Oklahoma’s uninsured motorist (UM)/underinsured motorist (UIM) statute is found at § 3636 of the Oklahoma statutes. [1] It mandates UM coverage in Oklahoma to protect insured persons from monetary loss due to personal injury or property damage resulting from an accident caused by another who carries no liability insurance or who is otherwise underinsured. [2]…
One of the characteristics of multi-state or nationwide subrogation experienced by claims professionals, lawyers, and judges alike is the frequency with which we run into subrogation issues or questions which seemingly have no clear answers. Quite often we receive uneducated opinions, best advice, or likely answers to these issues, but there are no clear-cut case…
During most of the 20th Century, Texas boasted a workers’ compensation subrogation scheme which was in the top five most favorable for carriers. That all began to change when the state began a series of legislative changes and issued a number of case decisions began to erode the rights of a subrogation workers’ compensation carrier.…
A federal court in Maryland has asked the Maryland Supreme Court to sound off on an issue regarding the apportionment of attorneys’ fees and costs between a workers’ compensation insurance company and an injured employee, following a large third-party settlement. The facts are somewhat unusual (although they shouldn’t be) because in this case, the workers’…
Little by little, Alabama is letting out the line when it comes to who can recovery loss of use damages after an automobile has been in an accident. In addition to the other damages recoverable, loss of use (reasonable value of use or rental of a car while the owner is deprived of use of…
Every day we see evidence of the continuing evolution of subrogation law across our country. In many respects, we are still pioneers in this industry, as subrogation wasn’t pursued, respected, or sought after for many years, leaving many areas in our industry undecided by the courts and simply unknown. A good example of this is…
On July 25, 2020, a man named Wesley Little showed up at the front door of Vicki Baker, who was a long time resident of McKinney, Texas. Little had a 15 year-old girl with him when he knocked on the door. Only Vicki’s daughter, Deanna Cook, was home at the time. She recognized Little because…
On September 19, 2024, in one of the most pro-subrogation decisions in a generation, the Nevada Supreme Court has overnight turned Nevada into one of the most favorable states for workers’ compensation subrogation. With the stroke of a pen, the court has done the following: Abandoned the “Breen Formula”—which it declared was “unworkable” and “no…
It is said that good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment. This pithy aphorism is generally true in life but is particularly true when a company sees significantly increased workers’ compensation insurance premiums following a serious workers’ compensation claim. The same is true even if the claim was not the employer’s…
California is facing particularly severe wildfires this fall, with multiple fires raging across the state. These fires have led to widespread damage, including property loss, environmental destruction, and health hazards. On September 8, the Bridge Fire began in the Angeles National Forest. It exploded in size to over 50,000 acres, the cause of which is…