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’…
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 the cruise control, because a midnight blue 2012 Buick Regal is firmly ensconced in the…
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 the exculpatory agreement – a generic term which can refer to a provision in a…
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 Welcomes Charlene Busch Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to welcome Charlene Busch…
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. The same is true even if the claim was not the employer’s fault. Is it…
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 become one of the main reasons why. A new study authored by Zendrive, a San…
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 and trial. It focuses on the nuts and bolts of the nature of longshore claims,…
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 the time they discover the mistake, it is too late. In contribution claims, a liability…
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. Thirty-four years of subrogation litigation experience had distilled ten of the most common mistakes that…
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 or a third-party tort suit against the special employer. In Carlos Rivera v. Alpine Insulation and…