If you'd like to make an appointment to meet Marie or book an appointment with any of our senior team, give us a call at (800) 798-5474. See you there!

According to David A. Jollin, President and CEO of IRG, "The new division will expand on Insurance Recovery Group's core competency, which is identifying, investigating, and recovering claims dollars through legal and regulatory processes." He adds that, although IRG has offered workers compensation subrogation services to select clients in the past, the new division expands the scope of the operation and creates a dedicated unit with deep expertise.

Insurance Recovery Group (IRG) is a national subrogation (Insurance Subrogation Group), second injury fund (SIF), COLA recovery, and cost containment company operating in the insurance industry, including property, auto, and workers compensation recoveries. Its staff of expert attorneys and claims recovery managers help clients to reduce administrative expenses, improve claims handling efficiency and substantially increased recovery opportunities.

IRG identified this key claim when it was invited by the client to take one more look at claims that had already been reviewed for potential SITF by in-house adjusters, attorneys, and other vendors in advance of the approaching SITF deadline. In its week long review, IRG found this and several other claims that to its expert eye looked like they represented significant recovery potential. Without IRG's expert evaluation, this claim, which involved a claimant with a cervical spine injury who was permanently and totally disabled and medicals estimated at $78,000 per year for the rest of the claimant's life, would not have been pursued for recovery. However, through IRG's expert assessment of the file, the claim’s untapped potential was identified and ultimately realized.

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.