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Finally, justice for Coloradans affected by wrongful death.

I really couldn’t believe how victims of medical malpractice were treated when I first started producing settlement documentaries and day in the life videos for legal cases. Up until now, if your loved one was killed because their doctor made a critical mistake, their life was only worth $250,000 if you sued the doctor, nurse or hospital. That’s it! Thanks to caps on damages that Colorado voters passed back in the 1980’s.

The insurance companies did a great job convincing voters that caps would be good for Colorado. That it would somehow save money in insurance payouts and that saving would be passed on to you. I don’t know anyone who paid less insurance as a result. In fact, my insurance has gone up every year. But I do know a lot of people –too many people in Colorado –who had a loved one stolen from them due to the negligence of others, and due to the caps, they couldn’t even find a lawyer who would take the case.

You might be thinking, “why do you need money after a loved one is killed by medical malpractice? If that loved one was the bread winner, there is no one to support the family anymore. Think about the emotional pain of suddenly losing your spouse or parent. The survivors often need financial and emotional support. Wrongful death shatters a family.

In most other states, wrongful death cases are worth millions. Here in Colorado, your case is worth more if you break some bones in a car crash. I always thought Coloradans were getting a raw deal.

That’s why I was so relieved to read Colorado governor Jared Polis signed a new law that raises the cap for victims of wrongful death due to negligence from a couple hundred thousand to a couple a million.

The law doesn’t take effect until 2025.

Still, it means Coloradans will finally have a chance to receive financial justice. Doctors, nurses, medical staff and the hospitals they work for will be punished in the pocketbook for making mistakes that cost lives.

No amount of money can replace someone you love, not now, not ever. But Colorado’s cap was salt in the wound for so many families.

Thank you to our clients, new and old!

Thank you to our clients, new and old!

Heidi Hemmat client interview
Heidi Hemmat client interview

 

I just wanted to take some time to thank our clients. So many small businesses are struggling. And while we did slow down this month due Coronavirus concerns affecting our out-of-state travel schedule, our clients have been so wonderful to us –promptly paying invoices, being willing to try ZOOM interviews in place of our professional news cameras and crew in the short term, and promising more cases to come! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to:

 

Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, Florida

Bill Hahn, William E. Hahn, PA, Tampa, Florida

Steve Maher, The Maher Law Firm, Winter Park, Florida

Steve Brady, Brady Law Group, San Rafael, California

Scott Righthand, Righthand Law, San Francisco, California

Neil Eisenberg, Eisenberg Law Office, San Francisco, California

Dunn & Panagotacos LLP, San Francisco, California

Lawrence Knapp, The law Offices of Lawrence Knapp, Stockton, California

Stewart Tabak, Tabak Law Firm, Stockton, California

Michael Padway, Michael Padway & Associates, Oakland, California

Brown, Koro & Romag, Newport Beach, California

Chapa Law Group PC, Phoenix, Arizona

Garrey Woner Hoffmaster & Peshek, P.C., Scottsdale, Arizona

John Leader, Leader Law Firm, Tucson, Arizona

The law office of Jojene Mills, Tucson, Arizona

Bradley Paul Elley Esquire, Incline Village, Nevada

Wagstaff & Cartmell, Kansas City, Missouri

Miller Schirger LLC, Kansas City, Missouri

Leventhal Puga, Denver, Colorado

Burg Simpson, Englewood, Colorado

Greg Gold, The Gold law firm, Denver, Colorado

Bachus & Schanker law firm, Denver, Colorado

Anderson Hemmat, Greenwood Village, Colorado

 Elkus & Sisson, P.C., Glendale, Colorado

Bell & Pollock, P.C., Denver, Colorado

Larson & Larimer, P.C., Greenwood Village, Colorado

Anderson Injury law firm, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gaddis, Herd, Craw & Adams, P.C., Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jim Gilbert, The Gilbert Law Group, Arvada, Colorado

Don Slavik, Slavik Law, Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Newport Beach, California

The Sanders law firm, Covington, Kentucky

I won’t get Coronavirus

Heidi Hemmat standingNot because I’m drowning myself in bleach, wearing masks on planes or covering my hands in surgical gloves like the family I saw at Denver International Airport when I returned from my business trip. (Yes, I’m still getting on planes and traveling all across the country to produce stories about victims of medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury, wrongful death, product liability–I have to and more importantly, I want to–it’s still my life’s calling.) The reason I won’t get Coronavirus –is the same reason I don’t get the Flu (and never had a flu shot). I’m healthy. I get up everyday –even if that means 4am –and I sweat. I workout hard. I eat healthy food. Instead of hoarding pasta and packaged sausages, I go to the grocery store and pick out my fresh produce and select my meat, chicken or fish. I prepare healthy, home cooked meals for my family. I turn off the news when I start to feel fearful, or sad, or depressed or discouraged. I avoid people who bring me down. I pray, I meditate. I live in faith, not fear. The most important story I saw yesterday –in the midst of the Coronavirus coverage–that I caught by accident as I was flipping to Disney channel (where there is always a happy ending) was a quick blurb about Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy. He was diagnosed last year with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The 1 year survival rate is just 18 percent. He thinks he’s alive today because of his positive attitude. Not kidding. He believes thinking positively beat pancreatic cancer. That’s what I am going to –be positive. Have faith not fear. Be kind and compassionate. If I see someone sick or hurting, I won’t turn away–I’ll ask if they need help and help them -even if it means touching their hand. That’s how I’ve always lived my life and that’s why I believe I am blessed with a loving family, successful business and most of all, happiness. I encourage you to do the same, use the homeopathic remedies to boost your immunity (of course, wash your hands and don’t go out and cough on people if you are sick–that’s a no brainer), but do something for your health –meditate, climb a mountain, try alternate therapies, work out, sweat, eat healthy and be positive.

Lawyers are good people too

Western Trial Lawyers Association – Heidi Hemmat

I know what you are thinking, “what? I hate lawyers, what do you mean, lawyers are good people?” Well, they are.

I am just returning from the Western trial lawyers association convention in Park City, Utah. I sponsor this convention because it’s a great way to market Heidi Hemmat Productions. As many of you already know, when I left my investigative reporter position at KDVR/KWGN, I started my own business–producing documentaries about severely injured people that help settle their legal cases out of court.

When I attend these conventions, I often listen to the lawyer’s presentations. If you hate lawyers, you probably assume the attorneys are talking about their biggest cases, the ones where they made the most money. So, you might be surprised to learn, most often, they are talking about the cases they took on because it was the right thing to do–cases about old people abused in nursing homes (usually–no money in that), or little kids molested by catholic priests–(hard to believe, but there’s no money in that either). I listen to their stories with awe and amazement, especially when I see grown men, tough attorneys, choking back the tears. Many of their presentations make me want to cry because, I too, have spent most of my life looking into the eyes of people who have been through enormous pain. I’ve cried with them, I cry afterwards, sometimes I think about them in the middle of the night. I never, ever forget them. I pray for them and everyday I thank God–that there but for the grace of God go I.

So trust me when I say, lawyers are good people. Yes, there are jerks in every profession. A lot of people hate reporters too, but when I think about all the good I was able to do for people by simply telling their stories with compassion and empathy–I know I was helping people. Now I feel like I am doing my life’s work–because the people I do documentaries about–their stories aren’t “newsworthy” but what happened to them is every bit as bad and many of them live in a private hell–unable to even tell their own stories. Those people need me, and they need their lawyers, especially the ones who aren’t afraid to cry.