Words matter. On May 22, 2017, the Ohio Court of Appeals paid attention to the specific wording in the Workers’ Compensation Act and ignored the traditional definition given to the term “third party” in workers’ compensation subrogation settings. In McKinney v. Omni Die Casting, Inc., 2017 Ohio – 2949 (Ohio App. 2017), it held for…
DetailsIn a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has finally weighed in on the issue of FEHBA subrogation and federal preemption of state laws in Coventry Health Care of Missouri, Inc. v. Nevils, 137 S.Ct. 1190 (April 18, 2017) (Coventry II). The verdict is that state law must yield to FEHBA contracts’ subrogation provisions.…
DetailsWords matter. Our firm reviews as many as two to three dozen new claim files/catastrophic injury cases every day. We review these files for many reasons, but primarily to determine if the loss/injury was the result of negligence on the part of some “third party” other than the insured. This “third party” is also known…
DetailsIn Nevada, when a workers’ compensation carrier is subrogated to the rights of the worker under § 616C.215, the carrier has a lien on the “total proceeds” of any third-party recovery. N.R.S. § 616C.215(5). This is true whether the recovery is by way of judgment, settlement or otherwise. Id. The statute is very clear on this…
DetailsAround the world, robots are increasingly being used to perform menial and complex labor tasks in the home and in the workplace. Robots are used in restaurant kitchens to make sushi and chop vegetables. They are also important earlier in food production, planting rice, and tending growing crops. Robots also work as receptionists and cleaners,…
DetailsEffective auto property subrogation may seem simple, but it often requires a thorough understanding of some of the more confusing legal terms known to American civil jurisprudence. When the owner of a vehicle entrusts his or her vehicle to a permissive user who is then involved in an accident which results in damages to the…
DetailsMWL participated in the American Lung Association’s 2017 Fight For Air Climb Law Firm Challenge on March 18, 2017. The teams had to climb 47 floors of the U.S. Bank Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which entailed 94 flights of stairs, totaling 1,034 steps. This challenge raised valuable funds and awareness for the American Lung Association. The MWL team consisted…
DetailsA long-standing controversy has been resolved and a major anti-subrogation obstacle in Pennsylvania has been overcome. The proverbial light bulb has gone on in the Quaker State. The ongoing debate in Pennsylvania over whether a workers’ compensation carrier can initiate the filing of a third-party lawsuit is finally over. The answer is “yes” and we…
DetailsSerrano v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Ametek, Inc.), 2017 WL 563317 (Pa. Comm. 2017). On March 6, 2006, a container of metal powders, with which Serrano was working, exploded, severely burning him. Serrano sued Aramark Uniform and Career Apparel, Inc. (Aramark), which had provided the flame-resistant coveralls Serrano had been wearing at the time of…
DetailsMatthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Caleb Katz has become an associate of the firm after a couple years serving as a paralegal and law clerk. Caleb will continue to practice insurance litigation and subrogation within all lines of insurance, with an emphasis on occupational accident subrogation. Caleb obtained his…
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