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. Many of our clients’ insureds experience nightmares when older, functioning vehicles are being “totaled” simply because the frame is bent or other seemingly minor but hidden damage occurs. Even insurance professionals can get lost navigating the maze of rules and regulations regarding the act of “totaling” a vehicle under a policy. But it needn’t be all that complicated. MWL has published a new chart which should help take the guess-work out of when a car can be “totaled.”

When dealing with photographs taken of other people, prudence requires that we consider the legal rights of the subject and the ethics of publishing the photo without their permission. Since the advent of digital photography, photographs have played a big role on the internet. Click. Upload. Post. Never has it been so easy and inexpensive for businesses seeking to ramp up their advertising and marketing efforts to do so by simply uploading photographs that may depict other people. In most cases, such use is, in plain language, illegal. Using the photos of others without their permission could violate their right of privacy, or worse.

When faced with a personal injury claim from an injured employee, defendants can sometimes go on the offensive. Depending on the circumstances, defendants often use third-party complaints to drag employers and their insurers into litigation via contribution and indemnification claims. It is done to either dissuade employers and insurers from asserting their workers’ comp or group health insurance subrogation lien or to place the ultimate burden of payment on the employer. Recently, MWL attorneys, Ryan Woody and Emil Ovbiagele, successfully defended an employer against a third-party action for contribution and indemnification in Hawai’i.

Gary Wickert will be presenting a complimentary webinar on Colorado Automobile Subrogation: The Nuts And Bolts on July 14, 2015 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. (CDT). This webinar will cover the nuts and bolts of auto subrogation in Colorado, touching on every topic imaginable, including PIP, Med Pay, UM/UIM, property claims, deductible reimbursement, no-fault subrogation, suspension of driver’s licenses, and more. For more information on this webinar and/or to register for it, click HERE.