Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is mandatory in Pennsylvania. Due to Pennsylvania being an optional or “choice” no-fault state, insureds must choose between “full tort” and “limited tort” options, and PIP coverage must be provided. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Kentucky are the only states that have “choice” no-fault laws, also known as an optional modified…
The song we learn in our youth is the song we sing for life. Children often blame others for their mistakes and misdeeds – a desperate effort to shift responsibility and avoid unpleasant consequences. As adults engaging in commerce, we are not much different. It is virtually impossible to find a construction contract which does…
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.” When and whether an injured employee can sue an owner or subcontractor for a work-related injury in Pennsylvania has been a matter of some confusion over the years. It is the latest in a landslide of confusing…
The U.S. government sponsors more than 350 different health Plans covering more than nine million federal employees, retirees, and beneficiaries through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Act of 1959 (FEHBA). 5 U.S.C. §§ 8901-8914. Like it’s counterpart in the private market, ERISA, the FEHBA does not mention or provide for rights of reimbursement or subrogation.…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to wish all of our clients and friends a very blessed Easter. While Easter means different things to different people, we celebrate the Good News which Easter represents. It is the fulfillment of the greatest Promise ever made – the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the…
The long-standing and dysfunctional approach to subrogating against foreign manufacturers has become the primary reason why pursuing Chinese manufacturers is difficult and expensive. Many insurers, corporations, and law firms continue to implement tired and ineffective tools in pursuit of these claims. When a catastrophic fire loss is caused by a defective laptop battery manufactured in…
On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. (DePuy), a division of Johnson & Johnson, issued a voluntary recall of the DePuy ASR™ XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing Device – a total hip replacement system. It involves not only the replacement of the joint (ball and socket), but also the “neck” of the femur.…
Minnesota and Hawaii don’t have a lot in common. However, the Minnesota Court of Appeals – of all places – recently laid down some rather novel and earth-shattering law with regard to PIP subrogation in Hawaii. In American Family Mutual Ins. Co. v. American Automobile Ass’n d/b/a Auto Club Ins. Ass’n, 2013 WL 656493 (Minn.…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) proudly announces the opening of its new branch office in New Orleans. The office is located at 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste. 402, in New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain with convenient access to New Orleans and other Louisiana state and federal courts. While our national subrogation program…
Robert Van Orden v. USAA, 2014 MT 45 (Mont. 2014) Montana has long been one of the toughest states to subrogate in because it has a very strict made whole policy. It is the public policy in Montana that an insured must be totally reimbursed for all losses as well as costs, including attorney fees…