Georgia has long been the bane of a subrogation professional’s existence. The State features both an anti-subrogation law and a complete compensation (“made-whole”) statute. The combination of these two laws have led many insurers to simply write off the hope…
When an automobile is damaged in an accident and then repaired, the resale value may be less than a comparable automobile that has not been damaged. In other words, the damage results in a reduction or “diminution” in the resale…
One of the most heavily contested types of subrogation cases we encounter involves recovery of the reasonable cost of repairs performed in-house by a commercial fleet, trucking company, auto dealership, or rental car company whose vehicle has been damaged due…
Insurance policy deductibles and subrogation make strange bedfellows. Most property and automobile insurance policies require that the insured pay a deductible—an out-of-pocket payment the insured is required to pay toward a covered loss before the insurance company kicks in with…
Most insurance claims professionals understand that, as opposed to uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which pays damages to an insured who is involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is automobile insurance coverage which protects an…
By ChatGPT (artificial intelligence chatbot) Foreward By Gary L. Wickert Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by computers or machines, as opposed to actual human intelligence. According to the current system of classification, there are actually four…
1 Peter 1:3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Matthiesen, Wickert…
On March 23, 2023, the Florida Senate passed a sweeping tort reform bill known as HB 837. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis the very next day and becomes effective immediately. Some elements of the new…
Matthew Grieder joined MWL recently as a new litigation associate with the firm’s Austin branch office, and is licensed to practice law in Texas. Matt will be handling automobile, maritime, property and casualty, and workers’ compensation subrogation cases throughout Texas…
Automobile rentals is a $29 billion industry and constitutes a significant portion of the transport sector in America. In 2018, there were 2,212,925 rental vehicles on U.S roads. There are six million auto accidents in the U.S. every year, and…
MTDB Corp. v. Am. Auto Ins. Co., 2022 WL 18012348 (Ill. App. 1st Dist. 2022) Some might say that subrogation and insurance coverage make strange bedfellows. But understanding the basics of insurance coverage is integral to an aggressive and holistic…
Trial lawyers are filing bad faith class action suits against insurance companies across the country in rapid fashion based on alleged wrongful depreciation of labor costs in their calculation of Actual Cash Value (ACV) in property loss claims. They smell…
Certain 2011 to 2021 Kia and 2015 to 2021 Hyundai vehicles were designed, manufactured, and sold without an electronic immobilizer found in over 95% of other vehicles. As such, these automobiles are prone to theft. Thieves typically break a back…
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), each day last year, twenty people were struck and killed by cars. Nearly 8,000 pedestrians were killed by vehicles in 2021 – an increase of 11.5%. This represents both an alarming public…
Connelly v. Main St. Am. Group, 2023 WL 152540 (S.C. 2023) South Carolina’s Exclusive Remedy Rule has prevented an employee from collecting $350,000 in uninsured motorist benefits for injuries she sustained in an automobile accident she was in while a…
Earlier in my career I handled a subrogation case involving a brand-new vehicle which was lightly tapped from the rear by a careless driver. The damage to the vehicle was very minimal, yet the vehicle was declared a total loss…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is pleased to welcome Muhammad Qasim (goes by “Qasim”) as a new Associate Attorney who will be joining the subrogation litigation team in our Santa Ana, California office. Qasim brings a wealth of litigation experience to…
MWL partner Eric J. Goelz has retired from MWL after thirty three years of practice. Eric graduated cum laude from Marquette Law School in 1989 and practiced in insurance defense litigation and subrogation in both private practice and as in…
Grothe v. Kushnivich, 521 P.3d 228 (Wash. App. 2022) One by one, states have begun to recognize a vehicle owner’s third-party claim for residual diminished value damage, or “stigma damage”, which is the loss of value of an automobile that…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is pleased to announce that Stephen A. Smith has become a partner with the firm. Steve is in his 13th year of practice and joined MWL in 2015. His practice focuses on insurance litigation and subrogation,…
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain One insurance company – State Farm – has referred to dog bites as a “serious public health problem.” In 2018…
4.07[10] Made Whole Doctrine Until recently, the Made Whole Doctrine had not been applied outside the context of a bankruptcy proceeding in Connecticut.[1] However, the Connecticut Supreme Court has given us a clue as to how it will treat this…
A huge segment of America’s service economy involves flexible, temporary, part-time, or freelance jobs—frequently involving professional employer organizations (PEO’s) or employee leasing companies. The “gig economy” is the labor market that relies on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent…
Amy Alexander, et al. v. Nam Duong and Sentinel Insurance Company, Case No. 120,320 (Okla. App. December 2, 2022) Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation laws have endured a long and tortured constitutional tug-of-war between trial lawyers and business advocates/subrogation professionals. In 2011,…
What you don’t know can’t help you. That is certainly the case in Iowa when plaintiff’s attorneys claim no obligation to reimburse a carrier exists based on a general assertion that the insured was not made whole. This objection overlooks…
Davis v. Adeoye, 2022 WL 16570653 (Conn. Super. 2022) For years, trial lawyers have been threatening and filing class action lawsuits in multiple states in an effort to thwart their arch nemesis—subrogation. States such as Montana have gone so far…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is pleased to announce the election of Richard A. Schuster, Esq. and Ashton T. Kirsch, Esq., to shareholder status in the firm. The firm is excited to welcome these two extremely talented attorneys as shareholders…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is pleased to welcome Attorney Darin G. Tabor to our California branch office. Darin began his career in the insurance industry, working with Corvel Corporation handling workers’ compensation claims. He then transitioned to the courts,…
Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2022 WL 17491301 (Va. 2022) When two insurance companies or an insurance company and an employer (self-insured for workers’ compensation) enter into Arbitration Forum’s “Special Arbitration Agreement”, the workers’ compensation carrier may…
Insurance subrogation professionals are routinely faced with minimum limits scenarios which complicate otherwise straightforward subrogation cases. When a third-party liability carrier’s insurance limits are insufficient to pay the claims of multiple claimants, the carrier must begin to assess the hierarchy…
Sheckler v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 2022 WL 17245548 (Ill. 2022). The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant varies greatly from state to state and often…
A new 2022 report reveals a massive spike in litigation involving insurance coverage and claims and advises insurance companies to “be prepared by increasing resources both in-house and outside counsel.” The report, entitled “Insurance Litigation Report” was issued Lex Machina,…
During the brutal winter of 1620-21, Miles Standish, the English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony and one of the Mayflower passengers, played a leading role in the administration and defense of the colony.…
One day last month our firm received three separate, unrelated subrogation claim files involving serious personal injury, property damage, and a death resulting from tractor-trailers whose drivers had lost control after serving to avoid colliding with a deer on the…
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 medical…
They refer to it simply as “The Storms of 98.” Fierce rains and high tides combined to make San Francisquito Creek overflow its banks at 1 a.m., inundating houses, cars and streets. Firefighters used boats to rescue people trapped in…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Brianna Law, a new litigation associate, to the firm’s New Orleans, Louisiana branch office. Brianna is licensed to practice law in Louisiana. Her practice focuses on handling automobile, maritime, property…
The devastation of Hurricane Ian reminds us that the opportunity for property subrogation success is often disguised as an Act of God. The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of…
We are in the early stages of sifting through the debris of Hurricane Ian and calculating the financial and human toll it took after coming ashore in Southwest Florida with 150 mph winds and 20 inches of rain. The insured…
As Hurricane Ian fades into the Atlantic and insurance professionals are left to sort out the devastation in its wake, another storm is rising, and it is not the type which causes damage to homes and vehicles. It causes damage…
Until recently, Virginia courts had not applied or even discussed at length the equitable Made Whole Doctrine. Its application had been rejected in a 1998 unreported state circuit court ruling involving a self-funded medical reimbursement plan.[1] In the case of…
Brice K. Nakamura is a Senior Associate Attorney in our California branch office. Brice started his legal profession in the Taxation field where he defended multi-million-dollar companies in California against aggressive tax collection procedures. He then transitioned to the personal…
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 medical…
Flooding is the number one natural peril in the U.S.—even more devastating than wildfires and storms. Since 2011, there have been over $100 billion in insured losses from flood events around the globe. Over the past three decades, Matthiesen, Wickert…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Brice V. Dodson, a new litigation associate, to the firm’s Austin, Texas branch office. Brice graduated from the Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas, and received his…
On Friday, August 19, a huge fire ripped through the historic and family-owned Mattapoisett Boatyard in southern Massachusetts, a short distance south of MWL’s Boston office. The fire destroyed five buildings, three dozen cars, and countless expensive boats. Continuous explosions…
Safeco Ins. Co. of Illinois v. LSP Products Group, Inc., 12022 WL 3101577 (D. Idaho 2022) Chief District Judge David C. Nye boasts an interesting and unique political distinction associated with his nomination and appointment to the federal bench in…
New Law Mandates That Insurance Companies Report All Dog Bite Claims To The State. It’s a great trivia question. Which state has the most dog bite claims? The answer probably won’t surprise you—California, with 2,103 insurance claims in 2020, followed…
New York Botanical Garden v. Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.) Inc., 16127, 2022 WL 2124845 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. June 14, 2022). Cajun Conti, LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, 2021-CA-0343, 2022 WL 2154863 (La. App. 4th Cir. June…
Pulitzer prize winning historian David McCullough once said that “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it is so hard.” When claims adjusters, subrogation professionals, and/or subrogation lawyers document a settlement or stipulation with an…
Calling all health subrogation professionals!! This is the sixth in a series of complimentary webinars created just for you by Ryan Woody, Nancy Case, and Catherine Dowie. To learn more about this webinar or to register for it, visit the below…
A new analysis of pedestrian safety by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reveals that pedestrian fatalities are sharply on the rise. In fact, the report reveals the astonishing news that an average of nearly twenty-two (22) pedestrians per day…
Each year, water damage and freezing pipes cost insurers $15-$20 billion and result in claims from approximately 1 in 50 insured homes. While many cases of water damage are caused by a lack of maintenance or normal wear and tear,…
On June 15, Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) announced the unveiling of its new website – a completely reworked, state-of-the-art, interactive, and encyclopedic subrogation tool which promises to make your subrogation responsibilities even easier and more effective. It has…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Ana Zabalgoitia, a new senior litigation associate, to the firm’s Austin branch office. Ana graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from St. Mary’s University School of…
Most subrogation claims are small. If your subrogation law firm or recovery vendor does not handle small claims, you shouldn’t use them. Using HO-3 homeowner’s policy claims as an example, the average property damage claim payment was $8,787 according to…
HB 2064 Takes Effect June 9, 2022. For many years a landlord’s property insurer’s ability to subrogate for property damage against a negligent tenant was governed by a handful of case decisions. A landlord was frequently presumed to carry insurance…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Zeeshan Iqbal, a new litigation associate, to the firm’s Santa Ana, California branch office. Zeeshan (who also goes by “Z”), graduated with a finance degree from California State Polytechnic University…
Subrogation professionals might read the title to this article and wonder what subrogation and the confounding labyrinth of insurance coverage might have in common. After all, aren’t we all comfortably nestled in the subrogation world so that we don’t have…
Stowers v. Georgia Pacific, LLC, 2022 WL 903486 (Va. App. 2022). Trial lawyers in Virginia have been trying for decades to convince that state’s courts to rule that a workers’ compensation carrier is not subrogated to non-economic damages awarded or…
MWL sees more than its fair share of subrogation cases involving work-related injuries caused by shifting and falling cargo. If a truck’s cargo is not properly loaded or secured, the resulting workers’ compensation claims can be significant. We routinely see…
Turner v. Pleasant Acres LLC, 2022 WL 815834 (Kan. App. 2022). On the same day as the Alabama Court of Appeals issued its ruling in O’Brien v. Mobile Public Library, attempting to curtail the rights of a workers’ compensation carrier…
Ignores Supreme Court Decision Hinting Otherwise O’Brien v. Mobile Pub. Lib., 2022 WL 829245 (Ala. App. 2022). Workers’ compensation subrogation remains an intense struggle between the powers of good and evil; with insurance carriers attempting to preserve their rights to…
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…
Subrogation Shortcuts Lead To Drastically Smaller Recoveries. Litigation is rarely cheap, but it is often necessary. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of insurance subrogation, where those who resist paying subrogation claims assume that insurance companies are loath…
We are pleased to welcome Frank G. Mackoul II, a new senior litigation counsel, to the firm’s Jacksonville, Florida branch office. Frank brings a wealth of litigation and trial experience to MWL as well as a rather unique and useful…
Loftus v. Katrina Decker: Appeal of Eastern Alliance Ins. Group, 2022 WL 711142 (Pa. Super. 2022) A March 10, 2022, Pennsylvania Superior Court appellate decision underscores why the cost of workers’ compensation insurance for small businesses is the highest in…
Moranz v. Harbor Mall, LLC, 502 P.3d 488 (Haw. 2022) Workers’ compensation carriers doing business in Hawai’i held their collective breathe for 2021 waiting on the Supreme Court to decide whether it would incorporate the common law Made Whole Doctrine…
MWL’s Hartford, New Orleans, Austin, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, and Boston branch offices donated to a Ukraine Supply Drive sponsored by Helgesen Industries. Helgesen, with its US corporate headquarters located in Hartford, Wisconsin employs 30 Ukrainians at its Bydgoszcz, Poland manufacturing…
Ten Questions You Should Ask Your Subrogation Firms and Vendors What do you really know about the strengths and weaknesses of the cybersecurity measures taken by the subrogation counsel and recovery vendors you engage to assist with subrogation recoveries? In…
Thomas Fuller once said, “All doors open to courtesy.” It appears that this may now include the courthouse door. Heavy traffic is moving along smoothly in all lanes of a four-lane boulevard when suddenly a vehicle in the right lane…
Insurance companies, third-party adjusting companies, and subrogation vendors are increasingly undertaking subrogation investigation at an early stage of a claim’s life. Understanding that early recognition and action on third-party recovery potential is often won or lost in the first few…
At 10:30 a.m. on the morning of Thursday, December 30, 2021, two separate wildfires broke out in Boulder County, Colorado near the towns of Superior and Lafayette. One of them—known as the Middle Fork Fire—was contained later that day and…
Boston Branch Office Opened January 1, 2022 Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is proud to announce the opening of its new subrogation branch office in Boston, Massachusetts. For years, MWL has represented workers’ compensation carriers, auto carriers, self-insured companies,…
New Jersey is a confusing state when it comes to automobile insurance and PIP benefits. Every owner or registered owner of an automobile registered or principally garaged in New Jersey must have automobile liability insurance coverage insuring against loss resulting…
When an automobile is damaged in an accident and then repaired, the resale value may be less than a comparable automobile that has not been damaged. In other words, the damage results in a reduction or “diminution” in the resale…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome a new litigation associate, Sarah E. Byrom, to the firm’s Austin, Texas branch office. Sarah began her career as an attorney within the Travis County District Attorney’s office in Austin.…
It’s happened at least once to every subrogation professional. A significant claim file involving an auto accident in which liability appears to be a lock, suddenly goes into a tailspin when the other side denies the claim because the tortfeasor…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer would like to thank our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we hope…
For the 9th year, MWL’s Hartford office donated toys to the Gingerbread House and Youth and Family Project Toy Drive, which benefits children of need in Washington and Waukesha counties in Wisconsin. We believe every child should share in the…
Wilkie v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co., 494 P.3d 892 (Mont. 2021). A brand-new Montana Supreme Court decision has sounded off—sort of—in the nationwide debate over whether a liability insurer has a duty to provide liability policy limits to a third-party claimant…
Imagine beginning your day with a cup of coffee in the car on the way to work, watching the morning news from a holographic projection on the windshield while making notes in preparation for a 9:00 a.m. meeting. All this…
According to Arbitration Forums, Inc.’s website, the 5,200 members who subscribe to Arbitration Forums file over 949,000 disputes and nearly 1.7 million subrogation demands worth more than $13.9 billion in claims annually. Most of the insurance companies in the U.S.…
The Washington Court of Appeals decision in Kosovan v. Omni Insurance Company, 2021 WL 4530640 (Wash. App. 2021), holds that a bad faith claim and a claim for violation of the Consumer Protection Act are both warranted when the PIP…
Ranking natural disasters tends to be somewhat arbitrary. Whether or not a storm which kills three people is worse than one which causes $1 billion in damages is perhaps something that should be left to philosophers and theologians. Ranking the…
During the brutal winter of 1620-21, Miles Standish, the English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony and one of the Mayflower passengers, played a leading role in the administration and defense of the colony.…
The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters. When God sends a hurricane, tornado, flood, or naturally occurring fire, the resulting losses can be…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer (MWL) takes pride in our efforts to constantly innovate and use creative legal theories to facilitate recoveries for our clients. Our firm has been actively involved in the pursuit of investigation and litigation of claims against…
Wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, but they have become larger and more damaging recently. A recent study by the University of Washington and UC-Santa Barbara looked at the long-term future of wildfires and reveals that a buildup…
Successful subrogation against power companies is not a given. In determining whether the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) may be sued for its clear negligence in failing to properly winterize power production facilities and the power grid that it…
A favorite quote of mine from the 2001 Jerry Zucker movie “Rat Race” goes like this: “Good things take time; but great things happen all at once.” Most of the time, laws change at a glacial pace. Where there is…
Moreci v. Scaffold Solutions, Inc., 2021 WL 4397397 (Calif. App. 2021). A valiant effort by a California workers’ compensation carrier to make it more difficult for an employee to argue employer fault and settle around a workers’ compensation carrier’s statutory…
Secura Sup. Ins. Co. v. Est. of Huck, 2021 WL 4449249 (Wis. App. 2021). A new Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision has ruled that an uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) automobile insurance carrier cannot reduce UM/UIM payments to its insured by the amount…
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…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Griffin S. Gross as a litigation associate in our Hartford, Wisconsin office. Griffin will be handling workers’ compensation, property, and automobile insurance subrogation cases. Griffin graduated from Marquette University in…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Constance A. Smith as a litigation associate in our Santa Ana, California branch office. Constance’s practice will focus on all lines of subrogation with an emphasis on medical malpractice. Constance…
In 1992, the National Fire Protection Association created a set of investigative guidelines that was published as “NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosive Investigations.” The guide is widely used by both public and private fire investigators. It describes in…
Moranz v. Harbor Mall, LLC, 477 P.3d 179 (Haw. App. 2020), cert. granted, SCWC-17-0000006, 2021 WL 1924134 (Haw. May 13, 2021). We are at the precipice of a potential upheaval in workers’ compensation recovery rights in the Aloha State. The…
New Trend Poses Threat In Subrogation Trials. Effective January 1, 2022, Arizona will become the first state to eliminate the use of peremptory challenges in jury selection in both criminal and civil trials—including the trial of subrogation cases. It isn’t news…
Our NOLA office is without power and MWL’s attorneys and staff are safe and working remotely while power is restored and damage repaired. They are responding to emails and will receive voicemails. The hurricane has not slowed us down. After…
We have recently seen an uptick in cases where a tree has fallen on to a neighbor’s house, with calamitous results. Hurricane Ida will likely only increase such claims. As the first-party claim by the homeowner is processed, subrogation professionals…
Picture this. You build your dream home, or you add a new room onto your house. The first time it rains, you end up with a leaky roof, damaged walls, water on your floors, and your belongings require cleaning or…
The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant depends on which state the loss occurs in and the nature and language of the lease involved. There…
Join our team! MWL is a growing national subrogation and litigation firm with offices in Hartford, WI; New Orleans, LA; Santa Ana, CA; Austin, TX; and Jacksonville, FL. You can check out our current openings on Indeed here: Litigation Attorney…
Presented By: Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) MWL Speakers: Gary Wickert, Mark Solomon, Ashton Kirsch, and Elizabeth Hernandez This webinar explores the many avenues of potential recovery from catastrophic events when negligence exacerbates or increases the damages.…
A tragic, but all-too-frequent claims handling mistake in Oregon is the inadvertent waiver of a large workers’ compensation lien when the underlying claim is settled through a Claim Disposition Agreement (CDA). On an accepted workers’ compensation claim, the employee and…
Court-ordered restitution to be paid by a criminal to a subrogated insurance company has become a major source of revenue for carriers in the last couple of years. Restitution is the recovery from an economic loss suffered as the result…
Moore v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc., 995 F.3d 839 (11th Cir. 2021). The use of expert witnesses has become an integral and indispensable aspect of American litigation, and it is often the side with the best expert who wins the day.…
There are 12 states in America which have no-fault insurance laws: Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah. Florida’s status as a no-fault state was about to come to a ceremonial end…
There are over a dozen people dead and 147 others remain unaccounted for. It is a human tragedy of unspeakable proportion and our prayers go out to all the families whose lives have been shattered by this tragic event. In…
Successful Subrogation of Small Auto Claims Auto insurance subrogation is a game of numbers. How much was paid on the claim? How much can be recovered? How much will it cost to recover it? How much of the insured’s deductible…
A new ruling from the Florida Supreme Court may shed some light into ability of a workers’ compensation carrier to seek reimbursement from an employee’s legal malpractice claim against his or her personal injury attorney. In a case that had…
When one insurance company subrogates against another insurance company and both are members of intercompany arbitration, arbitration is mandatory. It is the type of damages sought that determines whether arbitration is compulsory, not the type of coverage afforded by the…
Understanding the nuances of the somewhat complicated and confusing subrogation law in California is instrumental in formulating the right decision when it comes to protecting your workers’ compensation subrogation interests. California workers’ compensation subrogation requires both an in-depth knowledge of…
In the 2003 Miramax comedy Duplex, Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore are Brooklyn landlords to a pesky, rent‑controlled tenant named Mrs. Connelly, played by Eileen Essell. Efforts to get rid of Connelly fail and the tenant’s careless actions cause a…
Employers Fight Losing Battle Against Tortfeasors Who Cause Premium Increases Workers’ compensation insurance premiums seem to know only one direction – up. On average, premiums rise approximately 5% annually; more, if an insured has experienced significant losses. For many corporate…
Katherine A. Sandoval will be presenting a MWL webinar on Advanced Concepts of California Workers’ Compensation Subrogation on May 11, 2021 from 11:00 to 12:00 p.m. (CDT). There are very few areas in which the law of each individual state vary…
Understanding the Difference Between Total Loss and Salvage Vehicles Nowhere is the difference between “knowing” something and “understanding” something more evident than when it comes to the relationship between “totaling a vehicle” for insurance purposes and the concept of salvage…
With exceptions not relevant here, the omnibus statute, Wis. Stat. § 632.32, requires every motor vehicle insurance policy issued to an owner to provide that: (a) Coverage provided to the named insured applies in the same manner and under the same…
You might ask what Vice-President Kamala Harris was best known for prior to becoming the first female vice-president in U.S. history. One piece of notoriety was, as Attorney General of the State of California, she oversaw the prosecution of Wells…
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…
Health insurance subrogation involves much more than simply making demands on negligent tortfeasors. Coordination of Benefits (COB) is a subset of health Plan subrogation. It primarily concerns itself with situations where two different health Plans, or a health Plan and…
Ancient mythology and the modern practice of subrogation would seem to be strange bedfellows. Yet one story from the past has particular relevance when it comes to the never-ending toil required for aggressive and successful insurance subrogation. Sisyphus was the…
“Is the Juice Worth The (Florida Orange) Squeeze?” Carriers and adjusters are all too familiar with the “Judgment Proof Uninsured At-Fault Motorist.” Unless your insured happened to be driving in the Tampa area and was t-boned by Tom Brady, the…
Katherine A. Sandoval will be presenting a MWL webinar on Introduction to California Workers’ Compensation Subrogation on April 14, 2021 from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. (CDT). There are very few areas in which the law of each individual state vary…
Successful subrogation against power companies is not a given. In determining whether the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) may be sued for its clear negligence in failing to properly winterize power production facilities and the power grid that it…
Although I am a native Texan, I grew up in Wisconsin. Therefore, I am no stranger to cold weather or the devastating effects it can have on people and property. When I moved back to Texas two years ago to…
Injury and workers’ compensation cases involving slips and falls on snow and ice during winter in America’s northern states, and southern states this year, continue to be a perplexing subrogation puzzle for insurance claims and subrogation professionals. During the winter…
There is a pandemic afoot that may rival COVID-19 in the amount of destruction it leaves in its wake. Nearly one U.S. driver in eight is speeding around on American roads and highways without any liability insurance. Even though every…
Ashton Kirsch will be presenting a complimentary one-hour live webinar on Subrogating Data Breaches, Cyber Attacks, and Other Tech Losses on February 10, 2021 at 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (Central). This webinar will cover the basics of subrogating data breaches,…
Workers’ compensation subrogation in Alabama isn’t as clear as it might otherwise appear—especially when an employee dies. Alabama’s Survival Statute, § 6-5-462, did not change the common law rule that a cause of action in tort does not survive in…
The Delaware Supreme Court recently affirmed a ruling which constitutes a potentially very dangerous and confusing opinion. Some might read the decision in ACW Corporation v. Maxwell, 2020 WL 678778 (Del. 2020) as a major departure from both the Delaware…
An obscure and unpublished circuit court order from Buckingham County, Virginia, is being circulated by trial lawyers across the Old Dominion State for the proposition that a workers’ comp carrier is not entitled to subrogation for or reimbursement of any…
Nothing in life is free. The common saying is especially true for medical services. Most states provide hospitals with unique statutory ways of ensuring that they are reimbursed for the services they provide—especially in the case of patients without health…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer would like to thank our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we hope…
“Mr. Sherlock Holmes – You could not possibly have come at a better time!” the claims adjuster exclaimed. “This vehicle accident is a typical ‘he said, she said’ situation. Both drivers claim to have had the green light and there…
During the brutal winter of 1620-21, Miles Standish, the English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony and one of the Mayflower passengers, played a leading role in the administration and defense of the colony.…
The bane of any subrogation professional’s existence is the dreaded release. It is no coincidence that when Zeus uttered the words, “Release the Kraken!” in the 1981 fantasy adventure film The Clash of the Titans, he chose the word “Release.”…
In the continuing struggle between recovery of medical expenses billed vs. recovery of discounted medical expenses paid by insurers, an Arizona federal court has sounded off on the duty and obligation of a Med Pay carrier with respect to paying…
Congress enacted the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) to provide workers’ compensation to specified employees of private maritime employers. 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950. The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs administers this Act, just as it does the Federal…
Subrogation professionals must be aware that Florida’s collateral source statute contains a trap for the unwary. Under F.S.A. § 768.76 (6), if a provider of collateral source benefits (e.g., Med Pay or health insurance benefits) does not respond to the…
Let’s just say it. Florida PIP subrogation is a pain in the butt. The state was almost out of the weeds in 2007 when its no-fault laws automatically sunsetted; but the legislature passed a new no-fault law which took effect…
Florida property subrogation is big business. It has the third-most automobiles on the road, behind California and Texas. It has the most condominium units of any state—by a country mile. According to the Insurance Information Institute, it is second only…
In 2014, Florida surpassed New York becoming the third-most-populous state in the nation, and as of last year has an annual $1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) making it the 17th largest economy in the world. What happens in the…
Jacksonville, Florida Office Opens October 12, 2020. MWL is proud to announce the opening of its new Jacksonville, Florida subrogation law office. For years, MWL has represented workers’ comp carriers, auto carriers, self-insured companies, third-party adjusting companies, and subrogation vendors…
Spoliation has become a growing problem in the world of insurance subrogation. Far too often, claims representatives or subrogation professionals fail to secure defective products or other evidence important to a future subrogation claim. In far too many cases, the…
A storm is rising, and it is not the type which causes damage to homes and vehicles. It causes damage of a much more insidious nature. Following a storm or other natural disaster, canvassers hired by the “hail cartel”—lawyers or…
When it comes to the apparent evils of workers’ compensation subrogation, the state of Arkansas truly believes that all an injured employee ever wants is a fair advantage. In Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Youngblood, 2020 WL 5542443 (Ark. App.…
The vagaries and complexity of nationwide subrogation have, for many lawyers and insurance professionals, made keeping current with changing subrogation law in all fifty states an arduous and laborious task. It is the goal of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.…
Workers’ compensation subrogation has another growing adversary—one that can slip in during the cover of night, gutting subrogation, and reimbursement rights, even after an insurance company or third-party administrator has spent thousands of dollars in recovery efforts. It is known…
The quid pro quo premise underlying the social compromise known as workers’ compensation is simple: an employee injured at work receives no-fault medical expenses and wage replacement indemnity benefits and, in exchange, the employer is given protection from employee lawsuits…
Kansas Decision Introduces Concept of “Statutory Deficit”. The Kansas Court of Appeals is holding class on why it is important to have subrogation counsel in workers’ compensation subrogation third-party cases – even in states which are favorable to carriers. In…
New York’s anti-subrogation rule (“ASR”) is found in common law and is not statutorily based. The anti-subrogation rule is a common-law doctrine crafted by the New York Court of Appeals “both to prevent the insurer from passing the incidence of…
Good first-party claims practice requires prompt repair of damaged vehicles. Obviously, the time it takes to repair a damaged vehicle depends on the complexity of the claim, the nature and extent of the damages, and the availability of quality replacement…
In its widest sense, “no-fault insurance” is a term used to describe any auto insurance coverage under which policyholders are paid for personal injuries and property damage they sustain in accidents through their own insurance company, regardless of fault. In…
Attorneys Stephen Smith and Jacob Simon will be presenting a complimentary one-hour live webinar on A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma: Changes to Michigan’s No-Fault Scheme on July 28, 2020 at 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Central). The Michigan Legislature…
City of Asbury Park v. Star Insurance Company, 2020 WL 3493526 (N.J. 2020). Large deductible workers’ compensation programs and policies with large self-insured retentions (SIR) were first introduced to the American insurance industry in the late 1980s with limited deductible…
New Jersey Transit Corp. v. Sanchez, 2020 WL 2374054 (N.J. 2020). On May 12, 2020, the New Jersey Supreme Court answered a long-standing subrogation question regarding whether a workers’ compensation carrier is entitled to subrogation and/or reimbursement from a third-party…
When a person applies for college, there is a possibility of receiving one of three letters: admitted, wait-listed, or rejected. It is nice to know either way if you are accepted, but what about “wait-listed”? You are not yet accepted,…
The federal government is everywhere. It employs nearly 9.1 million workers, which is nearly 6% of total U.S. workforce. This includes nearly 2.1 million federal employees, 4.1 million contract employees, 1.2 million grant employees, 1.3 million active duty military personnel,…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that on June 1, 2020, Ashton Kirsch will be made a partner of the firm. Ashton has been with MWL since 2015, concentrating his practice on large loss casualty, commercial…
Viruses and the diseases they cause often have different names. The current global pandemic which has stricken much of the planet is no exception. Although most commonly referred to as COVID-19 (technically the illness caused by the virus), this pandemic…
Workers’ compensation carriers and liability insurers have been in a state of high anxiety regarding the inevitable insurance claims which will result from employees contracting COVID-19 once businesses begin to reopen and employees all return to life as usual. At…
Litigation is rarely cheap, but it is often necessary. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of insurance subrogation, where those who resist paying subrogation claims assume that insurance companies are loath to pull the trigger and file suit…
Given the financial impact of COVID-19 on the country and world, both federal and local governments have scrambled to impose new protections for consumers. Federal protections have been put in place to prevent the collection of both principal and interest…
Attorney James Busenlener will be presenting a live one-hour webinar on Government Done Me Wrong: Tort Claims Against Local, State and Federal Authority on May 13, 2020 @ 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (CDT). Put down those pitchforks, because there are…
Insurance companies are no dummies. The world’s largest insurance companies learned important lessons following previous worldwide health crises. Since the 2003 SARS pandemic, they have tightened up their policies and carefully crafted policy language excluding communicable diseases. They have anticipated…
There is an ongoing debate in the insurance field over whether a liability insurer has a duty to reveal its policy limits to a third-party claimant even before a lawsuit is filed. One approach—supported by the trial lawyers—presupposes that knowledge…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome seasoned trial lawyer Sarah “Sally” Fry Bruch to the firm as a senior litigating associate. Sally brings with her a wealth of insurance and general litigation experience to MWL’s Hartford,…
As millions sit at home and are able to continue working somewhat effectively thanks to the Internet, email, VPN’s, and other miracles of internet and computer science, many of us still recall the “good ole’ days” of conducting business with…
The Michigan Legislature passed no-fault auto insurance laws in 1973 and like a T-Rex guarding its bone, has been holding on to this dysfunctional approach to auto insurance ever since. Instead of running away completely from the problem and joining…
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…
Automobile rentals is a $29 billion industry and constitutes a significant portion of the transport sector in America. In 2018, there were 2,212,925 rental vehicles on U.S roads. There are six million auto accidents in the U.S. every year, and…
Negotiations skills are a subrogation adjuster or attorney’s best friend and the most essential skill that can be developed for maximizing the profitability and recovery potential of your claims. Less than 1% of all subrogation claims end up in litigation.…
A storm is rising, and it isn’t the type which causes damage to homes and vehicles. It causes damage of a much more insidious nature. Following a storm or other natural disaster, canvassers hired by the “hail cartel”—lawyers or opportunistic…
The chances of contracting the Coronavirus (also called “COVID-19”) are slim, but the number of those infected is increasing daily. It is only a matter of time before a worker contracts COVID-19 through their place of employment (i.e., a doctor,…
Many subrogation professionals will find themselves working from home in the near future. While much can be accomplished from a computer keyboard, there are certain activities essential to investigating and litigating subrogation files which are going to mandate a creative…
When employees work remotely from home or other locations, the normal rules of course and scope can become complicated and confusing. The same is true of subrogation potential. When the employee is injured in their home, subrogation targets tend to…
The world-wide spread of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) presents us all with rather interesting questions about the power and role of federal and state government. COVID-19 is the illness caused by a virus strain that began spreading in people in December…
As we continue to closely monitor developments around the spread of COVID-19, the health and safety of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer (MWL) employees around the country and our ability to ensure seamless continuity of subrogation excellence to our clients are…
Attorney Richard Schuster will be presenting a live one-hour webinar on “Dehumidifier Claims: Recent Developments, War Stories, and Evaluating Your Subrogation Results” on March 19, 2020 @10:00 a.m. (CDT). Spring is coming, which means so are the dehumidifier claims. Dehumidifier…
One of life’s simple pleasures is taking a lesson from nature and applying it to the complex and variegated professional world in which we spend so much of our lives. For subrogation professionals, one subtle, but important, such lesson is…
When and whether a vehicle involved in a collision is considered “totaled” for first-party insurance purposes is an issue of great angst and confusion for most consumers. We hear horror stories of older but functioning vehicles being “totaled” simply due…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. feels it is an honor and a privilege to represent all of its subrogation clients. However, mutual insurance companies hold a special place in our hearts because of their long and distinguished heritage in the…
On January 24, 2020, a massive explosion ripped through the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing facility in northwest Houston. The blast damaged 450 structures in the area surrounding the facility. MWL’s Texas office heard the news a few hours after the…
Martins v. Vermont Mutual Ins. Co., 2019 WL 3818293 (D. Mass. 2019) A federal district court in Massachusetts has ruled that Massachusetts tort law does not provide for recovery of “inherent diminution in value” damages by a third-party claimant. The…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Zahra Aziz has joined our insurance litigation team as a senior associate attorney in our California branch office. Zahra’s litigation experience adds to a wealth of experience at MWL’s…
Montana remains one of the toughest states to subrogate in because it has a very strict made whole policy. It is the rule in Montana that an insured must be totally reimbursed for all losses as well as costs, including…
There are 22 million vehicles registered in Texas. There are also 13 million head of cattle, the most in the country and over twice the number of the state with the second-most—Nebraska.[1] Cattle and cars intersect more often than insurance…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to thank our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we…
Let’s just say it. Florida PIP subrogation is a pain in the butt. The state was almost out of the weeds in 2007 when its no-fault laws automatically sunsetted; but the legislature passed a new no-fault law which took effect…
Raymond v. Idaho State Police, 451 P.3d 17 (Idaho 2019). “Spoliation” of evidence occurs when someone with an obligation to preserve evidence with regard to a legal claim neglects to do so or intentionally fails to do so. Such a…
For the 7th year, MWL’s Hartford office donated toys to the Gingerbread House and Youth and Family Project Toy Drive, which benefits children of need in Washington and Waukesha counties. We believe every child should share in the magic of…
Maryland Court Confuses Wisconsin Exclusive Remedy Rule For years now, lawyers, judges, and even courts in other states have been confused over the Exclusive Remedy Rule that exists here in Wisconsin. A clear example is the 1994 decision by the…
We are frequently asked by clients to file suit in a case where the statute of limitations expires in a matter of a day—even hours. In some cases, we are asked to file in order to toll an impending statute…
During the brutal winter of 1620-21, Miles Standish, the English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony and one of the Mayflower passengers, played a leading role in the administration and defense of the colony.…
On March 23, 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law Senate Bill 411 which made PIP and UM/UIM subrogation much more intimidating, but perhaps only slightly more difficult. The new bill amended several Oregon statutes, doubled the PIP medical…
Joella v. Cole, 2019 WL 5287987 (Pa. Super. 2019). The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant depends on which state the loss occurs in and…
The 2019 National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) Annual Conference will be held October 27 – 30 in Washington, D.C. Its lineup of speakers and topics is very good, as usual. MWL will have many experienced subrogation lawyers there who…
James v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 929 N.W.2d 541 (S.D. 2019). The origins of auto insurance can be traced all the way back to the ancient Chinese when investors took out insurance policies on cargo ships crossing the…
For years, Alaska remained one of the last holdout states which had not provided any caselaw decisions to declare whether and what evidence of medical bill charges or payments could be introduced by the parties in a personal injury suit.…
Bayham v. State of Louisiana, Through the Office of Group Benefits, 2019 WL 4073410 (La. App. 2019). In a line from the History Channel’s television series Vikings, Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok looks down at the village of Kattegat with his son…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome attorney Catherine Dowie to the firm as a litigation associate in our Wisconsin office. Catherine is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Vermont and her practice focuses on national…
The ink was barely dry on Florida Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in DeLisle v. Crane Co., 2018 WL 5075302 (Fla., Oct. 15, 2018). That decision declared Florida’s § 90.702 — which adopted the Daubert standard for the admission of expert…
It’s Like Taking Candy from a Very, Very Particular Baby Congress enacted the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) to provide workers’ compensation to specified employees of private maritime employers. 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950. The Office of Workers’ Compensation…
Standard homeowner policies pay personal property claims at actual cash value (ACV), which is the replacement cost (RC) of the damaged property based on its current used condition. In other words, it is valued at what it would cost to…
Understanding Hospital Liens in All 50 States The advent, development, and implementation of hospital and health care provider lien laws in the U.S. is a subject which has permeated civil litigation and personal injury law. Simply put, a hospital or…
Subrogation Rights Can Be Lost Before They Are Pursued. New Jersey common law employs an equitable doctrine known as the “Entire Controversy Doctrine” (ECD), which can be a trap for the unwary and used as a secret weapon to destroy…
Most state workers’ compensation laws, or cases construing them, allow the employer and its carrier to waive its right to subrogate against a third party that caused or contributed to an employee’s injury. The purpose of a subrogation waiver is…
The Spanish philosopher George Santayana once said that, “Chaos is the name we give order which produces confusion in our minds.” With that definition in mind, the July 3, 2019 Washington Supreme Court decision of Daniels v. State Farm Mut.…
Amazon.com is the world’s largest online retail marketplace. In the subrogation world, it’s common knowledge that, in states that allow strict liability claims against entities in the supply chain, Amazon attempts to preclude any liability by arguing that it is…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is very proud to announce that Jake Simon has joined our insurance litigation team as a litigating subrogation associate in our Hartford, Wisconsin office. Jake is a Badger and received his undergraduate degree at…
ACW Corporation v. Maxwell, 2019 WL 3024049 (Del. Super. 2019) In what seems like a never-ending assault on an employer’s/carrier’s statutory right of subrogation and reimbursement, a Delaware Superior Court—the state trial court of general jurisdiction which also serves as…
Carriers Are Only as Secure as Their Weakest Link What do you really know about the strengths and weakness of the cybersecurity measures taken by the subrogation counsel and recovery vendors you engage to assist with subrogation recoveries? This past…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome seasoned trial attorney Mark A. Solomon to the firm as a partner. Mark brings with him a wealth of litigation and insurance claims experience to MWL’s Austin, Texas office. After…
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, rehabilitation benefits,…
Frederking v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 929 F.3d 195 (5th Cir. 2019). Carlos Sanchez got drunk and crashed into Richard Frederking while driving his employer’s vehicle insured by Cincinnati Insurance Company. Seriously injured, Frederking sued Sanchez in Texas state court and…
On Tuesday, April 9th, the Minnesota legislature passed new hands-free legislation requiring drivers to have their cell phones in hands-free mode while their vehicle is moving. The law, signed by Gov. Tim Walz, goes into effect on August 1, 2019.…
There is an ongoing and heated national debate over the growing practice of law enforcement using red light traffic cameras. More than 500 cities and other municipalities across the country have installed some form of red light camera systems to…
On June 14, 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court issued a landmark decision that changes the landscape of personal injury and workers’ compensation third-party cases. In Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., 2019 WL 2479464 (Kan. 2019), the Court declared K.S.A. § 60-19a02…
“Show me the money.” – Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire. This year is the 20th anniversary of the 1996 romantic comedy Jerry Maguire. Its director, Cameron Crowe, just published the entire 5,000-word mission statement he wrote for his crisis-hit sports…
On May 9, 2019, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued an important opinion restricting application of the Collateral Source Rule in personal injury lawsuits. This case will impact workers’ compensation subrogation recoveries in Louisiana by reducing the overall pool of recovery…
Ridesharing has officially arrived in New York, and confusion over New York no-fault insurance and PIP Loss Transfer arrived with it. On June 29, 2017, the New York State Assembly approved, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed, the state’s $153 billion…
Insurance claim files are overflowing with losses involving individuals injured when they trip and fall over cracked, broken, or uneven municipal sidewalks. In many cases involving sidewalk defects, the injury is a direct result of a municipality failing to institute…
Stephen Smith will present a live MWL webinar on “Iowa Workers’ Compensation Subrogation: Simple Steps To Avoid Subrogation Traps” on June 12, 2019 at 10:00-11:00 a.m. (CDT). Iowa’s workers’ comp statute is perhaps one of the most complicated in the…
Every year, more than 170 billion cell phone texts are sent and received. Each year, an average of 3,000 people die and 450,000 are injured in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers. Ten percent of all drivers who are 15…
Judge Refers to MWL Chart in Decision A New Jersey Superior Court judge recently issued a written ruling, holding that, as a matter of first impression, it was inappropriate for a lawyer to question his client during trial as to…
Texas has more roads than any other state in the country. It has over 15 million licensed drivers on the road and its residents own and operate more than 8 million automobiles—twice as many as New York or Illinois and…
Texas has historically been a very favorable venue for workers’ compensation subrogation, but it has not been without its gray areas. In death cases, when an employee dies and surviving family members have received workers’ compensation benefits, a careful analysis…
Texas is at the forefront of enacting laws which limit or bar indemnification clauses of contracts in industries in which the Texas legislature perceive one contracting party has an unfair advantage over the other. Texas currently has anti-indemnity statutes for…
Subrogation potential often crashes and burns in the face of exculpatory agreements and liability waivers. As a result, understanding and invalidating such waivers has become an indispensable aspect of the subrogation industry. On April 12, 2019, Lee Wickert with MWL’s…
New Austin Office Opens May 1 Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is proud to announce the opening of its new Austin, Texas branch office. The office will be overseen by Gary Wickert, Jim Busenlener, and Lee Wickert. All three…
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…
As a native Texan, I have an interest in Texas history. The history of workers’ compensation subrogation in Texas is as storied as the history of the state itself. The Lone Star State flew the flag of the Kingdom of…
We are pleased to announce that this month our New Orleans branch office celebrated its five year anniversary with our firm. The Louisiana office is overseen by MWL partner, Jim Busenlener. Jim is a 1993 graduate of Tulane University in…
The English language is a fascinating subject with a history as rich as it is confusing. It is spoken by nearly 1 billion people worldwide, making it the second most-spoken language, with only Mandarin (1.2 billion) surpassing it. It is…
A recent Pennsylvania federal court decision reminds us all that when settling third-party cases that involve workers’ compensation subrogation interests, it is vitally important to understand all of the steps which are necessary to fully document and enforce any settlement…
One year ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals announced that A.R.S. § 23-1023 was not a statute of limitations under Arizona law, with regard to the requirement that an employee must file a third-party action within the first year after…
Another state has been heard from. The growing outcry for direction over whether case management fees can be recovered by a subrogated workers’ compensation carrier has in many respects been as daunting and elusive as the search for the Holy…
On January 26, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court refused to review the July 14, 2016 decision by the Texas Court of Appeals in Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania v. Roberts, 506 S.W.3d 498 (Tex. App. 2016), review granted…
In Indiana, a subrogated carrier may be able to sue the attorney on behalf of its insured when the attorney settles a third-party tort claim without reimbursing the subrogated carrier. In Holland v. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, 110 N.E.3d 369…
Subrogation professionals are often required to deal with a variety of insurance companies, including those admitted or licensed to transact business in a particular state and those which are not. Understanding the difference can assist the claims handler and subrogation…
It remains one of the most difficult issues to deal within the world of property insurance. Homeowners’ insurance policies usually contain a provision obligating the carrier to repair or replace an insured’s damaged property with “material of like kind and…
A long-standing political tug-of-war over whether a workers’ compensation carrier can initiate a third-party subrogation lawsuit and protect its subrogation rights under § 319 has ended with a disappointing Supreme Court decision. On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court…
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has confirmed how a third-party tort recovery is to be apportioned procedurally when the employer is found to be comparatively at fault. The confusing state of affairs in Minnesota has undergone some changes in recent…
Trucking insurers issuing motor carrier policies that contain MCS-90 Endorsements may be overlooking significant subrogation and recovery opportunities. MCS-90 subrogation is an under-utilized means of recovery that can significantly increase an insurance carrier’s bottom line. Understanding the history behind and…
When a negligent driver causes damage to another vehicle in an accident, most states allow the owner of the damaged vehicle to recover damages in tort for the reasonable cost of repairing or replacing the vehicle along with the monetary…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Mingmei Zhu has joined our insurance litigation team as an associate attorney in our Wisconsin office. Mingmei is licensed to practice in California. She is from Changsha, China, a…
On December 28, 2018, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued a decision which continues to leave property subrogation involving landlords and tenant very much up in the air and subject to a case-by-case evaluation. In the case of Youell v.…
On January 11, 2019, the Texas Court of Appeals issued an opinion which will have a profound effect on workers’ compensation subrogation in Texas. In New Hampshire Insurance Company v. Rodriguez, 2019 WL 168482 (Tex. App. 2019), the court announced…
It seems strange to suggest that one of history’s greatest military battles would have anything in common with modern insurance subrogation. In 490 B.C., the Athenian army defeated the invading Persian army in a battle in the plain of Marathon,…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to thank our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we…
Florida’s tug-of-war between its courts and its legislature regarding the appropriate standard for a judge to use to assess the admissibility of an expert’s opinion testimony has finally been settled. On October 14, 2018, the Florida Supreme Court announced that…
The Connecticut Supreme Court just made it easier for a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant whose negligence causes damage to the landlord’s building. For years, Connecticut had followed the so-called “Sutton Rule” which holds that tenants are…
The Illinois Supreme Court has somewhat clarified an injured employee’s rights to pursue a third-party case by intervening into a third-party subrogation suit filed by the workers’ compensation carrier, even after the personal injury Statute of Limitations (“SOL”) runs. In…
A recent New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division decision has ostensibly settled a long-standing subrogation question with regard to whether a worker’s compensation carrier is entitled to subrogation and/or reimbursement from a third-party tortfeasor who is covered by New Jersey…
On Friday, November 30th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Alaska, approximately 10 miles northeast of Anchorage. Thankfully, the damage appears to be limited mainly to property loss, and a lot of that can be attributed to Alaska’s stringent building codes…
A.O. Smith Corporation, a manufacturer of water heaters located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, recently announced a recall of more than 616,000 water heaters that are being blamed on causing numerous house fires. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPCS),…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Katherine Sandoval has joined our insurance litigation team as an associate attorney in our California office. Katherine’s litigation experience adds to a wealth of experience at MWL’s Orange office,…
Subrogation professionals are duty-bound to maximize a workers’ compensation subrogation recovery for a workers’ compensation carrier and its insured employer, who is eager to maintain a favorable experience rating. They dream about claims in which they demand 100% of a…
Fire-ravaged California is no stranger to the devastating loss of life and property at the hands of wildfires. This summer, a series of large wildfires erupted across California, mostly in the northern part of the state, including the destructive Carr…
Oh, that it wasn’t so, but today’s world of insurance claims adjusting, subrogation, and civil litigation rewards the ability of one party to take advantage of what the other party doesn’t know. A civil trial is known as an “adversary…
Just five days into 2018, computer giant HP was forced to recall 52,000 lithium-ion batteries. HP warned that the batteries could overheat and cause serious burns after receiving eight reports of batteries overheating, melting, or charring. HP offered to replace…
The MCS-90 Endorsement is an endorsement that is found in insurance policies issued to trucking companies operating interstate. This endorsement allows the trucking company to comply with certain government mandated public financial responsibility regulations. Specifically, the federal government mandates that…
Iowa seems like a very simple state for workers’ compensation subrogation. Subrogation rights are set forth in a single statute – I.C.A. § 85.22. It provides that either the employee or employer can file a third-party action. When the third-party…
Every year approximately 76,000 pedestrians suffer injuries when they are struck by a moving vehicle. Beginning in 2016, America experienced a significant increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities, and in 2017 alone, there were nearly 6,000 pedestrian deaths in…
Hector Salitrero, managing partner of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.’s California office, will present a NASP webinar on Overcoming Obstacles to Workers’ Compensation Recovery on October 9, 2018 at 1 p.m. (EST). This webinar will help you understand, and hopefully avoid, some of…
Everyone in Michigan is financially frustrated with the high price of automobile insurance. Recently, Detroit Mayor, Mike Duggan, along with eight other motorists filed a suit in U.S. District Court in an effort to expedite the elimination of Michigan’s no-fault…
One day last month our firm received three separate, unrelated subrogation claim files involving serious personal injury, property damage, and a death resulting from tractor-trailers whose drivers had swerved to avoid colliding with a deer on the highway. In two…
Where there’s smoke, there’s subrogation. At least it often works out that way. The adage is certainly true in the case of Gree dehumidifiers. If you have anything to do with property insurance, you have likely been exposed to multiple…
The necessity of utilizing expert witnesses in claims adjusting, recovery investigation, and subrogation litigation has risen exponentially over the last 20 years. When an expert is necessary, where experts can be located and selected, and how they can be cost-effectively…
Work Comp Third-Party Settlement Not Subject to Aitken Reduction In Arizona, a workers’ compensation carrier’s statutory lien under § 23–1023 is subject to being reduced if an employer is found to be negligent by a jury. In Aitken v. Indus.…
Setting the Record Straight We are just as guilty as everyone else. Words matter, and in our industry, they are our tools. Therefore, using the right words would seem to be a priority. Making them up isn’t. Our firm reviews…
Even non-standard auto insurers enjoy getting checks in the mail. The effective subrogation of Med Pay, PIP, UM/UIM, and collision claims by non-standard auto insurers means money coming into a segment of the insurance industry that historically has been much…
Almost everyone involved in handling property damage subrogation has faced a claim involving a failed water supply line that was sold or distributed by Interline Brands, Inc. These supply lines are often identified as “Everlotus” supply lines based on the…
We only hear half of what we listen to. Perhaps that is why most people instinctively use tautology when they write or speak. Tautology is the use of different words to say the same thing or repeating the same thing…
Most auto insurance policies require their insured to pay a deductible when a claim is made. If the auto carrier is successful in subrogating a particular loss against a third party and recovers its claim payments, the issue often becomes…
Subrogating Pele and the Goddess of Fire In the Hawaiian religion, Tūtū Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians believe Kilauea to be inhabited by a “family of fire gods”, one…
Georgia has joined fifteen other states which have outlawed the use of hand-held cellphones and mobile devices while driving. A new law signed by Governor Nathan Deal makes watching movies, shooting video, and even the mere “holding” of hand-held devices…
On April 3, 2018, the Wisconsin Legislature enacted 2017 Wis. Act 235 which substantially changes certain rules governing civil litigation in Wisconsin. Included in this Act are new rules regarding discovery practice and the Rules of Civil Procedure. It is…
On April 5, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the operative event which triggers a notice of claim requirement in an underinsured motorist (UIM) policy is the tender of the tortfeasor’s underlying policy limit and not the accident itself.…
Who covers what when an employee is involved in an accident while driving a personal vehicle for business purposes? It is a question as old as insurance itself. It should come as no surprise that the Holy Grail for trial…
A generation ago, subrogation professionals were almost unheard of. Over the years, however, as prudent businesses and insurance companies began to insist on their statutory and contractual rights of subrogation, the profession has grown. On February 8, 2018, the Texas…
A long-standing controversy in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation subrogation has been resolved—and resolved in a manner most unfriendly to Pennsylvania small businesses and the entire workers’ compensation industry. On June 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court hung their hat on a…
Aggressive subrogation practitioners always look for short cuts. Ours is an industry in which the “bottom line” means the difference between success and failure. If a workers’ compensation subrogation claim can be resolved quickly—even before the employee settles the third-party…
It is the universal trigger and a pet peeve of millions of drivers. You’re making good time traveling 75 MPH in the left lane of a freeway with a 70 MPH posted speed limit. You tap your brakes, turning off…
Society has gone from risk-averse to risk-intolerant. It is hard to participate in any activity without being asked to read and sign some sort of release, exculpatory agreement, or liability waiver in advance. A key tool of risk management is…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is growing. We would like to announce the joinder of three new attorneys to our firm – one in Wisconsin, one in New Orleans, and one in our Los Angeles office. Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer…
It is said that good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment. That pithy aphorism is generally true in life, but is particularly true when a company sees significantly increased workers’ compensation insurance premiums following a serious workers’ compensation claim.…
It’s going to be a banner year for trial lawyers and a tough year for auto insurers. More than 3,000 people are killed on U.S. roads every year in distracted driving crashes, and the use of cellphones while driving has…
Gary Wickert and Jim Busenlener will be providing a complimentary webinar on April 11, 2018 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (CDT). This webinar will provide a thorough and instructive look at the handling of longshore subrogation from first report to settlement…
Extinguishing Third-Party Liability as a Prerequisite to Contribution The absence of a simple sentence in a release signed by the claimant after settling a liability claim is costing liability carriers millions of dollars in contribution recoveries across the country. By…
Delays in Referring File to Subrogation Counsel Can Be Expensive. In July 2017, we published an article in the Claims Journal entitled “Ten Subrogation Mistakes Insurance Companies Keep Making.” A copy of the somewhat controversial article can be viewed HERE.…
It was the Wisconsin Legislature to the rescue. On January 6, 2018, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that a temporary employee on loan to a special employer appeared to have an option of either filing a workers’ compensation claim…
When multiple insurers provide coverage for a single loss or accident, things can get confusing. Coinsurance can arise as a result of conscious risk-sharing or accidentally when two policies have overlapping coverage. Litigation involving who pays what, when, and in…
There is little law in California regarding the subrogation/reimbursement and/or future credit rights of an employer or workers’ compensation carrier when an employee makes a third-party recovery because of legal malpractice in the handling of the employee’s attorney. This is surprising,…
Ridesharing has officially arrived in New York, and confusion over New York no-fault insurance and PIP Loss Transfer has arrived with it. On June 29, 2017, the New York State Assembly approved, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed, the state’s $153…
E-cigarettes are advertised and sold as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. They literally burst onto the scene back in 2007 and are now a $7 billion global industry made up of roughly 500 brands. Some of the most popular brands…
Most people remember from grade-school science class that water expands as it freezes. There is also a common misconception that this expanding ice physically causes a pipe to rupture. However, this expanding ice is often only one part of the equation, in…
It seems that in Wisconsin, the Exclusive Remedy Rule, which prevents an employee from suing his employer in tort, isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. On January 6, 2018, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that a temporary…
On January 26, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court refused to review the July 14, 2016 decision by the Texas Court of Appeals in Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania v. Roberts, 506 S.W.3d 498 (Tex. App. 2016), review denied…
The vagaries and complexity of nationwide subrogation have, for many lawyers and insurance professionals, made keeping current with changing subrogation law in all 50 states an arduous and laborious task — the subrogation equivalent of Sisyphus rolling the stone up…
The Amtrak Cascades 501 departed Seattle on its inaugural voyage on the morning of December 18, 2017. Just after 7:30 a.m., the train derailed at high speed in DuPont, Washington, causing three fatalities, dozens of injuries, and widespread destruction. Government reports…
Recovery of Medical Expenses in Personal Injury Actions Generally To recover damages for past medical expenses in a personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff must present evidence and prove that the medical expenses incurred were both “reasonable” and “necessary.” For more than…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to thank all our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to…
On December 11, 2017, the New Jersey Supreme Court handed injured employees and struggling small businesses in New Jersey a huge victory. In Vitale v. Schering-Plough Corp., A-20-16; 078294 (N.J. December 11, 2017), the Court of Appeals affirmed a trial…
The law of physics known as the “Uncertainty Principle” states that the position and velocity of an object cannot be measured exactly, at the same time, even in theory. The reason for this is that any attempt to measure precisely…
As the weather starts to turn colder (at least here in the Northern states), our thoughts turn to the holidays and all the joys of the season. Again, not to be a Grinch this season (see my previous article entitled “Subrogating Christmas”…
A Philadelphia jury handed down a roughly $28 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG on Tuesday, December 5, giving hope to tens of thousands of Xarelto plaintiffs after a series of defense verdicts in the federal multidistrict litigation…
After considering a motion brought by the plaintiffs in 46 actions pending in nine federal districts across the country, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) entered an order on Tuesday, transferring those actions to the Northern District of Ohio for…
Insurers Seek Reimbursement for the High Cost of Opioid Addictions Big Pharma is having a Big Tobacco moment. Since 1999, the number of prescription opioids sold in America has almost quadrupled. Over the same period, prescription opioid deaths have more than…
A car slams into a number of other vehicles stopped at a red light, only to quickly flee the scene. This fact scenario almost always involves operating under the influence or a stolen vehicle. In the case of a stolen vehicle, rarely is…
Changing Times Require Changing Tactics. One of the most recognized legal symbols of American justice is Lady Justice, the blindfolded woman carrying a sword and a set of scales. She symbolizes the fair and equitable administration of justice, without corruption, greed, prejudice, or…
Kidde has recalled two styles of fire extinguishers, including 142 different models of fire extinguishers that were manufactured as far back as 1973. The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate…
As a subrogation professional, often times one of the hardest aspects of the career to understand is that you have to put on your plaintiff’s “hat” in order to prove your case and make a recovery. This involves gathering facts and…
As you may know, Gary Wickert recently appeared on a national radio program, hosted by Larry Cohen. The program, which was produced by Ringler Radio and entitled “Driverless Car Litigation”, focused on the ever-changing intersection between the exploding industry of self-driving…
Your insured’s eighteen-wheeler is struck head-on by another vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, resulting in significant medical expenses to your insured driver and a passenger, as well as considerable property damage to your insured’s vehicle. The tortfeasor died…
Beginning July 1, 2018, Maryland auto insurers issuing new policies will be required to offer enhanced underinsured motorist (“EUIM”) coverage in place of the uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage required under § 19-509. Md. Code Ins. § 19-501.1(d). Unlike UM coverage, EUIM…
There is seemingly no end to the attacks on a workers’ compensation carrier’s rights of subrogation and reimbursement when a third-party is liable for a work-related injury. In New Jersey, however, the Supreme Court will soon be deciding whether even the…
On September 26, 2017, a truck spilled thousands of roofing nails on Interstate 10 in Metairie, Louisiana (a suburb of New Orleans). Hundreds of vehicles rolled over the nails and sustained punctured tires, resulting in replacement of tires that may…
According to a 1999 study commissioned by the Alliance of American Insurers (AAI), if you were to build a $25,000 vehicle using only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts, it would cost you over $100,000. When repairing vehicles damaged in accidents,…
Mandatory Arbitration of Auto Physical Damage Claims Now a Thing Of The Past The game of musical chairs regarding the Illinois law that requires mandatory arbitration of auto physical damage subrogation claims is finally over. The music has stopped and…
Almost any time money changes hands in America, there are tax issues. The Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) is over 2,600 pages long, and contains fives times as many words as the Bible. The federal tax rules and resources within the CCH…
The Iowa legislature has finally acted on the call by Iowa business groups to overhaul Iowa’s workers’ compensation system. For years, they have claimed that the state’s system has tilted unfairly toward injured workers and significantly raised employers’ costs. Many…
In May 2016, we published an article listing the ten best and the ten worst states for subrogating workers’ compensation. Arizona was near the top because it didn’t allow reduction of the carrier’s lien for attorneys’ fees and provided for…
Subrogation professionals must become familiar with an increasingly used defense in the litigation of auto insurance subrogation cases. Even if the insured is totally free from fault in the operation of the insured’s auto, not wearing a seat belt could…
As if the tragedy and destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston and Gulf Coast region wasn’t bad enough, a few opportunistic trial lawyers and public adjusters have taken to social media urging Houston homeowners to file their insurance…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Isaiah Richie has joined our insurance litigation team as an associate attorney in our Wisconsin office. Isaiah is licensed to practice in Colorado and Wisconsin. Formerly a clerk at…
As you may know, Gary Wickert recently appeared on a national Ringler Radio program, hosted by Larry Cohen. The program, titled “Driverless Car Litigation”, focused on the ever-changing intersection between the exploding industry of self-driving vehicles and litigation. The latest…
Recently, Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) successfully argued an appeal regarding a firefighter’s claims of defamation. The dispute stemmed from a local television broadcast in which a reporter discussed the disabled status of local firefighter. The firefighter had injured…
Every year, property insurers write checks totaling nearly $15 billion in response to fire losses, large and small. Fire claims average nearly $50,000 and are the most expensive type of claim filed, followed by hail claims at $11,000. Claims professionals…
It seems that there are no lengths parties won’t go to in order to destroy what they perceive as the evil known as “subrogation.” Workers’ compensation subrogation professionals in Pennsylvania are familiar with the saga of the Domtar case, which…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) proudly announces the opening of its new branch office in California. The office is located at 500 N. State College Blvd, Suite 1100, Orange, California 92868, with convenient access to state and federal courts…
Recently, in Kaitlin Woods Condominium Ass’n v. Kaitlin Woods, LLC, et al., 2017 WL 3234370 (Wis. 2017), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld a “synthetic stucco” (also known as Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS)) exclusion in a commercial general…
Subrogation is the legal doctrine which allows one party, usually an insurance company, that pays a loss by its insured which was caused by a third party, to take over the rights of its insured against the third party and…
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes,” Oscar Wilde famously said. Having represented the subrogation interests of insurance companies and self-insured companies around the world for the past 33 years, I’ve seen enough bad subrogation decisions to create…
Plaintiff-friendly judges and legislators in various states have gained strength and influence over the last twenty years, resulting in statutes and court decisions inimical to the subrogation and reimbursement rights of workers’ compensation carriers. North Dakota is fighting back. On…
Some states, including Missouri, are known as “anti-subrogation” states. Missouri’s public policy prohibits the assignment of a personal injury claim, whether it is called an assignment, subrogation interest, or agreement to reimburse. Hays v. Missouri Highways and Transp. Comm’n, 62…
A recent 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision interpreted New York’s General Obligations Law § 5-335, which provides that personal injury settlements “shall be conclusively presumed” not to include “any compensation for the cost of health care services, loss of…
Nebraska has recently become a battleground in the war against workers’ compensation subrogation being waged by trial lawyers. Nebraska is a “tweener” when it comes to workers’ compensation subrogation. It doesn’t provide a carrier with a first money right to…
Gary Wickert recently appeared on a national Ringler Radio program, hosted by Larry Cohen. The program, titled “Driverless Car Litigation”, focused on the ever-changing intersection between the exploding industry of self-driving vehicles and litigation. The latest innovations in driverless cars…
On May 2, 2017, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals outlined why an insurance carrier that fails to defend an insured without first seeking a judicial determination of no coverage does so at its own peril. See Country World Media Group,…
Words matter. On May 22, 2017, the Ohio Court of Appeals paid attention to the specific wording in the Workers’ Compensation Act and ignored the traditional definition given to the term “third party” in workers’ compensation subrogation settings. In McKinney…
In a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has finally weighed in on the issue of FEHBA subrogation and federal preemption of state laws in Coventry Health Care of Missouri, Inc. v. Nevils, 137 S.Ct. 1190 (April 18, 2017)…
Words matter. Our firm reviews as many as two to three dozen new claim files/catastrophic injury cases every day. We review these files for many reasons, but primarily to determine if the loss/injury was the result of negligence on the…
In Nevada, when a workers’ compensation carrier is subrogated to the rights of the worker under § 616C.215, the carrier has a lien on the “total proceeds” of any third-party recovery. N.R.S. § 616C.215(5). This is true whether the recovery is…
Around the world, robots are increasingly being used to perform menial and complex labor tasks in the home and in the workplace. Robots are used in restaurant kitchens to make sushi and chop vegetables. They are also important earlier in…
Effective auto property subrogation may seem simple, but it often requires a thorough understanding of some of the more confusing legal terms known to American civil jurisprudence. When the owner of a vehicle entrusts his or her vehicle to a…
MWL participated in the American Lung Association’s 2017 Fight For Air Climb Law Firm Challenge on March 18, 2017. The teams had to climb 47 floors of the U.S. Bank Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which entailed 94 flights of stairs, totaling 1,034 steps. This…
A long-standing controversy has been resolved and a major anti-subrogation obstacle in Pennsylvania has been overcome. The proverbial light bulb has gone on in the Quaker State. The ongoing debate in Pennsylvania over whether a workers’ compensation carrier can initiate…
Serrano v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Ametek, Inc.), 2017 WL 563317 (Pa. Comm. 2017). On March 6, 2006, a container of metal powders, with which Serrano was working, exploded, severely burning him. Serrano sued Aramark Uniform and Career Apparel, Inc.…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Caleb Katz has become an associate of the firm after a couple years serving as a paralegal and law clerk. Caleb will continue to practice insurance litigation and subrogation…
The use of expert witnesses has become an integral and indispensable aspect of American litigation, and it is often the side with the best expert who wins the day. The same holds true for subrogation files in which the subrogated…
Recently, Watts Regulator Company settled two separate class-action lawsuits involving their Floodsafe supply-line and Water Heater Connectors. Both products allegedly have design and manufacturing defects that cause them to fail prematurely. Therefore, please be aware that if you have a…
If a contest were held for the worst appellate decision of 2017, we might already have a winner. The recent unpublished Hawai’i Court of Appeals decision in Hawaiian Dredging Constr. Co., Inc. v. Fujikawa Assocs., Inc., 2017 WL 663540 (Haw.…
Trial lawyers in Nebraska had high hopes that a questionable Court of Appeals decision from early 2016 might reinject the equitable Made Whole Doctrine into Nebraska workers’ compensation subrogation and eliminate any right of the carrier to a future credit…
The new American horror film “Split”, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, recently in theaters, is a psychological thriller which centers on a bizarre antagonist with 23 separate personalities. Without spoiling the plot, suffice it to say that it focuses on…
Heimerman v. Rose, 2017 WL 130123 (Kan. App. 2017) On August 31, 2013, Dan Heimerman was driving in Kansas, while employed by Northern Clearing, Inc., (“Northern”) and was killed when he was rear-ended by a dump truck driven by Zachary…
It has now been four years since Claims Journal’s online magazine asked Gary Wickert to begin a new monthly column focusing on subrogation and related claims and insurance topics. Gary’s column entitled “The Road To Recovery” can be found HERE.…
The last 40 years have been a roulette wheel of changing opinions and positions for the Idaho Supreme Court with regard to the subrogation and reimbursement rights of an employer or its workers’ compensation carrier when there is employer negligence.…
Injury and workers’ compensation cases involving slips and falls on snow and ice during winter in America’s northern states continue to be a perplexing subrogation puzzle for insurance claims and subrogation professionals. During the winter months, our office sees a…
Every year, more than 170 billion cell phone texts are sent and received. Each year, an average of 3,000 people die and 450,000 are injured in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers. Ten percent of all drivers who are 15…
Following an election cycle in which illegal immigration became a touchstone issue, it seems only appropriate that claims handlers and subrogation professionals have a clear understanding of the many nuances involving workers’ compensation claims made by undocumented employees. Indeed, with…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to thank all our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to…
What we once commonly knew to be true is, well, still true. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania (state appellate court which hears appeals from the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (W.C.A.B.)) has just issued a decision as to whether an employer’s…
Stu Price: We’re in a stolen cop car with what is sure to be a missing child in the back. What part of this is cool? Alan Garner: I think the cop car part is pretty cool. Quote from The…
One of the classic holiday movies is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a story about an ordinary family, the Griswolds, who have big Christmas plans that predictably take a turn for the very (funny) worst. One of the memorable scenes from…
We would like to introduce and welcome you to join our new LinkedIn group! It is called Subrogation Support Network. It is a community managed by Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C., that offers insurance professionals a place to interact, discuss…
Just when you thought that the level of judicial and legislative apathy and/or ignorance with regard to the huge financial benefits of workers’ compensation subrogation for businesses and the economy couldn’t get any higher, the Montana Supreme Court just lowered…
Most states now have mandatory car insurance laws that require all drivers to have some type of insurance. New Hampshire is the last of the 50 states which does not require mandatory automobile liability insurance. Wisconsin was second to last,…
A recent Texas Court of Appeals decision parsing the wording of a workers’ compensation policy’s waiver of subrogation endorsement reminds us that, like an onion, a waiver endorsement has many layers and should be peeled back fully before giving up…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Richard Schuster has been made a partner of the firm. Rich has been with MWL since 2012, concentrating his practice on commercial and civil defense matters for manufacturers and…
The hearing is underway and the injured worker claims a significant injury after a slip and fall. She complains about her inability to work due to the immense pain in her lower back and left ankle. This is her third…
Back in September 2013, we posted an article entitled “Do Liability Waivers Really Work?” The article served as a primer and cautionary tale regarding the enforceability of common liability waivers. These are the agreements required by gyms, martial arts facilities,…
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has recently had occasion to clarify the issue of whether extrinsic evidence can be considered in determining an insurer’s duty to defend in the case of Water Well Solutions Serv., Inc. v. Consolidated Ins. Co., 2016…
Hawai’i. There is no place like it on earth. It is the most remote population center on the face of the planet, 2,400 miles from the nearest anything. It has the most diverse population on earth, with no racial or…
In 2010, researchers at the University of Michigan hypothesized that it is theoretically possible to conjure particles from a complete vacuum under the right circumstances. Performing such a feat in the world of subrogation might seem improbable, but subrogation theory…
As a means of raising revenue, particularly during times of economic crisis, a handful of states employ, and many states repeatedly revisit, the dubious and counter-productive scheme of imposing a tax on professional services, whether as a sales tax (including…
When a product fails and causes damages to other property, a straightforward property damage claim takes on a whole new dimension. Recovering property damage claims related to a product liability defect are some of the most complicated, challenging, and difficult…
Until recently, Connecticut’s Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Statute, § 31-293, labored under the judicial interpretation by which an employer was allowed to file a third-party action, but its workers’ compensation carrier was not. Subrogated carriers had to hope that the employee…
Ronald Reagan famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Government has become almost synonymous with ineptitude. So it should be no surprise that every day people are…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Richard Schuster has been made a partner of the firm. Rich has been with MWL since 2012, concentrating his practice on large loss subrogation and product liability cases, including…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. has consistently advised its Louisiana clients to always intervene in third-party tort suits to recover workers’ compensation benefits, as some published opinions have suggested that a workers’ compensation carrier waives its right of recovery if…
On August 8, 2016, the 11th Circuit issued its opinion in Humana v. Western Heritage, 15-11436 (11th Cir., August 8, 2016). It is a major victory for Medicare Advantage Organizations (MOAs) and a major blow to liability insurers. Matthiesen, Wickert…
Insurance subrogation professionals are routinely faced with minimum limits scenarios which complicate otherwise straightforward subrogation cases. When a third-party liability carrier’s insurance limits are insufficient to pay the claims of multiple claimants, the carrier must begin to assess the hierarchy…
The amount and dollar value of insurance claims relating to property loss alone dwarf all other lines of insurance. Water losses in the U.S. result in more than $9 billion in property damage annually. Fire losses result in more than…
The Ant And The Grasshopper: Improving Plan Subrogation Language For The Winter Ahead In a field one summer’s day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they…
“Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough,” Mark Zuckerberg famously said. Good advice, unless you’re a residential moving company. The residential home moving industry is changing rapidly and it’s essential that…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Sara Schmeling has joined the firm as an insurance litigation associate. Sara’s practice areas include insurance litigation and subrogation of all lines of insurance, with an emphasis on workers’…
In a recent major water and mold damage subrogation case in New York, the focus was on negligent maintenance and the failure to detect a major defect in a commercial HVAC system, which ultimately led to major water and mold…
While drafting this article, I looked up at a video monitor in my office which streams Fox News. Two men playing Pokémon Go had just fallen off a cliff in Encinitas, California. It was not reported at the time what…
In the 2003 Walt Disney blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Hector Barbossa and the crew of the Black Pearl are in a cavern trying to reverse their curse when Elizabeth invokes the right of…
Lauren M. Davis has joined the insurance litigation team at Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. as an associate attorney in our New Orleans branch office. Formerly a litigator with Hangartner, Rydberg, and Terrell and a defense attorney with Sutterfield &…
Even Non-Employer Contractors Are Entitled To Exclusive Remedy Protection Exclusive remedy protection is being handed out to non-employers like candy on Halloween by courts and legislatures across the nation, and Ohio is the latest state to join the giveaway. On…
Until recently, the District of Columbia workers’ compensation subrogation statute, found at § 32-1535, was silent on how or whether attorneys’ fees/costs are to be charged or apportioned when the worker files suit. When an employer or workers’ compensation insurance…
Trucking insurers issuing motor carrier policies which contain MCS-90 Endorsements may be overlooking significant subrogation and recovery opportunities. MCS-90 subrogation is a fascinating and under-utilized means of recovery that can significantly increase an insurance carrier’s bottom line. Understanding the history behind…
The Exclusive Remedy Rule is neither exclusive nor a remedy. What began as a cornerstone of the social insurance experiment known as workers’ compensation has become so riddled with leaks that employers and their insurers often give up on subrogation…
It actually makes very little legal sense and for all intents and purposes is fundamentally antithetical to a free market, capitalist society. Its underpinnings can be traced to Germany’s Second Reich and its Prime Minister, Otto Von Bismarck. It has…
Virginia Court of Appeals Defies Trial Lawyers Association The Virginia Court of Appeals just gave a big boost in the arm to Special Arbitration of workers’ compensation liens. Article First (Compulsory Provisions) of the Special Rules and Regulations (revised January…
For over a decade, state and federal courts throughout the nation have wrestled with the issue of whether FEHBA (Federal Employees Health Benefit Act of 1959) preempts state subrogation laws. 5 U.S.C. §§ 8901-8914. Both Missouri and Arizona are well-known…
Gary Wickert will be presenting a live webinar on New Jersey Automobile Subrogation: The Nuts and Bolts on June 14, 2016 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. (CDT). This webinar is free to attend and will cover topics such as PIP, Med Pay,…
James Bond is not the only one with a License to Kill. Professional sports teams sell season ticket packages, often in the form of a seat license to a specific seat in the franchise stadium for every regular season game…
Ignorance of the law is no excuse – unless you’re the Nebraska Court of Appeals. On March 8, 2016, the Court, in perhaps one of the most illogical and biased decisions in many years, held that a trial court can…
The recent consolidated bellwether trial of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant multi-district litigation concluded on Thursday, March 17, 2016, with a whopping $502 million verdict against defendants DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. Following months of trial in the…
The World of George Jetson Has Arrived! Imagine beginning your day with a cup of coffee in the car on the way to work, watching the morning news from a holographic projection on the windshield while making notes in preparation…
While not related to subrogation, we felt that an interesting article about a hypothetical situation in which the peculiar intersection of constitutional, federal, and state law creates an opportunity for the “perfect crime.” In 2005, Michigan State University College of…
In the 1970s, the Oklahoma Sooners’ NCAA football team successfully began implementing a new offensive system known as the “option offense.” Sooner Coach Barry Switzer has been credited by many for having perfected the use of the wishbone offense, a…
The second bellwether trial of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant multi-district litigation concluded on Thursday, March 17, 2016, with a whopping $502 million verdict against defendants DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. Following months of trial in the Northern…
The Future Of Auto Insurance In No-Fault States In its widest sense, “no-fault insurance” is a term used to describe any auto insurance coverage under which policyholders are paid for personal injuries and property damage they sustain in accidents through their…
Subrogation against a negligent tenant by a landlord’s property insurer is a major source of recovery income for many insurers. Unfortunately, as is all too often the case, the law in many states has been developed in such a way…
In Moya v. Aurora Healthcare, Inc. and HealthPort Technologies, LLC, Appeal No. 2014AP2236, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decided a case involving the construction and interpretation of Wis. Stats. §§ 146.81-146.83 to determine whether personal injury attorneys are exempt from the…
Allstate’s insured was involved in an automobile accident with a plaintiff in which it was alleged that Allstate’s insured was negligent causing injury to the plaintiff. Allstate had issued a policy of liability insurance to the driver and her husband,…
Since 1939, § 15 has provided that a workers’ compensation carrier receives first priority recovery from a third-party settlement or judgment. In particular, it provides that “the sum recovered” in the third-party action (also defined as the “gross sum received…
As someone whose childhood winter chores included “shoveling the roof”, I have an intimate familiarity with the concept of the potential for roof collapse from the weight of excessive snow and ice. Winter storms this season have produced all-time record…
During my first decade of practicing law in Texas, I enjoyed a good professional relationship with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In those days, Greg, who is my age and earned his law degree one year after me, was a young…
Dealing with a situation that is annoying, if nothing else, to quite a few businesses, a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision recently upheld an exclusion within an insurance policy that precluded coverage for allegations that it’s insured violated the Telephone…
Wisconsin’s so-called dog bite statute entitled “Owner’s Liability for Damage Caused by Dog” is currently set forth in Wis. Stat. § 174.02. Section 174.02(1)(a) deals with a “first bite” of a dog while § 174.02(1)(b) deals with a “second bite”…
In the case of Lyle and Carol Hird v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, Appeal No. 2014AP2402, a 2015 Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision dealt with allegations of (1) bad faith; (2) Wis. Stat. § 628.46(1) statutory interest; and (3)…
Gary L. Wickert will be presenting a complimentary webinar on February 25, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (Central) on Introduction To Property and Casualty Subrogation. From recognition of subrogation in difficult fact settings to effective and thorough, yet cost-effective, investigation of natural…
Just when you thought workers’ compensation subrogation in this country’s most difficult state could not get any more difficult, it does. In Zaldivar v. Prickett, 774 S.E.2d 688 (Ga. 2015), Prickett sued Zaldivar for injuries resulting from a 2009 work-related…
Many years ago, a lawyer argued that the long-standing Texas rule prohibiting recovery of damages for loss-of-use of personal property, unless the property was a total loss or destroyed was unfair. City of Canadian v. Guthrie, 87 S.W.2d 316 (Tex. Civ.…
Trial lawyers are happy. On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued their written opinion in the long-anticipated ERISA subrogation case of Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, 2016 WL 228344 (Jan.…
MWL would like to thank all our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year in 2016 and we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. continues to grow. We are proud to announce the addition of Stephen A. Smith. Steve is an experienced litigator formerly with J. Peterman Legal Group, Ltd. (f/k/a Bloomer Peterman, S.C.) in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Steve attended…
With holiday shopping in full swing and Christmas a week away, there are growing concerns over the safety of one of the season’s hottest items – hoverboards. The year’s “must have” gift harkens back to the popular ‘80s movie Back To…
Occasionally, we post articles on legal subjects other than insurance subrogation because they are of such a wide interest that it would not be right to avoid comment on them. Such a topic is the meteoric growth of daily fantasy…
Every year in North America insurers pay out tens of millions of claim dollars resulting from fires and feed damage caused by the spontaneous combustion and heating of hay mow – a pile of hay stored in or near a…
A new Georgia Supreme Court decision has made it easier to defend third-party tort actions involving injured employees by reducing the recoveries when employer negligence contributes the work-related injury. Walker v. Tensor Mach., Ltd., 2015 WL 7135149 (Ga. 2015). Jock…
During the brutal winter of 1620-21, Miles Standish, the English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony and one of the Mayflower passengers, played a leading role in the administration and defense of the colony.…
The owner of the vintage 1968 57-foot Chris Craft Constellation Yacht could barely recognize the custom mahogany plank craftsmanship of his boat through the blackened ash and the tears. Yet it was the owner’s insurance company who should have been…
In the normal course of American jurisprudence, legislation is passed and courts decide cases according to the laws that have been passed. It seems that in Massachusetts, they have it backwards. Section 15 of the Massachusetts’ Workers’ Compensation Act provides…
The Delaware Department of Insurance (“DOI”) is threatening to take action against those who do not abide by state mandatory arbitration law. On September 1, 2015, the Delaware DOI released a bulletin to remind all insurers writing the coverages required…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Ashton Kirsch has joined the firm as an insurance litigation associate. Ashton’s practice areas include insurance litigation, subrogation, workers’ compensation, health insurance and ERISA. Ashton obtained his Bachelor of…
We receive many questions from clients regarding Minnesota subrogation claims, including relevant statutes of limitations. One of the most frequent questions I receive has to do with the Minnesota statute of limitations for personal injury actions. For subrogation professionals outside…
Statute of Limitations Could Run Before Accident Occurs. It doesn’t seem possible that a statute of limitations could expire even before a loss is suffered and damages are incurred. However, that is the case in Georgia due to some questionable…
James T. Busenlener, the managing partner of our Louisiana branch office, will be presenting a live webinar on Louisiana Automobile Subrogation: The Nuts and Bolts on November 17, 2015 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. (CST). This webinar is free to attend and…
When The Tortfeasor Dies, Your Subrogation Claim Doesn’t Need To Die Too! The author, Franz Kafka, known for his dark situations which many people relate to, once wrote a very short story about omnipotent power floating just beyond our reach.…
It is said that compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer. Workers’ compensation claim’s handlers depend on compromise in their handling of disputed compensation claims. Recently, however, we have seen a growing number of our clients settling workers’ compensation claims…
On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, a Western District of North Carolina Federal Court jury returned a defense verdict on behalf of a Taiwanese table saw manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary, holding that Attorney Richard Schuster’s clients were not negligent in…
When Driving Through Somebody’s Living Room Is Not Negligence Every day in America vehicles leave the roadway, travel across well-manicured lawns, smash through garden sheds, patio furniture, swing sets, and plow through the walls of a home, coming to rest…
Believing there is a need for mediation services outside the Milwaukee area, we have established Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. Mediation Services in Hartford, Wisconsin. With Hartford’s central and convenient location, it allows us to provide reasonably priced ($275 per…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. is growing. We are proud to announce the addition of several new attorneys. We appreciate the continued trust and confidence our clients have shown in our abilities to maximize their subrogation recoveries anywhere within North…
Complex litigation and subrogation cases involving product liability and/or technical issues frequently require opinion testimony in the form of expert witnesses. The role of the expert is to educate lay judges and juries who lack knowledge about a particular issue…
Mediation has become an integral and very effective tool in the arsenal of the subrogation professional. We find that many of our clients have a great deal of mediation experience, and many have attended mediation without the benefit of having…
On March 23, 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law Senate Bill 411, making substantial changes to Oregon’s Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) and uninsured/underinsured (“UM/UIM”) statutes. The Bill amends several Oregon statutes and doubles the PIP medical benefit period…
The campaign to establish liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in connection with subrogation took an interesting turn recently, but ultimately reached another dead end. The federal judiciary has made it clear, time and again, that the…
It is entitled “An Act to clarify reimbursement of workers’ compensation insurers to prevent double recovery by injured workers in third-party cases”, but, as with most deceptive titles to pieces of legislation, it is more of a license for trial…
Juris Publishing, Inc. has released the latest and most comprehensive edition of Workers’ Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States, the firm’s unique treatise on the subject. The book is carried on the shelves of every law school in the country…
Approximately 12% to 14% of all accidents result in a total loss, a number which has been trending upward since 2002. Insurance companies faced with first-party claims on policies are responsible for paying the actual cash value or market value…
Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich sure doesn’t act like a Republican. When a 2012 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court made it relatively simple for states to reject Obamacare’s costly expansion of Medicare on the backs of state taxpayers, many…