Interview with Ethan Nelson

Spotlight Series topic: The Advocates

Guest Name: Ethan Nelson

Guest Credentials: Liaison for The Advocates Injury Attorneys

Discussion Details: In this episode we cover some misconceptions about what meeting with an attorney actually does for you after your accident. Ethan sheds the light on who is paying the settlement and how finding the right attorney following an accident will be the best thing you can do.

Benefit of Watching: Learn about The Advocates Injury Attorneys and the benefits of finding the right attorney following an auto-accident.

Address of guest’s business:
737 E Winchester St, Murray, UT 84107

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Hi everybody. I’m Dr. Isaac Halliday with Lodestar Physical Therapy. I’m here with Ethan Nelson. He is a business development liaison with the Advocates Injury Attorneys. Super awesome dude, and he’s here. He’s here now. So yeah, tell us a little bit about yourself, Ethan. So glad you’ve made it on. So

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, I’m here virtually, and yeah, I appreciate you having me on, Dr. Halliday. We’ve worked together for what two, two and a half years now, and yeah, we love me and York love working with your clinic. You’re a great PT. So, but yeah, so my name’s Ethan. Yeah, I do business development for the Advocate Injury Attorneys. I’ve been doing it for about three years. Cover Salt Lake, parts of California, Vegas. A little bit about me: grew up in Kaysville, Utah. A lot of people think it’s a farm town, but really, it’s

It’s kind of like a mini Draper. But it was fun growing up there. Went on an LDS mission to Georgia. I speak Spanish as well. So, went to a place called Macon, Georgia, which not a lot of people know about. It’s kind of in the middle of Georgia, but anyway, went to school, studied marketing and small business management at LDS Business College. Loved that, and yeah, I learned a bit about me. I love going to the gym. I love kind of health and wellness. So connecting with guys like you and chiropractors and other providers is really fun and fulfilling for me. But yeah, that’s a little bit about me. So right

Dr. Isaac Halliday: I love it. I love it. So what is I? I don’t know. Like when you hear business, a business development liaison? Like, what? What does your role actually include, or like, what do you do for the advocate?

Ethan Nelson: Yeah. So to be honest, I think the fact that we have guys. So it’s not just me. We have a guy named Elias Sanchez up in the Ogden area, and then another guy down south, Moises Andrade. In my opinion, having guys like us really separates us from other law firms, and the fact that we’re such a big firm, our attorneys are very focused on the client. You know, helping make sure they get into treatment, communicating with them, chatting with the biggest thing is probably chatting with adjusters and trying to get as much money as possible for our clients and ensuring that the bills get paid, et cetera. And so, and so the attorneys don’t really have the bandwidth of time to go find new providers, manage our current relationships, and just do all of that. And so, really, it’s my role to go out, chat with guys like you, find good providers that work well with our firm that we can send our clients to, and as well get clients referred to us as well. Obviously, but yeah, to my understanding, in the law firm world, a lot of other law firms, including us, didn’t really have a business development representative 1520, years ago. We had a guy named Kason. I don’t know if you ever met him. He kind of started this back then, and yeah. Anyway, it’s it’s fun. I like it a lot. Really, it’s just to be the bridge between clinics like yours, like Lodestar, and our firm, and just whether it be reductions or patients not showing up to appointments, whatever. I’m I’m I’m here for it. So

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, hopefully.

Ethan Nelson: That answers the question.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Which explains why you’re in your car. Drive around, drive around visiting people all the time. No, it’s yeah. I’m glad you’re in a formal setting, but hey, you’re good, man. That’s all good. All right, we take you where you’re at, so that’s awesome.

Yeah, that’s cool. Tell us a little bit about the advocates, because I think most people have like, heard, yeah, who they are, seen the commercial on TV or whatever. Tell us a little bit about the advocates. Like, what sets them apart? I mean, I’ve I’ve talked to like smaller and you know, injury attorney clinics or not clinics. What do you guys call law firms? Firms, yeah, right. And Advocates is like bigger. Like, just I don’t know what’s what’s the takeaway from like the Advocates, yeah, yeah. Like, what do you do yet? Yeah,

Ethan Nelson: I’d say a couple things. It’s been interesting. Like I said, I’m here in Utah. I’m in Salt Lake County, which is arguably our our busiest county in the whole firm. It’s interesting going from Utah to places like California and Vegas, where we’re a small fish, you know. We’re like these other law firms here in Utah, where you know you kind of have to start from the bottom and find those relationships and, yeah, market that way. And so I’ve seen both sides of the coin, but for to answer your question. A lot of the time, not just in the law profession and even with clinics, but businesses in general. Once you get to a certain, once you get big enough, I feel like sometimes that personal touch kind of goes away. What I’ve noticed with the advocates, all of our attorneys, is they still like, as cliché as it sounds, when I sign clients up, I can tell our attorneys- Mark Stewart, Dave Tollis, Chris Thresher, all of them, they still care about the client. They’re not just, you know, saying one thing on commercials, then doing something other. If they need to, they’re they’re willing to reduce their fee, which is huge. They’re willing to work with providers like you guys, and and to be honest, I’d say that’s one thing. Like I talked about, we were kind of one of the first firms to really start working with chiropractors, PTs, and referring cases back and forth. That’s one thing, to be honest with you, Isaac. That separates us is is our our willingness to continue to do that and just be very Cairo provider friendly because there’s some law firms out there that just you know kind of churn and burn cases and call call provider hey 90% reduction just to make as much money as possible but yeah really we’re about these relationships so yeah um so yeah that’s what kind of separates us. Little history of the advocates. Matt Drigg started it in the mid ’90s. They actually-it’s interesting. Do you know what Fenfen is?

Dr. Isaac Halliday: No, no.

Ethan Nelson: So it was a weight loss drug similar to what? What? What’s the one nowadays called Ozempic?

It was a big one back in the early 2000s. Anyway, there was a lot of adverse side effects, and there were a ton of lawsuits, and we signed up a ton of those cases and made a ton of money back in the day. And so that’s kind of how Matt, Steve Day, and Eric Bills started. Is they they did all that and then decided to focus on auto accidents. So yeah, we’re from Utah. All the founders are from Utah, and I think we’re in 716, or 17 states right now. We just opened Oklahoma, so it’s a great firm to work for and be a part of. It’s a great culture. So

Dr. Isaac Halliday: That’s cool. Yeah, yeah, and and to go along the lines of like how how like your attorneys like they’re actively involved like in the cases you know like I like York for example he’s like oh he’s like just email me all this stuff and I’ll make sure it gets to the right people right it seems like all the other attorneys I’ve worked with you know they’re like, “Oh yeah, just send that to the paralegal. You know, then they give me, and so it’s like the hands-on aspect that at least that York does.

You know, in the advocates, it’s really cool, and you know, I haven’t seen it too much in any other firms to where the the lawyer usually lets the paralegals just kind of like handle it to our York.

Ethan Nelson: Exactly. Yeah,

Dr. Isaac Halliday: I mean, he calls me. He’s like, “Hey, man, here’s here’s the deal with this case. And right, and it’s it’s kind of cool to be able to just talk directly to the attorney, the guy that is the guy that has the sign off on everything, right?

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, York’s awesome. Yeah, all our attorneys are great. York’s awesome, and yeah, they, like I said, all the attorneys recognize the importance of our medical provider relationships, whether it’s with pain doctors, PTs like you, or chiropractors. So,

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, no, I love it. That’s cool. Tell us a little bit about like, some misconceptions people have, particularly with auto accidents, right? Because that’s kind of where you guys kind of focus. Yeah, tell us about some of those misconceptions that you’ve you’ve heard or you’ve seen.

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, so there’s two that that come to mind. One is that, and this happens a lot in Utah, where people think, “Oh, I’m suing an individual. Like, say, Isaac, you hit me, you ruined me. A lot of the time, people would think if I hire an attorney like the advocates, I would be going after you personally, like your house, your assets, business, etc. 99% of the time, we don’t do that. There’s only been like a couple cases where we have that I’m aware of, but yeah, really we just we go after insurance policies, and if the policies aren’t sufficient, we’re not one of those firms where we are scared to take your case to litigation.

We’ll take your case to litigation and fight it for as however long we need to, and our litigation attorneys like Tyler Call, Michael Driggs, they’re they’re awesome in the courtroom and just and great dudes. So that’s the first one. We just go after the Appall insurance company, and if there is an insurance policy, we can. There are UIM and UM policies we can go after on your own insurance policy. But so that’s the first one. The second one is that a lot of the time people think that oh, when I’m in an accident, if I’m not feeling immediate pain, like that means nothing. Yeah, and I’m sure you as 100% yeah, all the time. And the problem is, and I actually had two cases referred to me by providers a couple weeks ago, where this will kind of paint the picture.

We’ll call the first person Jane Doe. She was in an accident June 28th. wasn’t feeling like a ton of pain June 29th. The Affairs Insurance Company contacted her, sent her what’s called a release of all future claims letter, whatever, and was like, “A 1000 bucks. We’ll pay $3,000 worth of your medical bills. Just sign here. Jane Doe didn’t know what she was signing. Signed it and was referred to me in the middle of July. Her feet were tingling constantly. Her back was in pain. She’s like, “What do I do? And unfortunately, she had just signed that document. And so I think that’s another misconception people have is that, you know, if the property damage wasn’t like super bad, I’m not super injured.

What we say is, I mean, the whole lives we spend 234, if not more, $100 a month on insurance, auto insurance premiums, you might as well get checked out. You might as well like keep the auto insurance company at bay while you get checked out, while you talk to us, because as a PT, I’m sure you’ve seen this all the time. Like someone comes in six months after an accident, and something’s weird, maybe with their neck or their back, and you’re like, you’re like, well, were you in an accident? And they’re like, oh yeah, like six months ago, and you’re like, yep, that’s what it is, right? So that’s the biggest thing, and I don’t know if you can speak to that too. I’m sure you’ve seen that as a provider: a lot of kids.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, in fact, like we just got one. In fact, I think you guys just referred. Yeah, it’s a similar thing, right? He initially complained of, like, his hip and ankle hurting, and um, and he came in, and he’s like, my back is like killing me. I was like, when did that start? He’s like, oh, about two weeks ago, right? The accident was like a month ago.

Two weeks ago, back started hurting, right? Where he’s like, I thought I was like, I don’t know where it came from. Like, well, probably came from the accident, because yeah, it’s just a delayed thing, right? Your body’s gonna scream loudest where it hurts. After the dust settles, the real injuries really show up, and that’s kind of where he’s at.

You know, I know I’ve seen it also with, you know, other patients to where they’ve, you know, they come in, and you know, like a shoulder or whatever, and you’re like, “Well, when did this start? They’re like, “Oh, well, I was in a car accident about 18 months ago, and it felt okay. You know, did a couple rehab things, and it was okay, you know. But they didn’t get rehabbed well enough, or they didn’t, right? It wasn’t, it wasn’t a very cohesive plan after the accident, that you know, like, and then they always ask. They’re like, “Well, can we do some? Like, can we go get you know more PIP or something? Like, it’s done. Like, it’s over. Like, that case has been closed. I can’t reopen it now.

Ethan Nelson: That’s why I tell people to retain us as soon as possible; it never hurts you. If you don’t have a case, we’ll just drop your case, and you don’t owe us anything. But in that specific case that you were talking about, if the person was still with us, their case would be open. The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit after an auto accident in Utah is four years, and so I mean, yeah, you can yeah you can retain us at any time, but the problem is the insurance company knows that, and so they try to get you to settle as quickly as possible.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: And sign those forms to say, oh hey, look, you’re good. Exactly, cool. Sign this form. Says well,

Ethan Nelson: And it sucks too because the patient. I mean, ultimately, like what you probably had to tell that person was like, I mean, yeah, I can treat you, but it’s it’s coming out of your own pocket, and it sucks for them because I mean they they were in an accident that wasn’t their fault, so they shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of that. So right.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, yeah, or or even like it doesn’t get you know it they’re hurt, but it’s like oh it’s not that bad, and then something else happens later right like shoulder for again for example like hey cool shoulder feels great doing pretty much everything, and then they start lifting weights or they start doing something, and that’s what sets off everything.

Ethan Nelson: Yeah.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Now the insurance company is just going to say, oh no, it was the weights that did it, not the car accident, right? And

Ethan Nelson: What’s cool too? What’s cool too with working with providers like you and other chiropractors is you understand that, and so when you see someone that’s been in an auto accident, you’ll apportion that pain to the accident, and then other pain they might have, which is very important when we’re trying to settle a case.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it’s just just contact just contact the attorneys.

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, and it doesn’t cost a penny.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: It doesn’t cost a penny to give a little consult, right? It’s just like, hey, is this worth anything? And so, yeah, tell us about, like, have you been in an accident?

Ethan Nelson: Like, yeah, yeah, I was. Yeah. So I actually have a story of. I don’t mean to be like a stereotypical guy who works for a law firm that says, oh, these big bad insurance companies are bad, but I have a story about that just to kind of paint a picture of like, be careful of insurance companies and be careful of who you sign up with. I had a policy about two years ago. It was actually a friend who referred me to this agent. I won’t say what insurance agency, but it’s it’s one of the big ones.

Anyway, I got a policy with them. I just bought this Tesla that I’m in, and and the guy, yeah. So I I had the policy for like four or 500 month or excuse me four or five months, and because I had been referred by a friend to this agency, the agent was like, oh hey, I’ll give you deals like 200 bucks a month or whatever, and so I’m like, awesome. So on the app every month it would it would say a lot more than actually was and I’d be like hey like what’s up like it’s not reflecting what we talked about yeah and he was he was like oh hey yeah like I don’t he’s like don’t listen to the app like just just send me the money whatever and I trust him because my friend you know yeah he was reflecting he was an agent of one of these big firms.

Anyway, so I’m dirt biking with my family in August of 2024. I’m driving back in my car and I hit a deer, and I pull open the app, and it said I didn’t have any insurance. Yeah. So I was like, I was literally so stressed. Luckily, I wasn’t injured, but the property damage ended up being $10,000. Come to find out, this specific agent was just selling fraudulent policies to people, and I tried to contact him. He wasn’t contacting me back.

Luckily, though, the insurance company kind of recognized what happened and paid out on the claim, but it’s kind of just the story of like, hey, like, just kind of be careful, you know. Not just with insurance companies, but I guess like whoever.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Making sure that you, yeah, making sure that you actually have the coverage.

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. So, and another thing I wanted to mention is, yeah, in this specific accident, I wasn’t injured, but in the state of Utah, we have what’s called PIP. You referenced it earlier. Whether it’s your fault or not your fault, you get $3,000 worth of coverage. Which, I mean, it’s not like a crazy amount, but for a lot of people, it’ll get them in imaging to kind of let them know, okay, like what’s wrong with my neck, my back, and a couple at least a couple of chiropractor or PT visits. So that’s just a lot of people don’t know that even when they are in accidents, unless like an attorney tells them, it’s just not really widely known. And so, and you can bump up your PIP for like a couple extra dollars a month, and it goes up to 510, 1000, which we highly recommend. But yeah, even if you were in an accident, it wasn’t your fault. You should, or it was your fault. You should get that PIP coverage. So

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, yeah, and like you said, I think the minimum I think is 3000, right?

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, yeah,

Dr. Isaac Halliday: The minimal coverage, yeah, I highly recommend just paying the extra, what, $ 10, $20 a month for $10,000 PIP because it goes if it if you get in that accident, that is gonna it’s gonna make your life just easier, not stressful.

Ethan Nelson: And the idea. I mean, it doesn’t always happen, and that’s part of the reason, you know, it’s it’s advantageous for clients to use us. But the whole point of PIP is they pay it with no questions asked. Like it’s your personal injury protection. So if it’s 10,000, they should. If you need that amount of coverage, they should pay it, no questions asked. They are fighting on it. We can help out with that. So

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Yeah, yeah. Especially, I mean, if they’re definitely fighting on that, like that’s where you guys are going to be like, yeah, no, yeah, they’re owed that money, and they’ll listen to you guys.

Ethan Nelson: Exactly, Yeah.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: So yeah. Well, very cool. What else, man? What else do we want to highlight about what you do and what the advocates do? Is there anything that you’re like, this is this is cut out there?

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, I’d say so. Yeah, obviously, if you live in Utah, there’s a lot of different. Law firms on I-15 when you’re driving through. Not to beat a dead horse, but I’d say the biggest thing that separates us is, you know, you get signed on, and you’re talking to an actual attorney. It’s not the case manager constantly calling you, constantly reaching out. It’s the attorney, which a lot of people really love. They like chatting with an attorney. They like meeting with an attorney, and so I’d say that’s the biggest thing. We also help people out with property damage, which is a pretty big thing. And yeah, really just being able to have a wide network of different medical providers to refer to is very advantageous for our clients as well because we’ll be needing them, the providers, to treat on a lien, and some providers don’t want to do that. So with us knowing so many that do, it’s very advantageous for our clients. So I would say those three things.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Awesome, I love it. How can someone get a hold of you or the advocates? Or they’re in an accident and they’re like, ah, who do I call?

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, yeah. So we’re on social media on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok. It’s just the Advocates Injury Attorneys. If you are in an accident, you can always call me. My number is 801-664-0026, or you can text me, or…

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Or if you just want to go on a date with you, then

Ethan Nelson: Exactly. And then, yeah, then our website is just utahadvocates.com. So

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Awesome! Very, very good, man.

Ethan Nelson: Yeah, thanks for having me on, though. I really appreciate yeah.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Thanks for coming on. And yeah, I’ll let you get back to your day driving around. So

Ethan Nelson: I appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Dr. Isaac Halliday: Hey, right on, man. Take care.

Ethan Nelson: Right. See ya.