Neb. high court reinstates suit against attorney
National News
The Nebraska Supreme Court has reinstated a lawsuit against an attorney that was filed by a former client convicted of securities fraud.
Bryan Behrens had sought to sue Christian Blunk for more than $8 million due to Behrens client-investors. In court filings, Behrens says Blunk gave him bad advice and was to blame for the securities fraud. But a Douglas County district judge dismissed the case in March, because Behrens had sought Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination.
In the opinion issued Thursday, the high court says the judge was wrong to throw out the lawsuit and should have delayed the case until after Behrens' criminal trial.
Behrens, of Omaha, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was ordered to spend five years in prison and repay his victims.
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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.