Almost any time money changes hands in America, there are tax issues. The Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) is over 75,000 pages long, and contains fives times as many words as the Bible. The federal tax rules and resources within the CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter exceed 75,000 pages, enough to fill a small library. More daunting…
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 have called Iowa’s workers’ compensation system an “unsustainable litigious lottery.” In March, the changes became…
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 reimbursement of the carrier “off the top” of a third-party recovery. It didn’t make the…
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 result in a reduction of the damages the insured and/or subrogated auto carrier will be…
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 claims by September 1 in order to avoid the “consequences” of a newly passed Texas…
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 the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Arizona Court of Appeals, Isaiah brings with him…
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 innovations in driverless cars were discussed, along with their likely impact on the insurance industry…
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 his elbow and ulnar nerve, (commonly called the “funny-bone”) resulting in numbness and tingling of…
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 are often slow to remove their claims hat and put on their Sherlock Holmes costume,…
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 began in 2013 and culminated in 2015 with the Supreme Court announcing that although §…