It's been said that we are the sum of all our experiences. I believe this is 
especially true in the practice of law. We each possess a unique background and a unique set of skills and passions. With God's help, we can let those three things work together to make us more effective lawyers.
Jay Stoneking Archives
The Sum of My Experiences
Bad Faith: A Primer
We often hear of "bad faith" in the handling of claims by insurance companies. But what exactly is bad faith? And what legal remedies are available if an insurer engages in bad faith?
Reflections: Hebrew, Passover, and a More Meaningful Easter
When I was a senior at West Virginia University, I took Hebrew as a foreign language. I was always fascinated by Hebrew--the odd-looking letters, the tiny dots instead of vowels, and especially the guttural sounds that make you think there's something stuck in your throat. I wanted to learn more.
Big Wins for Privacy Rights
In September, I wrote about two privacy cases that were scheduled to be heard by the West Virginia Supreme Court. In the first one a health care provider was arguing that it should not be required to pay damages for illegally accessing and disseminating the plaintiff's private medical records. In the second one, West Virginia's largest insurer, State Farm, was arguing that insurers should be free to share private medical data with national databases--and, even more disturbingly, that trial courts in West Virginia lacked any power to stop them. I am pleased to announce that in both cases the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled in a way that protected privacy rights.
Insurance Companies Make a Grab for Your Private Medical Records and Want to Publish Them to a National Database
It goes without saying that medical records are private in nature and are entitle
d to legal protection. In fact, it's hard to imagine anything more sensitive and personal than the things we tell our healthcare professionals. We provide them with intimate details of our lives--and, of course, we do so with the expectation that everything we say will be held in strict confidence.
Protecting the Privacy of Your Personal Medical Information: Will the Supreme Court of Appeals Protect Patients' Rights?
Privacy is a big concern, especially in these days when technology makes private information so easy to access and so easy to disseminate.
Insurance Company Forces Sick Child to Travel to "Approved" Hospital, Leading to Permanent, Disabling Injuries
Imagine you're the mother of a five-year-old baby with a high fever. You go to your HMO pediatrician who prescribes Tylenol. But your baby's temperature keeps rising. Soon your baby is limp and moaning and his temperature is spiking at 104 degrees.
Don't Let Medicaid Take Any More of Your Recovery Than Necessary
Nagging questions still remain over how Medicaid can enforce its lien for medical expenses in situations where a settlement is reached with a third-party tortfeasor. In a very recent and surprising case, the West Virginia Supreme Court answered some of these questions--and, in the process, struck down a statute that would have given Medicaid a priority lien. In Re: E.B., a minor, No. 101537 (W.Va. 6/21/12)
Jay Stoneking reflects on compassion in the practice of law
Lawyers are often the butt of jokes. Popular television seems to reinforce the idea that lawyers are hard-nosed, tight-fisted, and will do practically anything to win. Lawyers also fare poorly in public opinion polls, lagging behind other 
professions in critical areas like honesty and ethics.
Profits over people...
"Profits over people..."