Gary Wickert News

Slower Traffic Keep Right: A Summary of State ‘Keep Right’ Traffic Laws

It is the universal trigger and a pet peeve of millions of drivers. You’re making good time traveling 75 mph in the left lane of a freeway with a 70 mph posted speed limit. You tap your brakes, turning off …

Texting While Driving on the Rise Despite More Laws Banning it

It’s going to be a banner year for trial lawyers and a tough year for auto insurers. More than 3,000 people are killed on U.S. roads every year in distracted driving crashes, and the use of cellphones while driving has …

The Cost of Subrogation Procrastination

Delays in Referring File to Subrogation Counsel Can Be Expensive In July 2017, we published a somewhat controversial article in the Claims Journal,Ten Subrogation Mistakes Insurance Companies Keep Making. Thirty-four years of subrogation litigation experience had distilled ten of the …

Owner Liability For Damage Caused By Stolen Vehicles

A vehicle slams into a group of vehicles stopped at a red light, only to quickly drive away from the scene. This fact scenario almost always involves operating under the influence or a stolen vehicle. In the case of a …

Medical Billing, Insurance Write-Offs and the Collateral Source Rule

Recovery of Medical Expenses in Personal Injury Actions Generally To recover damages for past medical expenses in a personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff must present evidence and prove that the medical expenses incurred were both “reasonable” and “necessary.” For more …

Opioid Pain Treatment Addiction Costs Workers’ Comp Carriers, Health Insurers Billions

Insurers Seek Reimbursement for the High Cost of Opioid Addictions Big Pharma is having a Big Tobacco moment. Since 1999, the number of prescription opioids sold in America has almost quadrupled. Over the same period, prescription opioid deaths have more …

Subrogating Against Suicide

Your insured’s eighteen-wheeler is struck head-on by another vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, resulting in significant medical expenses to your insured driver and a passenger, as well as considerable property damage to your insured’s vehicle. The tortfeasor …

Use of Aftermarket (Non-OEM) Crash Parts in Repair of Damaged Vehicles

According to a 1999 study commissioned by the Alliance of American Insurers (AAI), if you were to build a $25,000 vehicle using only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts, it would cost you over $100,000. When repairing vehicles damaged in accidents, …

Opinion: Must Hurricane Harvey Victims File Insurance Claims Before September 1?

As if the tragedy and destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston and Gulf Coast region wasn’t bad enough, a few opportunistic trial lawyers and public adjusters have taken to social media urging Houston homeowners to file their insurance …

Navigating The Anti-Subrogation Rule

Subrogation is the legal doctrine which allows one party, usually an insurance company, that pays a loss by its insured which was caused by a third party, to take over the rights of its insured against the third party and …