Episode 52
June 9, 2025
Exposing a Scam Medical Helpline and Winning $4.2M, with Helen Lawless
Episode Summary
While representing a client who lost his foot after relying on his employer’s medical helpline, Helen Lawless and the trial team realized that the helpline did “exactly what it was supposed to do.” And their strategy was born. In this case breakdown with host Brendan Lupetin, Helen explains that the helpline was actually a lucrative business model designed to keep workers from getting proper medical care. Their “constant refrain” to the jury, Helen says, was that the company benefited from the deceptive helpline just as it intended. Ultimately, a Philadelphia jury awarded her client $4.2 million.
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- Helen reveals how the Workcompvidence company deliberately kept injured workers from seeking proper medical care, monitoring patients but only providing “first aid” advice to avoid recordable workplace injuries.
- The company used a strategy called “tight management” to reduce “panic factors” that might lead workers to seek proper medical treatment, with nurses representing themselves as part of a doctor’s practice.
- When the construction site job ended, the company “closed” their client’s case without informing him, leaving him without care until his foot deteriorated to the point of requiring amputation.
- The defense claimed they owed no duty to the injured worker, but the jury disagreed, awarding $4.42 million in compensatory damages despite having no offer from the defense before trial.
- The trial featured detailed testimony about the company’s business model that included marketing materials showing how they promised to reduce worker compensation costs for employers.
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