Earlier this year, the Arizona Court of Appeals essentially rewrote § 23-1023, Arizona’s workers’ compensation subrogation statute. Prior to its amendment in 2007, this statute provided that the injured employee had only one year after a cause of action accrued to pursue a third-party action. A.R.S. § 23-1023(B). If the employee did not pursue the…
A recent decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has dramatically expanded a longshore harbor workers’ compensation carrier’s rights of subrogation in Jones Act cases. The Chenevert v. Travelers Indemnity Co., 2014 WL 902873 (5th Cir. 2014) decision declares for the first time that a longshore harbor workers’ compensation carrier has a right of…
My oldest son was recently in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor with Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). He is one of tens of thousands of employees of civilian contractors working overseas and subject to workers’ compensation under the Defense Base Act (DBA) and War Hazards Compensation Act (WHCA). The U.S. has military personnel…
Health insurers and health insurance professionals can close their eyes and hope that the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) becomes a distant memory in their rear-view mirror, but the truth is that for now, it is the law, and it may be here to stay. While we are told that the number…
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Comp. v. Shaffer, 2013 WL 5636299 (Ohio App. 2013) Trial lawyers have a stranglehold on Ohio subrogation. Workers’ compensation subrogation in Ohio has gone through major transformations since it was ruled unconstitutional in 2001. Although subrogation is currently a statutory right of carriers and self-insured employers, it has been a bumpy…
In one of last year’s most questionable court decisions, a sharply-divided Illinois Court of Appeals has held that the Common Fund Doctrine applies to Med Pay set-offs. In Scheppler v. Pyle, 2013 IL App. (3d) 110380-U (Ill. App. 2013), Peggy Scheppler (Country Mutual) was involved in an accident with Tom Pyle (American Family). Country Mutual…
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is mandatory in Pennsylvania. Due to Pennsylvania being an optional or “choice” no-fault state, insureds must choose between “full tort” and “limited tort” options, and PIP coverage must be provided. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Kentucky are the only states that have “choice” no-fault laws, also known as an optional modified…
The song we learn in our youth is the song we sing for life. Children often blame others for their mistakes and misdeeds – a desperate effort to shift responsibility and avoid unpleasant consequences. As adults engaging in commerce, we are not much different. It is virtually impossible to find a construction contract which does…
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.” When and whether an injured employee can sue an owner or subcontractor for a work-related injury in Pennsylvania has been a matter of some confusion over the years. It is the latest in a landslide of confusing…
The U.S. government sponsors more than 350 different health Plans covering more than nine million federal employees, retirees, and beneficiaries through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Act of 1959 (FEHBA). 5 U.S.C. §§ 8901-8914. Like it’s counterpart in the private market, ERISA, the FEHBA does not mention or provide for rights of reimbursement or subrogation.…