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 twice, often in the same sentence, using different words. Most people don’t even know that…
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 what portion, if any, of the insured’s deductible must or should be reimbursed to the…
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 of the sisters being Pele, who is believed to govern Kilauea and is responsible for…
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 while in the vehicle—even while stopped—illegal. The bill wasn’t passed in Georgia’s Capitol building in…
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 anticipated that these changes will result in uncertainty and increased motion practice as these new…
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. See Shugarts v. Mohr, 2018 WI 27. This holding overrules a published Wisconsin Court of…
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 lawyers is obtaining coverage for an employee’s personal vehicle through the employer’s commercial auto policy.…
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 Supreme Court issued an opinion that grants subrogation adjusters and claims handlers the ability to…
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 mistaken turn of a phrase found within § 319—the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation subrogation statute. Whitmoyer…
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 action filed by him—it improves the cost-effectiveness of the result. In many states, a workers’…