when dividend’s are distributed, and employees when the corporate profits are shared through bonuses or other means?

This is not a criticism or defense of the Citizens United decision.  Citizens United certainly invites corruption, as does any introduction of money and financial benefit to the political process.  But there are so many areas and levels of corruption within our political process, Citizens United seems to represent one small (or perhaps not so small) corrupting influence.

How about the lack of term limits?  George Washington was and is celebrated for relinquishing power at the height of his popularity.  Today, career politicians begin raising money for their next campaign the minute they enter office.  This is not public service.  It is self service.  It is no wonder they tow the party line—they are interested in spending their entire careers in Washington.  Their public service becomes a political career, and everything that would imply—their political survival becomes primary over and above the public good.  And both parties are equally guilty of it.

How about lobbying and all of the lack of transparency that goes along with it.  Why is it tolerated?  Interest groups could easily make their views known through public congressional hearings or submissions available to the public.  Why are secret meetings between legislators and interest groups necessary or even beneficial?  They certainly are not aimed at the public benefit.  By definition, they are geared toward making known the views of a small segment of the population.  Why are they permitted?

How about public sector unions?  How is it that people get to vote for those they will be negotiating with for pay or benefit increases?  If employees elected their bosses, and could vote them out of office each year, do you think their bosses would evaluate them for purposes of bonuses and raises accurately, or would he feel inclined to treat them well, so that he could retain his position as their boss?  Public sector unions are no different.

It seems clear that Washington has become an institution for its own sake, and, because of that, looks for opportunities to grow, survive, and justify itself, in a whole host of arenas.  Citizen’s United is simply the latest context for money, power and influence to be concentrated, directly or indirectly, in the hands of federal decision makers.

 

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The Multiple Modality Reduction (MMR) Formula: When It Applies

Someone is injured in a motor vehicle accident, and they are treated in a hospital emergency room.  As part of the evaluation of the patient, an X-Ray of the patient’s lumbar spine (lower back area), an MRI of the brain, and a CAT-SCAN of the left leg are all performed.  The PIP carrier pays the hospital 100% of one of the radiology codes, and 50% of the 2 subsequent codes. This is what is known as the Multiple Modality Reduction formula, or “MMR.”   Application of MMR in this context is misplaced and the carrier is underpaying the hospital in applying it.

 

An understanding of the reason for the MMR formula is helpful to understanding why it should not apply to radiology treatment provided as part of a hospital emergency room encounter.

 

Simply stated, MMR applies to surgical services provided “in the same operative session.”  The concept is simple.  When a surgeon performs more than one procedure during the same operative session, certain actions performed initially do not have to be repeated for the subsequent procedures. When a patient undergoes a surgery, and as part of the operative session undergoes various procedures, a PIP carrier is permitted to reduce the total amount paid by paying half of the amount due for subsequent procedures performed in the same session, because certain steps are not repeated in each subsequent procedure. The principle is that it takes less time and resources to perform three procedures in the same session than if those same three procedures were performed separately in three independent operative sessions.

 

For example, a patient undergoes right shoulder arthroscopic surgery for rotator cuff tears.  The surgery includes diagnostic arthroscopy, rotator cuff repair, extensive debridement, and manipulation procedures of that shoulder.  PIP insurers must pay 100% of the amount due for the primary procedure, and then they may apply a 50% reduction pursuant to the MMR formula toward payment of the other procedures performed in the same operative session.  The formula makes sense in that context.  The patient is prepared for surgery and certain efficiencies are created for the subsequent procedures.  (Please note there are some exceptions to the MMR application for physicians.)

 

These efficiencies, however, do not occur with radiological services.  There is no time or resources saved by doing the X-Ray, the MRI and the Cat Scan in the same session as opposed to separate “radiological sessions.”  Accordingly, to apply MMR to different radiology treatment provided as part of a hospital emergency room encounter is completely misplaced.

 

In sum, MMR makes sense if a patient undergoes surgery and multiple procedures are performed in the same operative session.  It makes no sense, however, to apply this reduction to radiology treatment performed as part of a hospital Emergency Room encounter.  We have been very successful arguing against the application of MMR in this context, and rightfully so.

 

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The Multiple Modality Reduction (MMR) Formula: When It Applies #Attorney, #Business, #Callagylaw, #LegalAdvice, #Seancallagy

Callagy Law"s Quote of the Day

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3 Supreme Court Cases to Keep in Mind in 2015

Equal Opportunity Employment Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch

Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim, was rejected for a position at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Elauf was not hired because she wore a black hijab, a religious headscarf, during her interview which violated the company’s “Look Policy.” Neither Elauf nor the interviewer made mention of the headware or of any accommodations that would be required for religious purposes.

The question before the court is whether an employer is liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for refusing to hire an applicant or for firing an employee only if the employer had actual knowledge due to explicit notice from the applicant or employee that he or she requires religious accommodation.

Elonis v. United States of America

Anthony Elonis was convicted for posting threats on Facebook to kill his wife, co-workers and an FBI agent amongst others.

The question before the court is whether a conviction of threatening another person’s life require proof of subjective intent to threaten.

King v. Burwell

David King, Douglas Hurst, Brenda Levy and Rose Luck are residents of Virginia who do not want to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more popularly referred to as “Obamacare.” The ACA requires citizens to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty. If an individual cannot buy the cheapest plan without exceeding eight percent of their household income, than they will not be charged the tax penalty. However, because the IRS adds tax credits to the petitioners’ plan which, they no longer are exempt from the tax penalty.

The question before the court is whether IRS may enforce regulations to extend tax credits to insurance plans purchased through Federal Exchanges

3 Supreme Court Cases to Keep in Mind in 2015 #Callagylaw, #Policy, #Rights, #Scotus, #Seancallagy, #SupremeCourt

The Might of Many - Guest Speaker: Sean Callagy

Hello and Welcome!

This networking event looks to abridge the gap between many fields that primarily do cross paths but are hard to find referrals in. We look to create an open forum for all professionals to come and interact with like minded professionals and foster growth of communal relations within different emerging fields. We would like to create a network in which referrals are common and interactions between similarly situated professionals across multiple fields are easily accessible.

We would like you to come join us and share in our vision that networking events should encompass multiple industries and allow for attendees to leave with a broad range of new connections. We are looking for those individuals that are truly looking to make some lasting connections.

The pre-registration price is $10 per person. The registration price at the door will be $ 15 per person.

Tickets Available Via This Link: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/march-networking-event-tickets-16080784058

The Might of Many - Guest Speaker: Sean Callagy #Callagylaw, #Cause, #Guestspeaker, #Seancallagy, #Tickets, #Veterans

The Might of Many | Guest Speaker: Sean Callagy

The Might of Many

PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS VETERANS HEALTH AND CARE PROGRAMS

Featuring Guest Speaker: Sean Callagy

Date: Thursday, March 26th, 2015

Seating Time: 7pm

Tickets: 

$10 PRESOLD 

$15 TICKETS AT THE DOOR

PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS VETERANS HEALTH AND CARE PROGRAMS

FOR MORE INFO CALL: (908)-587-6052 KMPNETWORKING@GMAIL.COM

More info also available here.

The Might of Many | Guest Speaker: Sean Callagy #Assistance, #Callagylaw, #Help, #Seancallagy, #Speaking, #Veterans

Broken Thinking

Good day to you!!!!!!!!

 

Did you hear the news?

 

A bunch of really bad and sad stuff happened in every town, in every city, in every state in the United States of America today! Oh, same goes for every other country in the world!!!!!!!

 

Oh, it also snowed in Northern New Jersey yesterday.

 

What a nightmare!!!!!!!

 

Yet, there are still many sad, lost and foolish souls who woke up happy and excited about their lives today.

 

What is broken thinking?

 

Broken Thinking is one of my favorite new terms. I am claiming it as my own term of art, even if someone else used it somewhere!

 

It means: thinking that doesn’t serve our highest and best “self”.

 

More specifically, Broken Thinking is a pattern of thinking that keeps us from achieving our dreams, living a life of success and fulfillment, and being truly happy and joyful.

 

I believe the world has an epidemic of Broken Thinking.

 

How do I know?

 

Well, I go to stores, kids’ games, work, court, restaurants and, well, I speak to other human beings, and I hear them speak to one another.

 

No one is perfect, but the difference between a person with “Healthy Thinking” and Broken Thinking is that when a person with Broken Thinking does something wrong, they blame others.

 

This is an introduction to the concept of Broken Thinking, so here is a basic Broken Thinking quiz for you.

 

Oh, why should you care?

 

Well, I am very confident that people with Broken Thinking will have less money, more pain, less happiness, fewer friends, less social status and a lack of fulfillment as compared to people with Healthy Thinking.

 

So, here are 5 quick questions to see if you may have “Broken Thinking”.

 

1. Do you believe that you are NOT at fully responsible for every single persistent negative thought or feeling in your life?

 

2. When speaking with others, do you gravitate towards subjects such as sad or upsetting news or stories, commenting on the mistakes or short comings of others (including famous people or groups of people), your own unhappiness, and\or your or other people’s problems or misfortune?

 

3. When people tell you about their or someone else’s success or happiness are you something other than genuinely happy and inspired that another human being is an example of possibility for the rest of us (this would include feeling jealous, envious, thinking of why they don’t really deserve it, feeling something negative about yourself because of the news or believing it isn’t real or won’t last for them)?

 

4. Do you give yourself more permission, rationalizations and\or excuses for your actions, “inactions”, results and\or lack of results than you give others )including friends, family, strangers or people that you don’t like? Said differently, is there an “empathy differential” you give yourself over others?

 

5. Do you believe that life is hard?

 

Well, how did you do?

 

Oh, bonus question: when taking this test, did you think someone else needs this test more than you?

 

If you answered “yes” to ANY SINGLE ONE of these questions, then your thinking is at least partially broken!!!!!

 

And, you hate hearing that statement OR you say, “yep, you’re right, I stink”.

 

NO YOU DON’T. You are amazing. You just have Broken Thinking.

 

Wait, you say, almost everyone acts that way.

 

Yes, they do.

 

I didn’t say you weren’t “normal” or “common”, but you still have Broken Thinking.

 

The good news is that there is help, AND the help is SIMPLE, EASY and ASSURED to lead to dramatically higher levels of happiness, success, and fulfillment.

 

For now, take the Broken Thinking Challenge.

 

If you found this interesting, send it to everyone you know.

 

If you won’t even take the challenge, then you have severely Broken Thinking.

 

Please let me know your thoughts, and how many people you actually know that DO NOT have Broken Thinking versus how many who do.

 

Have an amazing day!

 

In your service,

 

 

Sean Callagy

 

PS: For those of you that will freak out over question 1 and say you were the victim of a trauma, bad luck, health condition or some other event outside of your control, here is what I mean. I was born with a hereditary eye disease that causes blindness. It cost me getting drafted to play professional baseball, and I am basically no longer able to drive a car other than for extremely short distances. Watching television is stressful and very difficult. I didn’t do anything to cause this potentially incredibly upsetting and defeating challenge I face. BUT, I can control its impact on me. I can control whether I see it as sad, painful, maddening, devastating, crushing, etc… Instead, I see it as a blessing. I see it as something that I’ve been given to help me be an example to others, focused on consuming audio books and other personal development material, an incredible listener, urgent towards achieving my goals, present in magic moments, potentially a skier in the Paralympics, and are pathetic towards people with BROKEN THINKING. Have a great day!

 

Broken Thinking #Brokenthinking, #Callagylaw, #Healthy, #Motivation, #Seancallagy, #Thinking

Bergen County Fraud Case 33.5 Million Dollars Awarded to Litigation Funding Business

The total amount includes $8 million in punitive damages

Paramus, N.J. (Sept. 22, 2014) – A three-week civil trial at the Bergen County Superior Court of New Jersey recently ended with a jury awarding The Law Funder, LLC $33.5 million dollars.  The amount is payable by, among others, defendant Matthew Sheldon, who in 2013 pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to the same unlawful conduct.

“This verdict is a victory for my clients,” said Sean Callagy of Callagy Law, who represented The Law Funder in the case.  “While this does not represent a complete recovery for them, we will continue to pursue the payment due for the rest of Sheldon’s life so that he may repay some of what my clients have lost.”

Sheldon is currently incarcerated and is serving a sentence of 30 months in prison after having pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2013.  He admitted to engaging in a kickback scheme that resulted in him and a number of other defendants being paid improper referral fees by the litigation funding company The Law Funder, LLC.

Sheldon had served as an attorney and chief underwriter for The Law Funder of New York, a company that he co-founded in 2004 with three other individuals.

His fraudulent activity began in 2005, when Sheldon started to work with a New Jersey broker to garner referral fees, which the two split. The fees collected amounted to at least $870,000 in profit for Sheldon.

His indiscretions were uncovered in 2009 after The Law Funder had dismissed Sheldon.  An investigation by Callagy Law uncovered other fraud that was also included in the civil complaint.

The case alleged wrongdoing beyond the criminal charges, including claims that Sheldon purposefully overvalued some cases and approved funding for bad cases for his own personal benefit.

Sheldon was also accused of transferring $750,000 for fictitious cases to Jessica Escobar in Houston, who posed as both attorney and paralegal and was alleged to have had an intimate relationship with Sheldon.

The suit named 20 defendants, including Gregory Krasovsky, an attorney who previously represented The Law Funder and was aware of Sheldon’s fraud but did not alert the company, according to the complaint.

The verdict was released on June 24, 2014, with the jury awarding a total of $24.5 million in compensatory damages – $22.9 million against Sheldon, $2.2 million against Krasovsky, and $375,000 against another defendant.  On June 25, 2014, the jury awarded an additional $8 million in punitive damages against Sheldon for a total of $33.5 million against him and the remaining defendants.

 

 

 

See More: http://callagylaw.com/bergen-county-fraud-case-33-5-million-dollars/

Original Post: http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202661606677/NJ-Litigation-Funding-Business-Wins-33M-Award-in-Fraud-Case

 

Bergen County Fraud Case 33.5 Million Dollars Awarded to Litigation Funding Business #Callagylaw, #LawFunder, #Litigation, #Prison, #Seancallagy, #Sheldon, #Verdict