Effective January 1, 2006, all Medicare set-aside agreement (MSA) must include the cost of prescription drugs.Effective January 1, 2006, all Medicare set-aside agreement (MSA) must include the cost of prescription drugs. The effect of this decision has ballooned the cost of MSA’s. Employers and Insurers must now face the reality that many cases involving current or potential recipients of Social Security Disability Benefits have now become prohibitively expensive to settle. For many years, Medicare paid for medical treatment for injured workers even when the treatment covered work-related injuries or illnesses. However, those days ended when the Center for Medicare & ... Continue Reading
Illegal Aliens And The Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act
A conservative estimate of the number of illegal aliens living in is between 228,000 and 250,000. The majority of illegal aliens work in low paying jobs that require the performance of heavy physical labor and are often inherently dangerous, such as food processing and construction workA conservative estimate of the number of illegal aliens living in is between 228,000 and 250,000. The majority of illegal aliens work in low paying jobs that require the performance of heavy physical labor and are often inherently dangerous, such as food processing and construction work. Consequently, ’s workers’ compensation attorneys have seen a rise in claims filed by illegal aliens ... Continue Reading
Expert Fees: Case Law Reform May Help Reduce Litigation Costs
A recent opinion from the U.S. DistrictCourt for the Northern District of Illinois is the latest in a series of federaljudicial decisions narrowing the range of recoverable expert fees and denying aparty reimbursement of excessive "expert related" expenses.A recent opinion from the U.S. DistrictCourt for the Northern District of Illinois is the latest in a series of federaljudicial decisions narrowing the range of recoverable expert fees and denying aparty reimbursement of excessive “expert related” expenses. In Abrams, Plaintiff’s counsel soughtreimbursement for $427,000 in expert witness fees in connection with a consolidatedclass action against Van Kampen Funds, ... Continue Reading
“Open Sesame” – Do Bad Faith Allegations In A First Party Lawsuit Mandate That Insurers Must Produce Their Entire Claims File?
In the vast majority of first party lawsuits, the plaintiff brings allegations of bad faith on the part of the insurer, in addition to the foundation claim for breach of contract.In the vast majority of first party lawsuits, the plaintiff brings allegations of bad faith on the part of the insurer, in addition to the foundation claim for breach of contract. The obvious reasoning is that this allows the possibility of significantly increasing the potential amount of money which the plaintiff may bring home. However, a bad faith allegation may also be used by plaintiffs as a tool to maximize discovery and obtain documents which otherwise might not be available. The plaintiff ... Continue Reading