Insurance Commissioner Overstepped Authority In Applying Made Whole Doctrine To Health Insurance Subrogation

Posted by Lauren M. Davis on October 11, 2019

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 … Learn More

Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. Welcomes Attorney Catherine Dowie To The Firm

Posted on September 30, 2019

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 … Learn More

Florida Returns To Daubert Standard For Admission Of Expert Testimony

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on September 27, 2019

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 … Learn More

War Hazards Compensation Act Reimbursement Claims

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on September 27, 2019

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 … Learn More

THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR PROBLEM: Paying Overhead and Profit in First-Party Claims

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on September 26, 2019

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 … Learn More

Zen And The Art Of Hospital Lien Maintenance

Posted by Gary L. Wickert, Mark A. Solomon on September 16, 2019

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 … Learn More

Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. Welcomes Bree Madison to the Firm

Posted on August 28, 2019

Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome seasoned trial attorney Bree Madison to the firm as a senior litigating associate. Bree will be working in our Hartford, Wisconsin office and brings with her a wealth of litigation … Learn More

New Jersey’s Dangerous “Entire Controversy Doctrine”

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on August 26, 2019

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 … Learn More

Even Monkeys Cannot Explain Why Companies Insist on Workers’ Compensation Waivers of Subrogation Endorsements

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on August 21, 2019

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 … Learn More

Washington Supreme Court Throws Automobile Subrogation Into Chaos

Posted by Gary L. Wickert on August 19, 2019

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. … Learn More