Texas is at the forefront of enacting laws which limit or bar indemnification clauses of contracts in industries in which the Texas legislature perceive one contracting party has an unfair advantage over the other. Texas currently has anti-indemnity statutes for commercial construction, oil and gas, and common carrier transportation. While the mere fact that your…
Subrogation potential often crashes and burns in the face of exculpatory agreements and liability waivers. As a result, understanding and invalidating such waivers has become an indispensable aspect of the subrogation industry. On April 12, 2019, Lee Wickert with MWL’s new Austin, Texas office was featured in a New York Times article which looked at…
As a native Texan, I have an interest in Texas history. The history of workers’ compensation subrogation in Texas is as storied as the history of the state itself. The Lone Star State flew the flag of the Kingdom of Spain from 1685 until 1821, leaving a legacy that remains to this day. France laid…
The English language is a fascinating subject with a history as rich as it is confusing. It is spoken by nearly 1 billion people worldwide, making it the second most-spoken language, with only Mandarin (1.2 billion) surpassing it. It is the official language of nearly 100 countries, not including the United States, which doesn’t have…
A recent Pennsylvania federal court decision reminds us all that when settling third-party cases that involve workers’ compensation subrogation interests, it is vitally important to understand all of the steps which are necessary to fully document and enforce any settlement agreement that involves a waiver or termination of any future workers’ compensation benefits. The decision…
One year ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals announced that A.R.S. § 23-1023 was not a statute of limitations under Arizona law, with regard to the requirement that an employee must file a third-party action within the first year after an accident or obtain a “reassignment” from the employer to do so in the second…
Another state has been heard from. The growing outcry for direction over whether case management fees can be recovered by a subrogated workers’ compensation carrier has in many respects been as daunting and elusive as the search for the Holy Grail. All 50 states allow for recovery of workers’ compensation benefits paid to or on…
On January 26, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court refused to review the July 14, 2016 decision by the Texas Court of Appeals in Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania v. Roberts, 506 S.W.3d 498 (Tex. App. 2016), review granted (June 1, 2018). This established the Court of Appeal’s decision as good law which would…
In Indiana, a subrogated carrier may be able to sue the attorney on behalf of its insured when the attorney settles a third-party tort claim without reimbursing the subrogated carrier. In Holland v. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, 110 N.E.3d 369 (Ind. App. 2018), Farm Bureau sued attorney Douglas Holland to recover money owed to it…
Subrogation professionals are often required to deal with a variety of insurance companies, including those admitted or licensed to transact business in a particular state and those which are not. Understanding the difference can assist the claims handler and subrogation professional in the daily handling of their claims. This article briefly summarizes the different types…