One of the most successful weapons trial lawyers have discovered in combatting subrogation across the country has been the Made Whole Doctrine. It requires an insured to be fully compensated for damages (i.e., to be “made whole”) before the insurer is entitled to recover in subrogation from the at-fault third party tortfeasor. This “equitable” rule…
What Happened The island of Maui, Hawaii was the unfortunate victim to catastrophic wildfires on August 8, 2023. Sources and authorities say that throughout the day and night of August 8, several brush fires were ignited all over the island of Maui including the towns of Lahaina, Kula and in upcountry Maui. The climate conditions…
Most states now have mandatory car insurance laws that require all drivers to have some type of insurance. New Hampshire is the last of the 50 states which does not require mandatory automobile liability insurance. Wisconsin was second to last, but as of June 1, 2010, Wisconsin now mandates that drivers purchase auto liability insurance.…
Across the country, landlord/property owners’ insurance carriers’ efforts to subrogate against tenants who cause damage to the owners’ property has become a heavily-litigated issue—with mixed results. The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant depends on which state the loss occurs…
In Louisiana, when a company undertakes to execute any work which is a part of its trade, business or occupation, and contracts with any subcontractor for the execution of such work, the company is entitled to the exclusive remedy protection of § 23:1032. The company will be liable to pay workers’ compensation benefits to any such…
Auto subrogation and car dealerships are no strangers to one another. Car dealerships and their insurers routinely seek to hold vehicle test drivers, customers, and other permissive users liable for physical damage to the dealers’ courtesy and rental vehicles and as well as for damages to third parties resulting from the negligent operation of dealership…
It has been seven years since we first published our rankings of the ten best and ten worst states for workers’ compensation subrogation. Since then, case decisions and legislatures have been busy trying to help trial lawyers destroy workers’ compensation subrogation liens in third-party personal injury cases. Therefore, it is time to revisit our rankings…
For years, trial lawyers have been threatening and filing class action lawsuits in multiple states in an effort to thwart their arch nemesis—subrogation. States such as Montana have gone so far as to hold that it is the burden of the subrogated insurance company to determine and prove that its insured has been fully made…
As is the case in many no-fault states, Delaware employees injured in an automobile accident in the course and scope of employment might be entitled to both workers’ compensation and PIP benefits simultaneously. The Worker’s Compensation Act requires every employer in the state, unless excluded, to provide statutory workers’ compensation benefits to an injured employee.…
Georgia has long been the bane of a subrogation professional’s existence. The State features both an anti-subrogation law and a complete compensation (“made-whole”) statute. The combination of these two laws have led many insurers to simply write off the hope of any recoveries on their subrogation claims. If you’ve given up all hope of recovering…