Following closely on the heels of an unfavorable decision, state legislators in Albany wasted no time embarking on a rescue mission to save New York’s anti-subrogation statute from ERISA preemption. McKinney’s G.O.L. §§ 5-101 and 5-335. The statute, originally enacted in 2009, was purportedly an attempt to protect parties to settlements of tort claims from…
One of the more common misconceptions one hears in the realm of health and accident subrogation is that, when it comes to motor vehicle accidents, “there is no subrogation in Michigan.” No one can deny that the Michigan No-Fault Act presents an abundance of obstacles for a carrier looking to recover medical and wage loss…
Just in time for the holidays! Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) announces the formation of its Diversity and Community Outreach Committee. Its first major project successfully collected nearly 50 toys on behalf of Toys for Tots. These toys will be donated to children from underprivileged families in the community, making the holidays a little…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to thank all of our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year and we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we hope your Christmas is full of holiday cheer shared with family and…
Drastic Re-Write of Comp Law Provides New Subrogation Options In the 1970s, the Oklahoma Sooners’ football team successfully began implementing a new offensive system known as the “option offense.” Sooner Coach Barry Switzer has been credited by many for having perfected the use of the wishbone offense, a staple of option offenses. Forty years later,…
When and whether a vehicle involved in a collision is considered to be “totaled” for first-party insurance purposes is an issue of great angst and confusion for most consumers. We hear horror stories about older, functioning automobiles being “totaled” simply because the frame is bent or other seemingly minor and hidden damage occurs. Even insurance…
It is said that releases and settlement agreements “use a hundred words when ten would do” and there is a good reason for that. Those drafting the release want to include as much as possible within the future protections, claims released, and indemnity provided by the document. Conversely, those signing the release want to limit…
If you think the recent Congressional civil war over cutting entitlements and spending, raising the debt ceiling (again), and funding Obamacare was a melee, welcome to the ongoing dispute in Pennsylvania over whether a workers’ compensation carrier can initiate the filing of a third-party lawsuit. It’s the usual suspects: trial lawyers vs. subrogation professionals. However,…
In what will go down in legal history as one of the clearest and most forthright decisions in recent memory, the Florida Supreme Court has issued an opinion which limits the application of the Economic Loss Doctrine (ELD) to cases involving product liability. Tiara Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., No. SC10-1022…
Subrogation of Occupational Disease Claims Eliminated “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” – Al Pacino, Godfather III. In 2005, Missouri amended its statutes and divorced the compensability of occupational disease claims from its statutory workers’ compensation definitions of “accident” and “injury.” A few years later, in the case of…