Everyone in Michigan is financially frustrated with the high price of automobile insurance. Recently, Detroit Mayor, Mike Duggan, along with eight other motorists filed a suit in U.S. District Court in an effort to expedite the elimination of Michigan’s no-fault system. The litigation comes as insurance premiums continue to rise, and after two bills were…
DetailsOne day last month our firm received three separate, unrelated subrogation claim files involving serious personal injury, property damage, and a death resulting from tractor-trailers whose drivers had swerved to avoid colliding with a deer on the highway. In two of the losses, the 18-wheelers overturned and were shortly thereafter struck by other vehicles, resulting…
DetailsWhere there’s smoke, there’s subrogation. At least it often works out that way. The adage is certainly true in the case of Gree dehumidifiers. If you have anything to do with property insurance, you have likely been exposed to multiple claims involving Gree dehumidifiers. It took 450 fires and nearly $20 million in property damage,…
DetailsThe necessity of utilizing expert witnesses in claims adjusting, recovery investigation, and subrogation litigation has risen exponentially over the last 20 years. When an expert is necessary, where experts can be located and selected, and how they can be cost-effectively utilized so as to maximize subrogation recoveries remains a complex and expensive question for most…
DetailsWork Comp Third-Party Settlement Not Subject to Aitken Reduction In Arizona, a workers’ compensation carrier’s statutory lien under § 23–1023 is subject to being reduced if an employer is found to be negligent by a jury. In Aitken v. Indus. Comm’n of Ariz., 904 P.2d 456 (Ariz. 1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1208, the Arizona…
DetailsSetting the Record Straight We are just as guilty as everyone else. Words matter, and in our industry, they are our tools. Therefore, using the right words would seem to be a priority. Making them up isn’t. Our firm reviews two to three dozen new claim files/catastrophic injury cases every day. We review these files…
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Even non-standard auto insurers enjoy getting checks in the mail. The effective subrogation of Med Pay, PIP, UM/UIM, and collision claims by non-standard auto insurers means money coming into a segment of the insurance industry that historically has been much better at paying it out. The reasons this segment of the insurance industry has been…
DetailsAlmost everyone involved in handling property damage subrogation has faced a claim involving a failed water supply line that was sold or distributed by Interline Brands, Inc. These supply lines are often identified as “Everlotus” supply lines based on the “EL” that is stamped on one of the ferrules. Recently, Interline Brands, Inc. settled a…
DetailsWe only hear half of what we listen to. Perhaps that is why most people instinctively use tautology when they write or speak. Tautology is the use of different words to say the same thing or repeating the same thing twice, often in the same sentence, using different words. Most people don’t even know that…
DetailsMost auto insurance policies require their insured to pay a deductible when a claim is made. If the auto carrier is successful in subrogating a particular loss against a third party and recovers its claim payments, the issue often becomes what portion, if any, of the insured’s deductible must or should be reimbursed to the…
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