Helping Our Communities

Mark Burnette and his wife, Kelsey, have always given their time and money generously to various causes in communities in which they live and work. They are currently establishing a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation through which a substantial amount of the profits of Mark Burnette & Associates will be funneled to worthy causes, and we hope to have it operating with IRS approval by early 2016.

In addition to our personal contributions, we encourage you to consider the positive economic impact you can make to your family and community by exercising your legitimate rights. So often over the years we have met with people who are reluctant to proceed with litigation. So many will say, “I’m not the suing type.” This is a little disheartening to hear because we know that this sentiment results from the successful message marketed by business interests and conservative politicians. They want people to feel guilty about making legitimate claims so that they will not make those claims.

Our answer to this is the comment of a very conservative friend many years ago. He said, “I’m tired of hearing all this talk about tort reform. What are you supposed to do when someone does you wrong? This is not the wild, wild West – you can’t shoot them.” His point, of course, was that you have to stand up for yourself, and the way to do that legally is to sue whomever has done you wrong.

The insurance industry takes huge amounts of wealth out of communities across the country and re-directs it to large cities in the Northeast and around the world. The government and other businesses require you to have a lot of insurance – automobile and health insurance, homeowners insurance if you have a mortgage (required by your lender). Malpractice insurance. Workers compensation insurance. The list goes on and on. This all might be OK if the insurance companies paid back in the form of claims close to the same amount they take, but they do not. They use their superior wealth to pay for the best lawyers to beat back legitimate claims. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on lobbying and campaign contributions to get legislators who are supposed to represent the people to pass laws detrimental to the people. And worst of all, they make legitimately-harmed people feel guilty about making claims. The end result is that almost all communities suffer a net loss every year in terms of insurance premiums paid versus claims collected.

The average lawsuit brings tens of thousands of dollars back to families who are likely to spend and invest it in their own communities, and some lawsuits bring much more than that. Don’t give up your rights. If you have been harmed by someone and want to talk, give us a call.