Connerly to speak at Law School tomorrow
Law School News
Ward Connerly, an outspoken critic of affirmative action and a key player in the campaign to ban the practice in Michigan, will appear on campus tomorrow.
This will be Connerly's first visit to campus since Proposal 2 passed in November 2006, banning the use of race- and gender-based affirmative action in state public institutions, including the University of Michigan.
Connerly, a former University of California regent, successfully spearheaded efforts to pass ballot initiatives banning affirmative action in California and Washington, before bringing his campaign to Michigan.
Connerly will be speaking as part of a three-person panel called, "Kelo, Grutter, and Popular Responses to Unpopular Decisions" during this weekend's 2008 Federalist Society Student Symposium. The panel, which will be moderated by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young, will discuss controversial ballot measures - including Proposal 2.
The panel will begin at 9 a.m in Hutchins Hall.
Event organizer Michael James Ruttinger said he expects about 500 people to attend tomorrow's event.
Ruttinger said organizers have not heard of any planned protests surrounding Connerly's visit and have not arranged for additional security specifically because of Connerly's presence.
He added that he didn't expect the panel to come under fire because it is meant to be "an even-handed debate discussing all sides of the issues."
Ruttinger said organizers Ruttinger said he was unsure when Connerly accepted the invitation to appear on the panel, but said the majority of the event's speakers were finalized in December.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.