Kubert v. Best and Colonna, Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division, Docket No. A-1128-12T4 FACTS Plaintiffs were seriously injured by an 18-year-old driver who was texting while driving and crossed the centerline of the road. The plaintiffs’ clams for compensation from the young driver had been settled and were no longer part of the…
In one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes[1], a frightened Kramer is lost and calls Jerry from a phone booth somewhere in Manhattan. Jerry asks him to look around for a street sign and Kramer responds with a touch of panic that he is at the intersection of 1st Street and 1st Avenue, concluding that he…
Effective subrogation requires a thorough understanding of some of the more confusing legal terms we must all work with. Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. has compiled a list of the various laws in every state dealing with whether the state is a contributory negligence state (bars recovery with only 1% of fault by the plaintiff)…
When an employee is involved in a motor vehicle accident while in the course and scope of his employment and the at-fault tortfeasor is uninsured or underinsured, the question arises as to whether the employee can recover under his employer’s uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) policy as well as recover workers’ compensation benefits. We recently…
A new Minnesota Court of Appeals decision makes clear that timing is everything when it comes to UIM subrogation. The court’s decision in Russell v. Haji-Ali, 826 N.W.2d 216 (Minn. App. 2013) means that a claims professional settling a uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claim must now understand that UM/UIM benefits received by an insured before a…
Until recently, there had been a big question over whether a PIP or Med Pay carrier had a right of subrogation in Arkansas. A.C.A. § 23-79-146 authorizes subrogation rights for any casualty insurer, accident and health insurer. It provides as follows: § 23-79-146. Subrogation Recovery. (a)(1) Any casualty insurer, accident and health insurer, health maintenance…