Monthly Archives: <span>April 2018</span>

IRC: Auto Injury Claims Costs Outpace Inflation, Lawyer Involvement Increases

A new study from the Insurance Research Council (IRC) shows that claimed economic losses for auto bodily injury liability (BI) insurance claims increased 10 percent annualized from 2012 to 2017, substantially above the medical inflation rate of 3 percent over …

Mitchell: Workers’ Comp Billing Errors Could Be Costing Payors

Inappropriate coding and unbundling were two of the most common billing issues Mitchell found during their medical billing audit. The analysis was presented in Mitchell’s Q1 2018 Industry Trends Report. The author of the first in a three part series …

N.J. High Court Rules That Phantom Vehicles Can Be Allocated Fault

The New Jersey case of Mark R. Krzykalski v. David T. Tindall involves an auto accident where both the plaintiff and the defendant were in the left lane turning left through an intersection. An unidentified driver turned unexpectedly from the …

What Happens When a Plane Ruptures: Violent Winds, Flying Debris

When even a small hole suddenly opens in a jetliner flying miles above the Earth, it unleashes hurricane-like forces. Everything that’s not strapped down flies toward the opening. The wind can easily lift a person up and out of the …

Do Your Claims Letters Contain the Appropriate Tone?

There’s no good reason to make an enemy of the claimant or, if in litigation, the opposing attorney. We reveal ourselves in our claims letters and their tone. Is the tone nasty? Negative? Arrogant? Your job is to make your …

NYC Slip and Fall Scheme Defrauded Businesses, Insurers of More Than $31M

Five New York City men were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain fraudulent insurance reimbursement and other compensation for fraudulent slip-and-fall accidents, according to a joint announcement by the United …

Illusionist Copperfield Testifies in Las Vegas Tourist Injury Case

David Copperfield testified Wednesday that he didn’t know until he was sued that a British tourist claimed to have been seriously injured while taking part in an illusion during a performance on the Las Vegas Strip in 2013. Although Copperfield …

Houston-Area District Expects $155M in Damage Repairs From Harvey

The Houston-area flood control district has estimated needing $155 million to study and fix damaged infrastructure after Hurricane Harvey. Workers this week are assessing the storm’s destruction to the Harris County Flood Control District’s 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) of bayous, …

Excavator Blamed for Island-Wide Blackout in Puerto Rico

An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday after an excavator accidentally downed a transmission line, officials said, as the U.S. territory struggles to repair an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria. Officials said it could …

Rodent Infestation, Filth Found Before Egg Recall

Before a U.S. farm voluntarily recalled 207 million eggs, government inspectors found rodents scurrying in manure pits, equipment that was coated with grime and food debris, and outside a swarm of “large flying insects too numerous to count.” Unsanitary conditions …