By Cory Bilton Open enrollment for health insurance offered by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) recently wrapped up. Initial reports indicate 7.1 million people have signed up for health insurance through the exchanges since the ACA enrollment started. Many personal injury lawyers, myself included, are curious to see what effect the ACA will have on our clients. Back when open …
Maryland Legislature Says “No More Free Bites” to Dog Owners
By Cory Bilton Chuck Berry, one of the pioneers of rock-and-roll, used to say, “Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.” Although he probably wasn’t referring to legal liability, the quote closely resembles the common law “One Bite Rule.” The rule says that the owner of a dog isn’t liable for injuries caused when the dog bites someone, so …
The Growing Impact of Predictive Modeling on Personal Injury Law
By Cory Bilton Numerous factors go into determining the value of an injured client’s case. Initial injuries, cost and duration of medical care, long-term injuries, and the limitation of a person’s activities are just a few of the factors to consider in determining the value of a personal injury claim. How about the injured person’s FICO credit score? It’s not …
Virginia Supreme Court Permits Double-Digit Ratios for Punitive Damages in Coalson v. Canchola
By Cory Bilton Numbers have a strong pull on our judgment. If a law says, “Don’t drive a car unreasonably fast,” it is difficult to know exactly what that means. Every person on earth could argue at length justifying their own definition of “unreasonably fast.” But change that law to say, “Don’t drive a car faster than 70 miles per …
PIP and MedPay Subrogation in the Washington, DC Area
By Cory Bilton Following my post last week on Hubb v. State Farm, I’ve been thinking about how complicated PIP and MedPay claims can get in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. It’s not complicated because the laws themselves are complex, but rather, it’s complex because each jurisdiction’s laws are different and many accidents involve more than one jurisdiction …
Hubb v. State Farm: Statutory Construction Can Be Used to Prove Anything
By Cory Bilton Last week, the DC Court of Appeals decided Hubb v. State Farm, a case involving subrogation of personal injury protection (“PIP”) benefits under Washington, DC law. The Court held that PIP insurers in DC have the right to subrogate (or be reimbursed) from the proceeds received by an injured person from the wrongdoer. This is not a …
The Common Fund Doctrine: Soviet Era Ideology or Method of Sharing Attorneys’ Fees?
By Cory Bilton Back when I was an undergraduate, my friends and I sometimes took spontaneous road trips. Three or four of us would pile into a car with an odd assortment of backpacks, snack foods, and musical instruments. Since these trips often involved hundreds of miles through multiple states, paying for gas became a group responsibility. Though the rule …
Did the Nevils v. Group Health Plan Opinion Just Say What We’ve All Been Thinking?
By Cory Bilton The Supreme Court of Missouri recently decided Nevils v. Group Health Plan, Inc., holding that FEHBA does not pre-empt Missouri’s anti-subrogation law. Google informs me that Jefferson City, Missouri, where the Supreme Court of Missouri is located, is roughly 930 miles away from the Washington DC area. Despite the distance, Nevils could have a significant impact in …
You’re Not Hearing Voices, That’s Your Car: DOT’s Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication Technology
By Cory Bilton It’s somewhat rare to have breaking news in the world of personal injury law. But this week, we have something close to it. On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced that it intends to move forward with laws that enable cars to talk to each other on the road. The program, currently dubbed Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication Technology (“V2V”), …
2014 Bicyclist and Pedestrian Legislative Proposals in Maryland and Virginia
By Cory Bilton When I think January, I think bone-chilling temperatures, snow days, and gyms packed with people fulfilling New Years resolutions. But January in the Washington DC metropolitan area also means the beginning of new legislative sessions in both Virginia and Maryland. Every year, starting on the second Wednesday in January, the General Assemblies of both Maryland and Virginia …