Resolving Military Liens in Personal Injury Cases: Achieving Predictability and Finality

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will provide personal injury counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants with practical tips and considerations for resolving military liens, i.e., claims of the U.S. government to reimbursement, to maximize recovery, and ensure compliance in personal injury cases.
Faculty

Mr. Cattie focuses his law practice exclusively on MSP and MSA issues, providing legal opinions regarding reporting and repayment obligations as well as assessing a client’s future medical exposure under the MSP Act. In the MSA area, he has personally reviewed or overseen the review of over 10,000 distinct fact patterns. Federal and state court opinions such as Smith v. Marine Terminals of Arkansas, Tye v. Upper Valley Medical Center, and Doe v. Company X cite his analysis favorably.

Mr. Place exclusively assists personal injury victims and plaintiff counsel with complex lien resolution problems using his vast knowledge of the other side’s techniques. Mr. Place spent fourteen years representing large private group health insurance plans, self-funded ERISA groups, FEHBA plans, Medicare Advantage plans, state Medicaid plans, as well as stop-loss and disability plans in their subrogation/recovery programs. He asserted subrogation/reimbursement rights for those groups in all fifty states, personally recovering nearly one hundred million dollars for the insurance industry.
Description
The right of the federal government to reimbursement for care provided to the military and their dependents should be understood by every trial lawyer. Indeed, veterans themselves are not provided care without charge for non-service-connected disabilities, including when a tortfeasor or its insurer may be responsible for the cost of care.
Reimbursement claims by military health plans are rising. These claims are resolved differently and with different entities than Medicare or Medicaid liens that most personal injury lawyers may know about. Until these liens are addressed, the final settlement of personal injury claims should not occur.
Resolving and compromising military liens requires understanding the system. Legal and practical ways exist to lower the final lien amount. Strategic resolution of military liens will help attorneys maximize client recovery and ensure compliance during the personal injury claim settlement.
Listen as our authoritative panel of personal injury litigators and consultants discusses military lien resolution tactics and strategies to maximize settlement amounts and ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.
Outline
- Medical coverages available to those in the military and their dependents/survivors
- Federal Medical Care Recovery Act
- Independent right of recovery from responsible third parties
- Subrogation, assignment, and ability to intervene
- Two recurring problems
- Attorney fees and Tricare
- Claims against first-party auto insurance policies
- Strategies
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- When does the Veterans' Administration (VA) have a right of recovery?
- Will the VA file its own lawsuit?
- Does the VA offset for attorney fees/costs/expenses?
- What is an "Attorney Protection Agreement" and does the veteran's attorney have to sign this document?
- How long does it take to resolve all relevant liens?
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