The Trust Fund made an offer for settlement that IRG deemed inadequate and out of sync with the Fund’s exposure in the case. IRG instead recommended a trial of the case.

IRG, through its law firm IRLA, brought the employee back from California to testify at hearing. Although the evidence was strongly in favor of our client, the Fund still failed to make a reasonable offer of settlement. In the end, the Judge issued a well-crafted decision, finding all the elements of the statute satisfied. The appeal period for the Fund will run out on November 1, 2008.

This claim exemplifies IRG’s willingness to prosecute claims on behalf of our clients and maximize our client’s rights to reimbursement when Trust Funds are unwilling to offer fair value for their exposure.

Summary: In recent years, New York, South Carolina, and Georgia have enacted legislation to phase out their respective Second Injury Funds (SIFs). Over 20 SIFs have closed or "sunset," leaving about 20 states with SIFs open to claims with new dates of injury. Of these, about 10 have enabling language that creates significant opportunities for employer savings.

While many SIFs have closed to future claims, employers should not forget that there is still, by the authors' estimates, upwards of $40 billion dollars to recover from those funds. Employers and insurers need to be certain that processes are in place to recover those dollars effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, the clock is ticking on several funds, making it imperative that insurers and employers with exposure in those states act now to recoup any outstanding recoveries.

This article briefly reviews the history and intent of SIFs and provides an update of major changes with respect to SIFs that have recently closed or been changed by key laws. It also seeks to put the role of today’s SIFs in a more modern context. For employers, that context is an era of significant interstate and world competition.

Insurance Recovery Legal Associates fought this battle to preserve the right to file these claims for our clients. We diligentlay pursue claims through the appellate system when necessary in order to protect our clients' rights. This decision was extremely close with the SJC split 4 to 3 on one case and 3 to 3 on the other. It is favorable news for the many clients and business partners that currently have IRG working on their Massachusetts files.

If you are not currently working with Insurance Recovery Group (IRG) on your MA files, be aware that the further we get from the 1985 - 1991 DOI claims, the more difficult it will be to obtain the documents and evidence needed for successful SIF recovery. Timing is of the essence and urgency is in order to ensure that all such cases are identified and are being aggressively pursued before the passage of time creates an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining aged documents. Otherwise, your opportunities may be lost forever.

Contact us today if you would like to learn more about how we can help you with your second injury fund recoveries.

The first meeting Candace will be attending is the New York Claims Association’s workshop on “The Legal and Medical Perspectives of Pain Management” on November 13th at the New York State Insurance Fund. The following day, she plans to attend the APIW/IBANY November Luncheon.

On November 28th, the National Association of Insurance Women will be holding their local chapter meeting at the American Red Cross in New York City. Candace LaChapelle, who is on the Board of Directors for the NYC chapter, will be in attendance for this meeting as well.

The first conference she will visit is the National Association of Subrogation Professionals’ Annual Conference, which is taking place at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel in New Orleans, LA from November 4th-7th. Candace plans to spend the remainder of the week at the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL from November 6-8.