Subrogation Archives - Page 45 of 54 | Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer S.C.

MWL Successfully Defends Employer Against Third-Party Contribution And Indemnification Litigation In Hawai’i

Contribution and Liability, ERISA and Health Insurance, Insurance Defense, Newsletter, Subrogation, Workers' CompensationMay 27, 2015

Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.’s (“MWL”) team of seasoned litigators continue to assist employers to defy arduous hurdles presented by third-party contribution suits. When faced with a personal injury claim from an injured employee, defendant-tortfeasors can sometimes go on the offensive. Depending on the circumstances, defendants often use third-party complaints to drag employers and their…

Subrogating Condominium Damage

Construction Defect, Newsletter, Property, SubrogationMay 21, 2015

Imagine opening the door to your condominium (“condo”) only to be confronted by several inches of standing water. The first call is to your insurance company, which must then consider not only mitigating, adjusting, and paying the claim, but subrogating against those responsible for the loss. Determining who is liable for such damage can be…

Governor Bullock Sides With Trial Lawyers Over Small Businesses

ERISA and Health Insurance, Newsletter, Property, Subrogation, Workers' CompensationMay 20, 2015

Montana businesses are learning the hard way the cost of electing a Democrat governor. The Montana legislature represents a solid, common sense, Republican majority which understands the vital role that a business-friendly environment plays in stimulating the real job creators – small businesses. On April 20, 2015, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 288, which made…

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Weighs In On Carrier’s Right To File Third-Party Action

Newsletter, Subrogation, Workers' CompensationMay 15, 2015

The ongoing saga in Pennsylvania – colloquially referred to as the “reluctant plaintiff problem” – has perhaps come to an end. Section 671 of Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Statute couldn’t be clearer. It unambiguously states, “…the employer shall be subrogated to the right of the employee.” Section 319 of the Act has appropriately been described…

Washington Supreme Court To Rule On Deceptive Subrogation Practices Class Action

Auto, Med Pay, PIP, Federal Debt Collection, Newsletter, SubrogationApril 21, 2015

The well-orchestrated attack on subrogation continues. Trial lawyer listservs, legal conferences, and organizational efforts to combat subrogation on all fronts have resulted in a rash of class action suits aimed at subrogated carriers based on alleged violations of the Made Whole Doctrine, alleged failures to reimburse deductibles, and alleged violations of fair debt collection practices…

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Law On Spoliation

Newsletter, Property, SubrogationApril 21, 2015

Tort and subrogation cases continue to be heavily mined and booby-trapped with potential spoliation danger. However, the law in this area is far from clear. In the case of Brookshire Brothers v. Aldridge, 438 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. 2014), Jerry Aldridge slipped and fell at a Brookshire Brothers’ grocery store on September 2, 2004. On the…

Subrogating Against God: Recovering Claim Dollars When Natural Disasters Strike

Newsletter, Property, SubrogationApril 13, 2015

The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters. When God sends a hurricane, tornado, flood, or naturally-occurring fire, the resulting losses can be enough to put many insurance companies into receivership. With no third parties or obvious subrogation potential,…

New Wisconsin Federal Court Decision Makes Made Whole Doctrine A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Construction Defect, Newsletter, Product Liability, Property, SubrogationMarch 30, 2015

What if the deck was stacked in such a way that insureds and tortfeasors could gerrymander and structure a tort settlement so as to ensure that the insured would never be “made whole”? Surely such ability would be a legal absurdity in a state where subrogation is supposedly favored for all of the societal benefits…

MWL Wins Major Victory In Fight For Medicare Advantage Recovery Rights

ERISA and Health Insurance, Newsletter, SubrogationMarch 30, 2015

Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) partners Ryan Woody and Jim Busenlener won a major victory for Medicare Advantage Organizations (“MAOs”). In Collins v. Wellcare Healthcare Plans, Inc., 2014 WL 7239426 (E.D. La. Dec. 16, 2014), the federal court recognized, for the first time, that MAOs are entitled to bring a Private Cause of Action…