The Structure of New Mexico’s Employees’ Compensation Subrogation Scheme The structure of New Mexico’s employees’ compensation subrogation scheme is unlike that of many other states, and it creates a vulnerability that subrogation professionals must understand before it is too late. Unlike most states, New Mexico’s employees’ compensation statute, § 52-5-17, gives the injured employee exclusive…
Workers’ compensation subrogation is always a tricky business, but nowhere is it more bewildering than in Michigan when a work-related injury arises out of a motor vehicle accident. The state’s unique and confounding no-fault system was designed to streamline compensation and reduce litigation, but for carriers attempting to assert subrogation rights, it has produced a…
Understanding When HIPAA Applies One of the most common questions in workers’ compensation subrogation practice is whether HIPAA requires a signed release before medical records can be obtained or shared. The short answer is that HIPAA seldom prevents the exchange of records between medical providers and workers’ compensation carriers for the purpose of administering or…
The Arkansas subrogation landscape is notoriously hostile toward insurance carriers, particularly in the workers’ compensation context. Anchored in a sweeping application of the “Made Whole Doctrine,” Arkansas courts have historically treated subrogated carriers as afterthoughts in the allocation of third-party recovery. However, a recent federal court decision—French v. Amazon.com, Inc.—delivers a long-awaited dose of clarity…