THE FUTURE OF AUTO SUBROGATION IS HERE: Pursuing Claims Involving Automated Driving Systems

We are still years away from full implementation of true self-driving cars in the U.S., but each step we take dramatically complicates and changes the face of auto claims handling, vehicle repairs, and subrogation litigation. When catastrophic claims are paid as a result of a traffic accident resulting from a failure of an automated driving…

WHAT IF SUBROGATION WAS AS SIMPLE AS PUSHING A BUTTON?: State Farm Fire & Casualty Company v. Moving & Storage, Inc., 2024 WL 1061574 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., 2024)

In one of our most widely-reprinted and widely-read articles, “Ten Subrogation Mistakes Insurance Companies Keep Making”, the number one most prevalent and most costly mistake is waiting too long to involve subrogation counsel. It sounds like an MWL marketing pitch, and of course, in many ways it is. But it is also the truth. The…

WHICH WORKERS’ COMPENSATION “BENEFITS” CAN BE SUBROGATED? Recovery of Case Management Costs, Medical Bill Audit fees, Rehabilitation Benefits, Utilization Review Costs, IME’s, Nurse Case Worker Fees, Attorneys’ Fees, and Other “Allocated” Loss Adjustment Expenses

It’s the question every claims professional and trial attorney claims to know but few fully understand. In addition to paying for medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, independent…

Texas

TEXAS COURT MAKES IT EASIER FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CARRIER TO SETTLE DIRECTLY WITH THE TORTFEASOR AND AVOID PAYING ATTORNEYS’ FEES TO THE EMPLOYEE Sentry Casualty Company v. Bravin, 2024 WL 3083299 (Tex. App. 2024).

A new Texas Court of Appeals decision has clarified the process by which a workers’ compensation carrier can settle directly with a third-party tortfeasor and thereby avoid having to reduce its lien by a pro rata share of the employee’s attorneys’ fees. Meanwhile, the process of “selling your lien” has never been less complicated and…