SD attorney on trial on child porn charges
Recent Cases
The lawyer for a Sioux Falls defense attorney being tried on child pornography charges told a federal court jury that Leo Flynn sought out the material so he could give legal advice to clients.
The 62-year-old Flynn is facing charges including possession and distribution of child porn. South Dakota law gives immunity to lawyers and some others who work on such cases, but federal law doesn't. Defense attorney Rory Durkin says the state law should apply in Flynn's case.
Prosecutors say they found hundreds of pornographic files on Flynn's computer. On Tuesday, they played audio of an interview with investigators in which Flynn said he searched for child porn about once a week.
The Argus Leader reports that Flynn's trial is expected to last late into the week.
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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.