Court allows wrongful death lawsuit after miscarriage
Lawyer Interviews
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that a woman can pursue a wrongful-death lawsuit against an obstetrician after a miscarriage when she was five to six weeks pregnant.
Justices on Friday reversed a trial judge's order dismissing the wrongful-death claim.
In the civil case ruling, the justices cited a 2009 state law making it a crime to kill or harm "an unborn child in utero at any stage of development."
The case involved a newly pregnant woman experiencing abdominal cramping and fever. The physician suspected an ectopic pregnancy and administered an injection to stop the progression. It was determined later that the pregnancy was uterine.
The woman sued, arguing that the injection caused pregnancy loss. The physician said that the pregnancy was already failing and that she followed standard practices.
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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.