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…
One of the recurring questions Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) is called on to answer involves when and under what circumstances the insured suffering automobile property damage, or his or her subrogated automobile insurer, may recover for diminution in value of a damaged automobile. This article is intended to provide a global answer to…
Plan For The Best, Expect The Worst, And Prepare To Be Surprised Thomas Reid once said, “There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words.” Nowhere is this truism as important than in the settlement of third-party lawsuits involving workers’ compensation carriers’ subrogation liens and future credits. For lack…
There is a great deal of confusion in Louisiana regarding whether a workers’ compensation carrier can subrogate against or receive reimbursement from the proceeds of an uninsured or underinsured (UM/UIM) automobile policy. The Louisiana Supreme Court has unequivocally stated that a UM carrier is considered a third person under Louisiana workers’ compensation law. Travelers Ins.…
More than 1,000 vehicles a day are damaged by paint overspray in the United States, resulting in more than one-half of a billion dollars in damage and insurance claims annually. Airborne paint overspray results from all sorts of industrial, commercial, and private paint jobs, such as bridges, water towers, and other large and inconveniently located…
“Force-placed insurance” is an insurance policy placed by a lender or bank on a home or vehicle when the property owners’ own insurance is cancelled, has lapsed or is deemed insufficient. This insurance insures the lender and allows the lender to protect its financial interest in the property. It is rarely called the same thing…
For years, Pennsylvania products liability law has been split between state and federal courts with regard to the applicable standard for proving a strict liability design defect case. Pennsylvania State Courts followed common law precedent flowing from a 1978 case, implementing the principles of the Restatement of Torts (Second). In 2009, the U.S Court of…
Subrogating against uninsured drivers is one of the less glamorous aspects of automobile insurance subrogation. It is the pariah of our industry and could easily be featured on the Discovery Channel series, Dirty Jobs. Initiating subrogation against uninsured and judgment-proof drivers is often nothing more than an exercise in futility, and frequently involves nothing more…
For those who are not aware, in 2013, Claims Journal’s online magazine asked Gary Wickert to begin a new monthly column focusing on subrogation and related claims and insurance topics. Gary’s column entitled “The Road To Recovery” can be found HERE. The column was very well-received and provides subrogation with a very widely-read medium in…
The recent riots in Ferguson, Missouri have resulted in property damage in excess of $5 million, and the total is climbing. However, these riots don’t even come close to the $1.2 billion in damages during the costliest civil disorder in history, the 1992 Los Angeles riots which resulted from the acquittal of four Los Angeles…