In one of our most widely-reprinted and widely-read articles, “Ten Subrogation Mistakes Insurance Companies Keep Making”, the number one most prevalent and most costly mistake is waiting too long to involve subrogation counsel. It sounds like an MWL marketing pitch, and of course, in many ways it is. But it is also the truth. The…
It’s the question every claims professional and trial attorney claims to know but few fully understand. 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…
A new Texas Court of Appeals decision has clarified the process by which a workers’ compensation carrier can settle directly with a third-party tortfeasor and thereby avoid having to reduce its lien by a pro rata share of the employee’s attorneys’ fees. Meanwhile, the process of “selling your lien” has never been less complicated and…
If you are a subrogation professional sending out demand letters and attempting to recover property damage, medical payments, or PIP benefits from a tortfeasor who is obviously at fault in an automobile collision, your worldview is one in which 50% of vehicle brakes in America are seemingly defective. It isn’t possible to go a week,…
A dwindling number of us may be old enough to recall the classic Peter Sellers comedy, “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.” In one hilarious scene, Inspector Clouseau checks into a hotel. On his way to his room, he sees a small dog lying on the ground. “Does your dog bite?,” Clouseau asks the man at…
An April 22, 2024 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court considered the confusing interplay between Colorado’s statutory Collateral Source Rule and medical malpractice actions under the Health Care Availability Act (HCAA).[1] Specifically, the Court addressed the question of whether the “contract exception” to the collateral source statute applies in a medical malpractice case where the…
A few years ago, a contractor working near MWL’s Santa Ana, California office was spraying a structure with epoxy primer, one of the hardest paints to remove. Nearby and downwind of the construction area was an auto auction facility getting ready for the weekend’s auction. The lot contained 752 new and used vehicles. Wind coming…
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 proceeding” because it pits two or more opponents against one another with regard to a…
The American horror film “Split”, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, 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 the fact that there is something to the adage “mind over matter.” They say that life imitates art. If…
The law in Pennsylvania regarding the ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant whose negligence causes damage to the landlord’s building has been very slow to develop. But they are quickly making up for lost time. Until recently, Pennsylvania had only one case speaking to this issue. In 1990, the Pennsylvania…