Note: Workers’ Comp Advisor will take its annual summer break starting Monday, June 30, and resume daily publication on Monday, July 14. Happy Fourth of July to all of our valued subscribers!

 

EverPeak Expands Beyond Colorado Base

• Denver-based EverPeak Insurance said Thursday that it has expanded its workers’ compensation business now to 16 states.
• New territories include Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
• Pinnacol Assurance launched EverPeak as a separate entity to provide workers’ compensation coverage, particularly for small businesses and hard-to-place industries, in September 2024.
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Gallagher Bassett, Milwaukee Lawyers in DoJ Settlement Over Veteran’s WC Claim

• Gallagher Bassett Services and two Milwaukee-area lawyers have reached a $75,000 settlement with the Justice department in a case where they unlawfully sought to avoid paying money owed to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• According to the DoJ’s Thursday announcement, attorney Alex Eichhorn represented a veteran in his WC proceedings against a private-sector employer and its insurers.
• As part of that representation, Eichhorn requested medical records from the VA, which then asserted its right to recover its medical expenses under the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act.
• Eichhorn later negotiated a settlement of the WC claim with counsel for Gallagher Bassett, Scott Wade.
• Despite having received written notice of the VA’s claim, the two sides ultimately reached a deal whereby the veteran would accept the “risk” that the VA would enforce its FMCRA claim, in exchange for $90,000, of which $75,000 was earmarked for medical expenses.
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