CHAMBERLAIN MCHANEY LAWYER SCORES
MAJOR VICTORY: In a case notable for the complexity of its
issues and novelty of its procedures, Tim Poteet of our firm successfully
represented Hartford Insurance Company in a commercial breach of contract suit
against the University of Houston
before the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The suit arose from a controversy over
liability for a $250,000.00 deductible in connection with an Owner Controlled
Insurance Program (or wrap-up policy) under which the first named insured (owner
University of Houston) sued another named
insured (the general contractor) for damages resulting from defects in an
athletic facility. The suit proceeded
under an administrative protocol dictated by the recently enacted Contract
Claims Act, which governs claims against state entities that otherwise would be
barred by sovereign immunity. In a 41
page decision and order, the court addressed numerous jurisdictional and
affirmative defenses raised by the University of Houston,
and found that our client, Hartford, was entitled to
recover the maximum amount of its claim.
LEGISLATURE MAY
OVERHAUL WORKERS COMPENSATION SYSTEM: A proposed overhaul of the state's workers'
compensation system would create regulated networks of doctors to treat injured
workers and revamp the structure of the state agency that oversees the
system. The Texas
system has come under attack from many fronts.
Organized labor says too many workers are denied adequate compensation
and too often must fight insurance companies to pay claims. Employers say too many doctors and chiropractors
are more focused on maximizing profits than helping workers get back to work
quickly. Many doctors have stopped
taking workers' compensation patients, citing the hassle of justifying their
treatment and trying to get paid.
Richard Levy, legal director
for the Texas AFL-CIO, said the labor group plans to study the bill to see
whether it places too much control of the provider networks in the hands of
insurance companies and whether it emphasizes cost-cutting over the quality of
care. But under the new system, with insurance companies and networks agreeing
beforehand on fees, treatment procedures and the like, "the carrier won't
play the day-to-day role of micromanager," said one of the bill's
sponsors. Texas AFL-CIO President Emmett Sheppard isn't so sure that the bill
is a panacea. "The devil is in the details," Sheppard said. "We
are examining the bill with an eye toward whether the medical networks the bill
would set up provide a broad-enough choice of quality medical care providers."
Highlights of the bill:
• Replace the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission
with a more traditional state department with a single commissioner in charge.
• Use networks of doctors to provide care. Employers,
doctors or HMOs could create the networks, which would contract with employers
or insurers to provide care. The state Department of Insurance would regulate
the networks and periodically review the quality of care they provide.
• Increase benefits for injured workers, which now are
capped at $539 a week, and reduce the waiting period from four weeks to two.
TEXAS UPDATE IS BROUGHT TO YOU AS A SERVICE OF THIS FIRM
DAVID E.
CHAMBERLAIN
CHAMBERLAIN
MCHANEY
AUSTIN & SAN ANTONIO
512.474.9124
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