Visit Callagy Law’s website for full details: www.callagylaw.com
We are skilled attorneys in several different practice areas which include: Medical Revenue Recovery / Healthcare Recovery (PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance), Business Law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Family Law, and Wills / Estates / Trust Law.
We’ve received several awards from AVVO as well.
Please contact us today: 201-261-1700 | inquiries@callagylaw.com | www.callagylaw.com
We are headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey (Bergen County). We have offices in New York and Arizona as well.
The following article was written by Callagy Law’s Legal Team, and will focus on many common questions and concerns surrounding new developments, legal matters, the court system, and other procedures within the area of Family Law.
In the divorce context, all assets are not created equal and the Internal Revenue Service can alter what you thought were rather straight forward provisions for child support and alimony.
Consider the “child contingency rule” regarding alimony. IRS Publication 504 warns that if alimony payments are reduced or end around the same time as a child-related event, all alimony payments that were deductible to the payor and taxable income to the payee may be reclassified as child support instead of alimony. The payor would lose the deduction and pay retroactive taxes and the payee would receive a refund of taxes paid. A contingency relating to the child include (1) becoming employed (2) dying; (3) leaving the household; (4) leaving school; (5) marrying; or, (6) reaching a specified age or income level. This reclassification can be avoided if it can be established that any reduction in alimony was determined independently of a child-related contingency, which would be the normal circumstance. For example, if you can show that the period of alimony payments is customary in the local jurisdiction, such as a period equal to one-half of the duration of the marriage, you can overcome the presumption and may be able to treat the amount as alimony.
Also consider the income tax burden of certain assets that are being divided up as part of a divorce settlement. Investment accounts that hold stocks, mutual funds, etc., may carry different tax basis which may result in different unrealized gains or losses which can result in significantly different capital gains taxes. Investment assets must be viewed on a tax-neutral basis to assure an equal distribution and sharing of capital gains taxes. The $1 million dollar investment account, which may have unrealized gains that will subject to capital gains taxes is not equal to $1 million in cash and an straight up off-set would be an unequal distribution of the assets.
Your family lawyer should have a grasp and understanding of these tax concepts and be able to navigate you through such issues to assure that the distribution of assets is fair and equitable.
A local lawyer is fighting both in and out of the courtroom, as he deals with a genetic disease that is causing him to lose his eyesight.
Sean Callagy, owner of Callagy Law in Paramus, suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare disease that causes certain cells in the retina to start to die; he has been slowly losing his vision over the past five years. According to the National Eye Institute, the disease progresses, impairing vision, when proteins in the cones that make up the retina stop producing and the cells die. Because of this, Callagy, a River Vale resident, has a hard time seeing important details of the things in front of him, and at this point can only see the blurry silhouette of them.
“It’s like looking through a straw,” Callagy explained. “My peripheral vision is a lot better, but things that are in front of me are usually very blurry.”
Callagy was diagnosed with the disease when he was five years old, but didn’t begin to notice problems with his sight until he was a teenager. Over time, the disease continued to impair his vision, and he is now classified as legally blind. But despite the heartache that comes with losing his vision, Callagy has learned not to take anything in life for granted, and pushes himself further to be the best he can be, and make a difference in other people’s lives – perseverance he said comes because of the hand he’s been dealt.
The disease progresses
The attorney has recently had to give up driving and can no longer read court documents without assistance. But he says the worst part of the disease has been the way his lack of vision has hurt his ability to watch his kids grow.
“It hurts when I’m trying to watch my kids play soccer,” Callagy said. “I have to just focus on them. If they kick the ball, I have no idea where it goes, so I try to just follow them. I tend to lose track of them with everything that goes on, but I try my best to keep up. To me, that’s been the hardest part. I can’t enjoy watching them grow up the way I would love to.”
Callagy also talked about how his vision has hampered his ability to scuba dive and some of the other activities that he does with his family. He praised his family for their understanding and patience, and expressed how much help they have been.
“Vacations can be rough too,” he said. “There might be 50 fish right in front of you, but I can only see five. My family is amazing though, they are just so understanding and supportive. I couldn’t do this without their support.”
Callagy grew up as a baseball player in Emerson. He played baseball for Columbia University in 1992 and was even told that he could be drafted in the Major League Baseball draft. During his senior year, however, the disease started to really affect his play, causing him to lose track of fly balls in the outfield. In a game against Army, Callagy dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded, causing his team to lose the game. The MLB took notice, and Callagy never got his chance to play in the majors.
“On a cloudy day, it was hard to track the ball,” Callagy explained. “I would drop like one of every 50 balls, but in the majors, that’s still too much.”
Callagy explained that sitting through the draft was one of the hardest things that he had to do.
“It was really rough,” he said. “Imaging sitting there by the phone for three days waiting for a call, knowing that you won’t ever get one, but you’re just hopeful you will. It was hard for sure.”
Inspired to take a chance
After his baseball career was over, Callagy went into banking, working for a bank in New York for a year. He then decided to go to law school, hoping that he would be able to use his law degree to help people. He started working for a big firm, but left shortly after starting because he didn’t like how the firm treated their clients. After leaving the firm, Callagy sought counsel from doctor and friend Dr. Charles Berg, who prompted Callagy to read “Awaken the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins. The book explains how we all have something special inside of us, and gives tips on how to bring that special something out of us.
“That book changed everything,” Callagy said. “It gave me the inspiration to start doing my own thing, and to take a chance.”
Callagy started his own law firm in 2003 and had 40 people working for him. He also started his own educational company that year, after he realized how much he loved coaching and teaching people. In 2006, he started Callagy Law, with the company’s foundation built around the principle of education.
Since the disease has really begun to take hold over the past five years, Callagy said he’s had to memorize everything from his trials, and credits his lack of vision for making him an even better lawyer.
“My situation created a sense of urgency for me,” he explained. “Despite my disability, I knew I was the best lawyer in the room. What’s even better is the fact that everyone in the room knew it as well. That’s how my situation has been a benefit. We’ve won some really big cases in the past few years, and it’s all thanks to the dedication of my entire staff. We’re all growing and learning from this, which is really great.”
Callagy Law has won over $27 million in verdicts during the past two years, during the same time that Callagy’s vision started to take a turn for the worst.
Retinitis Pigmentosa will skip the next generation, but one of Callagy’s daughters most likely carries the trait. If she has a son, he most likely will get the disease, just like Callagy and his grandfather, the lawyer said. According to the United States Library of Medicine, Retinitis Pigmentosa typically affects more males than females and males’ symptoms are usually more severe. Callagy explained that the disease has no cure, but researchers are making huge strides in three areas.
“Right now there’s no cure but there are options out there,” he said. “The three big areas where research is going towards are the bionic eye, gene research, and stem cell research. It’s all about continuing to spread the word about the disease and continue to get funding for it.”
Despite the disease, Callagy has stayed positive throughout his journey and thinks that the situation has led him to help people even more than ever.
“Every day I ask myself the same question,” Callagy said. “How can I do more? What else can I do to help? I’ve learned to appreciate the little things, and that’s always been my message to others. We always take things for granted. I don’t do that anymore.”
Lie, cheat, steal, swindle, manipulate and spin the facts. Yes, this is the picture most people have of lawyers and our legal system. Sadly, in many cases, those impressions are quite accurate.
However, that isn’t the way to truly win in our legal system. This article will briefly touch on the real keys.
My name is Sean Callagy, the founder and President of Callagy Law, a New Jersey, New York and Arizona law firm.
Matt Damon, in the Rainmaker, makes a profound comment at the end of the movie when he decides to leave the law after an amazing victory of truth over lies. Essentially, Damon’s character muses that to keep doing it, he would likely need to become the evil he just defeated. The same evil he asked if he even remembered when he sold out.
Often, I feel that way in this profession. The amount of lies and gamesmanship that exist is enough to make any decent human being want to quit the human race. Then, you find your fair share of judges who let it go on, and even enable it.
So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?
Wrong.
Integrity, authenticity and incredible hard work are the real secrets to success in our greatest system of lie detection on earth: the jury trial.
I believe that liars only win when they come up against the less skilled or hard working attorney.
The great benefit of dealing with liars in any case is that they don’t know when to stop lying. They lie so much that they begin to believe their own lies. Judges can become quite anesthetized to lying as well.
Juries, however, despise liars and lying. If you tell one lie as a lawyer, and the other guy approaches matters with integrity, then the liar is in huge trouble every time.
You see, juries, like all people, want to believe and find good in our system. They don’t expect to, but are very pleasantly surprised when they do. It restores their faith.
I believe that most attorneys don’t get this. They will try to hide, duck, dodge or flat out lie, to avoid problems in their cases. That may work for awhile, but it doesn’t work before a jury.
In both of these cases where I had the privilege of representing my clients, I believe the truth came shining through to the jury. That truth included acknowledging certain realities about the parties and the issues.
However, it is not enough to acknowledge a problem and gloss over it. Everyone says “draw the sting” from your problems. The real question is whether the jury believes what you believe. Your credibility, as a lawyer, is everything in front of the jury. Try to cheat on reality just a bit, and you are the lying lawyer they expected. Then, you better hope that the other man or woman is also seen as a lying lawyer and hope the jury believes you and your client is the lesser of two evils.
On the contrary, wouldn’t it be easier to be the voice of integrity, and therefore authority, in the court room?
It takes a ton of work to make this type of presentation. Like Matt Damon suggested though, would you want to do it any other way?
If you would ever want to discuss “how” to do this with a person who’s been blessed to do it, then please reach out and contact me.
By the way, the jury awarded 8 and 16 million in punitive damages in these two cases. How do you think the juries perspective on integrity and authenticity factored into those verdicts?
Sean Callagy, Owner / Founder of Callagy Law
“Fundamentally Changing the Way People Feel About Lawyers, One Client at a Time.”
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
The question of what constitutes payment for the purpose of calculating the Statute of Limitations in a PIP Claim for Benefits was recently addressed by our office in the Context of a PIP Arbitration filed on behalf of one of our Medical Provider’s.
The issue our Provider faced, as presented by CURE Insurance, was whether the Provider’s Claim was barred by the application of the 2 year statute of limitations period in connection to the filing of a PIP Arbitration Matter.
In relation to the calculation of the Statute of Limitations time period when filing a PIP Claim for Benefits, N.J.S.A. 39:6A-13.1(a) states:
Every action for the payment of benefits payable under a standard automobile insurance policy pursuant to sections 4 and 10 of P.L. 1972, c. 70 (c. 39:6A-4 and 39:6A-10), medical expense benefits payable under a basic automobile insurance policy pursuant to section 4 of P.L. 1998, c. 21 (c. 39:6A-3.1) or benefits payable under a special automobile insurance policy pursuant to section 45 of P.L. 2003, c. 89 (c. 39:6A-3.3), except an action by a decedent’s estate, shall be commenced not later than two years after the injured person or survivor suffers a loss or incurs an expense and either knows or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should know that the loss or expense was caused by the accident, or not later than four years after the accident whichever is earlier, provided, however, that if benefits have been paid before then an action for further benefits may be commenced not later than two years after the last payment of benefits.
(emphasis added).
Specifically, the facts of our matter showed that while there were no actual pip benefits paid by CURE, it was undisputed that CURE received the Provider’s Bill and processed the bill, applying the eligible amount (as determined by CURE) to the patient’s policy deductible.
Our office relied on the case of George C. Everett v. State Farm Indemnity Co., 358 N.J. Super. 400 (App. Div. 2002), wherein the Appellate Division found that the term “last payment of benefits” as used in N.J.S.A. 39:6A-13.1(a) is consistent with and includes the adjustment of a bill and application of that bill to the patient’s deductible.
Specifically, our office highlighted that in Everett, 358 N.J. Super. at 379, the Court found:
“since the bill was an expense caused by the accident, we conclude that the process of adjusting the bill to the fee schedule and applying the balance to the deductible constituted a ‘last payment of benefits’ under the Act, making the plaintiff’s complaint, which was filed within two years of that date, timely.”
Our office maintained that based on the determination of the Court in Everett, even though the adjustment/ processing of the Provider’s bill in this matter resulted in no more than a credit against the patient’s deductible, this was considered a benefit to the insured and therefore the date of processing of the bill sets the statute of limitations period once again.
In considering the above arguments, DRP Gary T. Lesser, Esq., in NJ-1644666 determined that based upon the Everett matter, the two-year statute of limitations commenced anew with the processing the bill and application of the payment against the patient’s deductible. As such, the Statute of Limitations period did not expire prior to the Provider’s filing of the PIP Demand for Arbitration. Therefore, as a result, the Provider had standing to Proceed with the underlying PIP Claim for Benefits.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Our team of knowledgeable PIP Arbitration attorneys are ready to help you. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
Billing insurance companies and collecting what you are entitled to collect can be a difficult process for medical providers. There are inevitably coverage issues, difficulties with navigating the ambiguities of policies, correct coding problems, and carriers will look for any discrepancy as a way to avoid payment. Below are a few tips to help overcome or at least alleviate some of these issues.
Let’s begin with coding. Employing a certified coder is a start. It is best these days to hire a professional, who will stay educated on the latest coding practices and information, rather than simply someone who has general knowledge. Coding has grown and continues to grow more and more complicated. A certified coder reviewing the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) tables will ensure that bundling errors do not hold up payments. A professional coder can navigate the labyrinth of codes so as to limit the carriers’ ability to delay payments for coding deficiencies.
Insurance policies too can be problematic. Whenever possible a medical provider should obtain as much information about the insurance policy relevant to the treatment as possible. This might mean the declaration page of an automobile policy or the health benefit plan description for a commercial insurance patient. Knowledge of the policies and plans will help reduce, if not, eliminate unknown coverage pitfalls, and provide a better knowledge base of likely reimbursement levels. Too often providers render services having little or no real knowledge as to what the reimbursement levels will be or whether or not they are even likely to be reimbursed.
The medical documentation also can raise issues. A medical provider must make sure the supporting documentation matches the diagnosis codes, and should be very specific. It is self defeating to be cavalier about explaining the need for and the medical necessity of all aspects of the treatment. It is important to be aware of codes that need specific explanations for payment and ensure your documentation has the necessary explanations.
Finally, confronting denials as and when they happen, as well as having a competent and aggressive legal time at your disposal, will pay big dividends. You need collection personnel with tenacity and organization skills to pursue relentlessly the frequent follow up calls that are necessary. Knowing payer systems and rules and asking the right questions of claims adjusters is also important.
These are some simple suggestions to combat the revenue roller coaster many providers face. As a liaison for Callagy Law, I have seen some of my providers struggle with insurance payments, and these basic steps can help alleviate that struggle.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Our team of knowledgeable PIP Arbitration attorneys are ready to help you. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
The following article was written by Callagy Law’s Legal Team, and will focus on many common questions and concerns surrounding new developments, legal matters, and other procedures within the practice area of Family Law, which include, but are not limited to, divorce law, child custody, child support, and prenuptial agreements. Our family law team members are also Certified Matrimonial Attorneys in the State of New Jersey. Our mission is to answer any questions and give knowledge to many different aspects of these matters.
An issue that often comes in the divorce context, particularly when attempting to establish child support and/or alimony obligations, is the accurate determination of a parent’s/spouse’s income. If a party is voluntarily underemployed or unemployed, then an income is appropriately imputed to that party. The question then becomes what level of income should be imputed to that party?
There are certain priorities that attorneys and judges will look to for imputing income to a litigant. First, the party’s work history, occupational qualifications, educational background and prevailing job opportunities in the region will be reviewed, evaluated and considered. A court may impute income based upon the party’s former income at that person’s usual or former occupation or the average earnings of such an occupation as reported by the New Jersey Department of Labor. The New Jersey Department of Labor categorizes employment fields and breaks down earnings in geographical segments. For example, Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties are grouped together for wage and employment statistics.
If potential earnings cannot be determined, income can be imputed based on the party’s most recent wage or benefit record. Finally, if a wage or benefit record is not available, income may be imputed based upon full-time employment at the New Jersey minimum wage rate.
In addition, in high income cases or where a party has an advanced degree, but has been out of the workforce for a period of time, an employability expert may be retained to provide greater detail and input as to a party’s employability and potential earnings. This almost becomes a job placement search and various market statistics and research tools are utilized to canvas the region for potential and available job opportunities based upon the person’s educational and employment background.
It is also noteworthy that, when young children are involved, the costs of work-related day care necessary for a person to work outside of the home or obtain full-time employment will be deducted from the imputed income for child support purposes. This is important when dealing with an imputed income that is marginally more or even less than the costs of child-care. If it will cost more in child-care then the person can earn, other alternatives need to be considered.
The Team at Callagy Law hopes the information in this article was helpful in either your personal or professional life.. Callagy Law, is a multidisciplinary law firm, headquartered in Paramus, NJ owned and operated by Sean Callagy. We are committed to providing legal representation and advice to our clients at additional law offices located across the United States. Please note that the information posted here should not be used as a legal argument of defense. If you find yourself needing legal advice pertaining to your unique situation, you can contact us at here. Feel free to search us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
As a PIP litigation attorney, I frequently find myself explaining what PIP is to individuals who are not familiar with this area of practice. I generally explain it by stating that injuries sustained in auto accidents are covered by auto insurance in the state of New Jersey and I represent health care providers in cases where the auto carrier denies payment. A follow-up question I sometimes receive is, “why aren’t those injuries covered by health insurance?”
The answer to this question is simple, except when it isn’t. (I kid.) New Jersey mandates that all auto insurance policies cover a minimum of $15,000 of PIP coverage. Typically, the auto insurer is the primary payor of injuries sustained in an auto accident under this PIP requirement. Thus, in such cases, it is the auto insurer that is primarily liable and not the patient’s health insurer.
However, there is an exception to the default system which is called “health care primary.” This refers to instances where the insured, in selecting her auto coverage, opts for the “health care primary” option. Essentially, in selecting this option, the insured is committing to utilize health insurance as the primary payor of injuries sustained in auto accidents in exchange for a lower auto insurance premium. In such cases, the patient’s auto insurance serves as a secondary payor rather than as the primary payor.
Health care primary policies can put a wrinkle in health care providers’ standard billing practices for PIP cases and it is worthwhile to understand how to navigate this situation. If a provider treats a car accident victim with a “health care primary” auto policy, the provider should first bill the patient’s health insurer. (If the provider mistakenly bills the auto insurer first, the auto insurer will likely deny the claim and the provider can simply bill the health insurer thereafter.)
The question then becomes, what happens if the patient’s health insurer denies the claim? The good news here is that the provider can often bill the patient’s auto policy following such a denial since the PIP provision of the policy continues to act as secondary coverage.
While there is some ambiguity on this issue, many interpret the law in a way that requires the patient’s health insurer to issue a substantive denial in order for PIP to be triggered as secondary coverage.
For example, if the health insurer denies the claim because the treatment is not covered under the patient’s policy, this would serve as a substantive denial and the provider would then be free to bill the patient’s auto insurer. However, if the health insurer denies the claim stating that more documentation is needed to process the claim, this will likely not be regarded as a substantive denial and the provider would be wise to resubmit the claim to the health insurer with the requested documentation prior to attempting to bill the patient’s auto carrier.
One final note to be mindful of is, when billing the auto carrier following a health insurance denial, be sure to include the health insurance EOBs. This will signal to the auto carrier that, even though the claim involves a health care primary policy, the patient’s health insurer was already billed but the claim was denied.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Our team of knowledgeable PIP Arbitration attorneys are ready to help you. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
In this blog post, Callagy Law will focus on topics to help people better their businesses. Clients often come to Sean Callagy’s team with questions about their businesses, ranging from contracts, disputes, and other common legal issues in the business world. We hope to answer some common questions with business owners their teams. Our mission is to answer any litigation and business law questions. Our goal is to help you avoid litigation and give you the necessary tools to run a successful business.
Approximately 90% of start-up companies fail. With such a high failure rate, it is no surprise that the relatively few businesses that succeed tend to thrive—at least for awhile. So, is there a secret to success? Success is probably simpler than the statistics might suggest, but, as with anything, an entrepreneur must pay attention to what works and what does not. There are about twenty-eight million small businesses in the United States. Most will not succeed much longer, but a small percentage will thrive and continue to thrive.
One trait of a successful business—and it might seem obvious–is to create a product that fits the current market. The most common reason new companies fail is that they make a product no one actually wants. The owner/businessman might think he or she is offering a desirable product or service, but in reality it is a product or service he thought the public wanted. In other words, it was a product or service he or she wanted and then they assumed the rest of the buying public thought the same way.
It is also important for the owner to work on the business, rather than in the business. Successful entrepreneurs understand that doing everything themselves might be necessary at the very beginning of a start-up, but business growth comes with proper staffing. An entrepreneur/owner acts as the captain of the ship and steers it in the right direction. If the business owner works too much in the business, he or she will not be working on the business, that is, they will fail to ready the business for future success.
With a team of determined personnel, with a leader setting the direction and steering the company toward the goals set, a new business has a much greater of chance success. Versatility among the personnel is also important, because versatility involves mindset. Startup teams that are ready to change products, adjust plans, market differently, study other industries, or even start from scratch, are the ones that will make it.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to your everyday life and business. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy or the Callagy Law team at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law’s headquarters is located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of business legal practice and business coaching, if you need help with anything, please reach out to us by calling 201-261-1700 or by emailing us here. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube by clicking here.
I hope this Monday Morning finds you doing well. This is the first in what will be an ongoing communication from me to our client and other friend base.
One of my goals has been, for a long time, to build a sense of community around Callagy Law. The idea is to find likeminded people of integrity, empathy, caring, urgency, aggression and a desire to grow and live a life of passion and positive energy. We want this in the people with whom we work as both clients and business teammates.
As you may know, we post videos on our callagylaw.com website, our Facebook page, our LinkedIn page and throughout our social media. Please join us there to receive our videos and other content that is designed to foster that sense of community, fun, adventure and growth for you and your career.
Today’s Why Not message was about one of my favorite quotes: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The challenge is to examine our lives and really determine in which areas we want growth and change.
The key though, is to focus as much on the feelings we want as the “things” we want. Peace, for example, is a critically important feeling for our life. Joy, fulfillment, adventure and many other feelings are also critically important for most of us. If we only focus on “things” or tangible outcomes (e.g., winning a trial), then we can miss many of the critical feelings we NEED in our life.
So, the quick message for today: examine your life and set your goals. I did this on Thursday, and it led to me on Friday ending up a half mile off shore in 50 feet of water free diving by myself in another country. While that’s a story for a different day, it was the result of this process, and a tremendous boost to my energy level and mind set!
By the way, for those that don’t know, we just obtained an over 27 million dollar jury verdict for our client Marc Wichansky. It has been a five year odyssey, which will be the subject of other videos and articles, but I want to thank our entire team for once again putting Callagy Law, and me personally, in America’s top 100 verdicts, as well as putting us in the running for Arizona’s highest verdict of 2016. The American jury system is the great equalizer and human lie detector. I am so appreciative for the work of Michael Smikun, Chris Miller, Robert Solomon, Sam Saltman, Taylor Gallo, Dally Shala and everyone at Callagy Law and outside the firm, who helped make this result a reality.
By the way, I think we are America’s only trial team to have two verdicts in excess of 27 million dollars within the past two years. Not a bad team to have helping you with your legal challenges….
Also, we have added a Family Law team to our world of Callagy Law. Chris Cavalli and Brian McCann have joined the firm as partners and hold the special designation of Certified Matrimonial Attorneys. If you have any divorce, child custody or other family law issues, please call us, we are here to help.
Please also be on the lookout for live events we will be doing at the firm to help educate, inspire and even network as we continue to grow the Callagy Law community with awesome like-minded people.
I am so thankful to work with you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
You can seeall of our WHY NOT – HUDDLE videosbyclicking here and subscribing!If you have questions about any of the content you see or to have your questions answered on an upcoming show by Sean, please email your questions directly to him by clickinghere.
The Daily Why Not Huddle is for you if you want to exponentially increase your money, time, or fulfillment. The Why Not Huddle with business coaching expert, successful entrepreneur, and attorney Sean Callagy provide the essential daily ingredients for you to create and achieve your destiny.
Cael Sanderson is currently the head wrestling coach at Penn State. Since he began coaching there, Penn State has won 5 National Team Championships in the past 6 years. After winning 4 National Championships his first 4 years there as head coach, Penn State lost the year before last, and re-gained the title this past season.
I had heard stories about Cael Sanderson over the years—how he trained incessantly year after year–and was struck by one story my son told me when he was wrestling in high school. My son’s high school coach, in an attempt to inspire his wrestlers at St. Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey, showed a video about Cael Sanderson. Cael Sanderson was undefeated in college, with a record of 159-0 and won 4 National Championships. In the video the St. Joseph’s coach showed his wrestlers, Cael Sanderson, shortly after winning one of his National Championships, apparently had a bite to eat—well-deserved of course—and then immediately started training for the next season. I thought to myself, “Relax a little. Go see a movie. Play some video games.” But then I realized, it was no accident or coincidence, nor was it fate or destiny, nor luck, serendipity, or any other name for good fortune that brought him the success he achieved, and continues to achieve. It is pure, unmitigated hard work and dedication, always beyond even the most dedicated wrestlers around him. He took nothing for granted. He believed he had room for improvement, no matter how successful he had been, and simply worked, and worked, and worked some more, and continues to do so, knowing there is always more room for more improvement.
So, what are we to make of this? Okay, Cael Sanderson was a great wrestler and now a great wrestling coach, and he achieved his success through a great deal of hard work. We are not all as dedicated as he is or perhaps as crazy to be so obsessed with something as to dedicate our entire being to it the way did and does. Tell me something that is not obvious!
Well, you might come away from this with the moral that hard work and dedication pay off or are important to success. You might think it is necessary to always strive to improve. And both of those are noble lessons to have learned from the example of Cael Sanderson.
I have a slightly different take. I come away from his example not thinking that success is hard, but that success is easy! But by easy I am not suggesting you can be lazy and succeed. Success is easy because, for the most part, all you need to do is work harder than everybody else, and, in most instances, that is not difficult to do. I understand that Cael Sanderson had more going for him with wrestling than simple hard work. So many things go into the level of success he enjoyed—the very highest level, a level that Sports Illustrated regarded as the second greatest college athletic achievement in history, behind Jesse Owens who set four world records in one afternoon. But for the great majority of us, achieving success among our peers requires simply an increment over and above their performance. It need not be a very great increment either. It only needs to be enough to enable us to stand out. We stand out by performing beyond those around us. Perform over and above and you will succeed over and above. It really is that simple.
Too often, people follow the pack, falling in line with the expectations of their peers, and succumbing to the pressures not to do too much. That is fine if you do not want to succeed. In fact, that is a sure-fire formula for not succeeding. But if you do want to succeed and, indeed, excel, just raise the bar above the expectations of your peers and colleagues, not even necessarily by much, and success will come swifter than you can imagine, perhaps not in the form of 4 National Championships and an undefeated record, but at least enough to earn a raise or a promotion or your supervisor’s recognition.
Success is easy—all it takes is hard(er) work. After re-capturing the National Championship for Penn State this past season, Cael Sanderson was quoted as saying, “We’re happy, but we leave here ready to improve, and build . . . . We’re happy we won, but we are excited about the future also.” I wonder how many other coaches at his level say that. My guess is that virtually any other coach would savor the moment, enjoy the high note he was on, and pay no mind to the next season for awhile. Not Cael Sanderson.
The team at Callagy Law hopes the information in this article was helpful in either your personal or professional life. Businesses and people are multi-dimensional and at times may need a guiding light. The legal world pertains to all walks of life and businesses, therefore, we aim to provide information which will help you navigate through your life. Callagy Law, is a multidisciplinary law firm, headquartered in Paramus, NJ owned and operated by Sean Callagy. We are committed to providing legal representation and advice to our clients at our law offices located in New York, New Jersey and Arizona. Please note that the information posted here should not be used as a legal argument of defense. If you find yourself needing legal advice pertaining to your unique situation, you can contact us at by writing us here. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Law established the Uninsured Employer’s Fund (UEF) in order to provide benefits for any employee injured while working for an employer who did not have the required workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Benefits from the Uninsured Employer’s Fund also paid to an injured employee when an uninsured employer does not pay the benefit payments awarded by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. The benefits provided by the Uninsured Employer’s Fund include payment of medical expenses and temporary disability benefits. These benefits are administered by The Office of Special Compensation Funds (OSCF).
When a Petitioner files a Claim Petition, the insurance carrier or the approved self insurance of the employer is indicated on the application. If none is provided, then a search is performed with the Compensation Rating & Inspection Bureau to identify the whether the employer is uninsured. In the employer is determined to have no workers’ compensation coverage, then an attorney for the Uninsured Employer’s Fund will be assigned to the claim and will appear at the scheduled court proceedings.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
Supreme Court upholds Agreement terminating alimony upon showing of cohabitation
The following article was written by Callagy Law’s Legal Team, and will focus on many common questions and concerns surrounding new developments, legal matters, and other procedures within the practice area of Family Law. Our mission is to answer any questions and give knowledge to many different aspects of these matters.
In the recently published opinion Quinn v. Quinn (A-5-14, decided May 3, 2016), the Supreme Court upheld the parties’ divorce settlement agreement which provided for a termination of alimony upon cohabitation. The majority’s decision is not surprising given the strong public policy favoring agreements and, absent a showing of fraud, coercion or overreaching, agreements will be enforced as written. The wrinkle in the dispute was that, absent the parties’ agreement calling for an outright termination of alimony upon cohabitation, cohabitation may not have resulted in a termination of the obligation and the court would have had the discretion to modify or suspend the obligation. In fact, the trial court in Quinn v. Quinn did suspend the alimony obligation for the period of cohabitation, rather than terminating the obligation in total, reinstating the obligation as of the date the cohabitation ended. The trial court’s decision was affirmed on appeal, but the Supreme Court reversed, finding that the trial court was bound to enforce the parties’ agreement, which was entered freely, voluntarily and with the advice of independent counsel. By failing to enforce the terms of the agreement, the trial court effectively created a different agreement not contemplated or intended by either party.
Two (2) of the Supreme Court Justices dissented noting the severe financial consequences to Ms. Quinn as a result of the termination of the alimony obligation. The dissent believed that the provision of the parties’ agreement mandating a termination of alimony upon cohabitation is contrary to public policy and would effectively “pauperize” the ex-wife. The dissent cites a lack of evidence of any financial or economic benefit received by the ex-wife as a result of the cohabitation. The dissent viewed the anti-cohabitation provision in the parties’ agreement “as a means to oppress an ex-spouse,” viewing the provision as requiring the ex-wife to choose between her right to alimony and her “desire to enter into a loving relationship.”
The majority opinion, in addressing the dissents concern regarding the economic consequences, acknowledged the “serious” financial consequences to the ex-wife resulting from the termination of alimony. However, the majority clearly felt that the ex-wife understood without doubt that her conduct could result in a termination of the alimony obligation, yet she proceeded to cohabit anyway. Interestingly, Ms. Quinn stopped cohabitating just after her ex-husband sought to terminate the alimony obligation. Yet, the majority found that the cessation of cohabitation was of no moment and irrelevant. Will this open the door for similar applications to terminate or modify alimony obligations based upon cohabitation that existed months or maybe even years earlier, but subsequently ended?
The Quinn v. Quinn decision exemplifies the clash of equities often experienced in family law disputes. Certainly Mr. Quinn believes that enforcement of the bargained for agreement was equitable and the majority of the Supreme Court agreed. If nothing else, the Quinn decision should serve as a reminder that notions of equity and fairness are subject to judicial interpretation.
The Team at Callagy Law hopes the information in this article was helpful in either your personal or professional life.. Callagy Law, is a multidisciplinary law firm, headquartered in Paramus, NJ owned and operated by Sean Callagy. We are committed to providing legal representation and advice to our clients at additional law offices located across the United States. Please note that the information posted here should not be used as a legal argument of defense. If you find yourself needing legal advice pertaining to your unique situation, you can contact us at here. Feel free to search us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
Humans are terrified of sharks. Many beachgoers are afraid to swim in the ocean because they are worried a shark might be nearby. Statistically, however, shark attacks rarely occur. One in 3.7 million people die of a shark attack, according to the International Shark Attack File of the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History. A human is at a much higher risk of dying of heart disease, of cancer, or in a car accident than of being the victim of a shark attack. Even less common things, like balloons, beds, and sand, are more detrimental to a human’s safety than are sharks.
During this recent surge of “taking selfies,” it has been proven that a human is at a greater risk of dying while taking a selfie than while swimming in shark-infested water. There have been dozens of deaths related to tourists taking selfies, according to Condé Nast research, versus only eight shark attacks occurring in the same year. In 2014, a couple visiting Portugal fell off a cliff while taking a selfie to send to their family. Unrelated to tourism, people risk their lives every day as they take selfies at times and in places that cause them to be distracted from something they should be firmly focused on, such as driving an automobile. As humans clearly pose a greater risk to themselves than sharks pose to humans, what explains people’s continuous fear of the “deadly” shark?
Studies show that it is not about the shark attack itself or the likelihood of encountering a shark that make people afraid, but more about the consequences of it. How unfortunate is it to be attacked by a shark when the odds are so low? Christopher Bader, a professor of sociology at Chapman University in California, reported that people living in Florida, where shark attacks are more likely, are less afraid of sharks than people living in Maine, where shark attacks almost never occur. Clearly, the more familiar a person is with the low risk of an incident occurring, the less likely that individual is to fear the event.
The bottom line is sharks have much more to fear from humans than humans do from sharks.
The team at Callagy Law hopes the information in this article was helpful in either your personal or professional life. Businesses and people are multi-dimensional and at times may need a guiding light. The legal world pertains to all walks of life and businesses, therefore, we aim to provide information which will help you navigate through your life. Callagy Law, is a multidisciplinary law firm, headquartered in Paramus, NJ owned and operated by Sean Callagy. We are committed to providing legal representation and advice to our clients at our law offices located in New York, New Jersey and Arizona. Please note that the information posted here should not be used as a legal argument of defense. If you find yourself needing legal advice pertaining to your unique situation, you can contact us at by writing us here. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
MRIs can be performed within five days of the insured event under certain circumstances
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test not normally performed within five days of the insured event. As a result, some insurance carriers will attempt to argue that these tests are not medically necessary and therefore, not reimbursable. However, clinically supported indication of neurological gross motor deficits, incontinence or acute nerve root compression with neurologic symptoms may justify MRI testing during the acute phase immediately post injury
In N.J. Coal. of Health Care v. Dept. of Banking & Ins., 323 N.J. Super. 207 (App. Div. 1999) at 247, the Court found that “[f]or cervical, thoracic and lumbar-sacral spine injuries, the first step in treating a patient involves, and logically so, a clinical evaluation by the appropriate health-care provider. Such an evaluation may include x-rays, CT scan, and an MRI, if necessary.”
Moreover, N.J.A.C. 11:3-4.5 (b) (5) states that these tests have been determined to have value in the evaluation of injuries, the diagnosis and development of a treatment plan for persons injured in a covered accident, when medically necessary and consistent with clinically supported findings, when used in accordance with the guidelines contained in the American College of Radiology, Appropriateness Criteria to evaluate injuries in numerous parts of the body, particularly the assessment of nerve root compression and/or motor loss.
The MRI test uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. The area of the body being studied is placed inside a special machine that contains a strong magnet. Pictures from an MRI scan are digital images that can be saved and stored on a computer for more study. The images also can be reviewed remotely, such as in a clinic or an operating room. In some cases, contrast material may be used during the MRI scan to show certain structures more clearly.
In many cases, MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan. MRI also may show problems that cannot be seen with other imaging methods.
According to the American College of Radiology, MRI testing should be reserved for cases of known or suspected soft tissue injuries such as disc herniations, ligament tears, epidural hematoma and spinal cord edema or hematoma, especially in the presence of a neurological deficit.
In Care Paths 1 and 5 for soft tissue injuries to the cervical spine and lumbar-sacral spine, respectively, though, an MRI may be administered if there are abnormal neurologic findings (i.e.: radiculopathy) and typically following a course of four weeks conservative treatment with no improvement in symptoms. In Care Paths 2 and 6 for soft tissue injuries to the cervical spine and lumbar-sacral spine with symptoms of radiculopathy, a minimum of two weeks conservative treatment without improvement in symptoms is recommended before administering an MRI.
As the MRI testing is appropriate during the clinical and diagnostic evaluation of injuries to the cervical and lumbar spine, especially if there are abnormal neurologic findings; these tests are in fact reimbursable if performed within five days of the insured event.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
The total amount includes $8 million in punitive damages
Paramus, N.J. (Sept. 22, 2014) – A three-week civil trial at the Bergen County Superior Court of New Jersey recently ended with a jury awarding The Law Funder, LLC $33.5 million dollars. The amount is payable by, among others, defendant Matthew Sheldon, who in 2013 pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to the same unlawful conduct.
“This verdict is a victory for my clients,” said Sean Callagy of Callagy Law, who represented The Law Funder in the case. “While this does not represent a complete recovery for them, we will continue to pursue the payment due for the rest of Sheldon’s life so that he may repay some of what my clients have lost.”
Sheldon is currently incarcerated and is serving a sentence of 30 months in prison after having pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2013. He admitted to engaging in a kickback scheme that resulted in him and a number of other defendants being paid improper referral fees by the litigation funding company The Law Funder, LLC.
Sheldon had served as an attorney and chief underwriter for The Law Funder of New York, a company that he co-founded in 2004 with three other individuals.
His fraudulent activity began in 2005, when Sheldon started to work with a New Jersey broker to garner referral fees, which the two split. The fees collected amounted to at least $870,000 in profit for Sheldon.
His indiscretions were uncovered in 2009 after The Law Funder had dismissed Sheldon. An investigation by Callagy Law uncovered other fraud that was also included in the civil complaint.
The case alleged wrongdoing beyond the criminal charges, including claims that Sheldon purposefully overvalued some cases and approved funding for bad cases for his own personal benefit.
Sheldon was also accused of transferring $750,000 for fictitious cases to Jessica Escobar in Houston, who posed as both attorney and paralegal and was alleged to have had an intimate relationship with Sheldon.
The suit named 20 defendants, including Gregory Krasovsky, an attorney who previously represented The Law Funder and was aware of Sheldon’s fraud but did not alert the company, according to the complaint.
The verdict was released on June 24, 2014, with the jury awarding a total of $24.5 million in compensatory damages – $22.9 million against Sheldon, $2.2 million against Krasovsky, and $375,000 against another defendant. On June 25, 2014, the jury awarded an additional $8 million in punitive damages against Sheldon for a total of $33.5 million against him and the remaining defendants.
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
Over the last few years, many practicing attorneys have left the field of law to pursue other careers or to take a break from their legal careers. Becoming a lawyer is not easy or cheap. A prospective attorney has to take the LSATs, choose a law school, finish law school, pass the bar, and then find a job. Why, after so much studying and hard work, are attorneys “throwing it all away” and leaving the career they worked so hard for?
One of the primary reasons–at least for a temporary hiatus from the law–is to spend more time with family. Female attorneys especially leave the legal world more than male attorneys to stay home with their children and take care of this “first-priority.”
Other explanations offered by former attorneys—male and female—include a “lack of career satisfaction” and “feeling stalled in their careers.” If a professional feels under-appreciated by his or her employer, ambition turns into frustration and unhappiness. Also, the legal profession traditionally has been characterized by long and stress-filled hours. Lawyer’s bill by the hour, and, at large law firms especially, associates are expected to bill a certain number of hours each month. This puts pressure on them to work many hours and extra days. Finally, the strict schedules many attorneys face, dealing with judicial and other deadlines for example, might cause them to abandon the field entirely.
Attorneys who leave the practice of law often return over time. This is not an easy process, since it requires an updated knowledge of the law and a great deal of confidence. Non-attorneys who return to the workplace sometimes find it intimidating even to get back into the workforce. Attorneys, though, who tend to have a tremendous amount of drive, which led them into the field in the first place, usually have less of a problem getting back on track in the workplace, despite the demands of getting up to speed with changes in the law and its practice.
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
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This blog will take a closer look into limited policies under New Jersey No-Fault Law – and examine basic versus standard policies.
The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.
New Jersey automobile insurance policies generally provide No-Fault, or PIP, coverage in the amount of $250,000.00 for medically necessary and reasonable medical treatment per person, per motor vehicle accident, for covered individuals. However, an insured may opt for reduced coverage limits. For example, an insured may opt for only $15,000.00 No-Fault coverage, per person, per motor vehicle accident. Does this limited amount apply to all individuals covered by the policy? As discussed below, the answer may vary depending on whether the governing policy is “basic” or “standard.”
“Basic” policies grew out of the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act, known as “AICRA.” This law was passed in 1998 with an effective date of March 22, 1999. Under AICRA, a new class of PIP benefits was created, namely, “basic” coverage, to be distinguished from “standard” coverage. Basic policies provide for very limited medical coverage, and apply to all individuals covered by the policy. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3.1 provides the following:
As an alternative to the mandatory coverages provided in sections 3 and 4 of P.L.1972, c. 70 (C.39:6A-3 and 39:6A-4), any owner or registered owner of an automobile registered or principally garaged in this State may elect a basic automobile insurance policy providing the following coverage:
Personal injury protection coverage, for the payment of benefits without regard to negligence, liability or fault of any kind, to the named insured and members of his family residing in his household, who sustained bodily injury as a result of an accident while occupying, entering into, alighting from or using an automobile, or as a pedestrian, caused by an automobile or by an object propelled by or from an automobile, and to other persons sustaining bodily injury while occupying, entering into, alighting from or using the automobile of the named insured, with the permission of the named insured. (emphasis added)
Standard policies may also provide for limited policy coverage. A standard policy, however, only applies to the named insured and resident relatives. provides the following:
39:6A-4.3. Personal injury protection coverage options
Personal injury protection coverage options. With respect to personal injury protection coverage provided on an automobile in accordance with section 4 of P.L.1972, c. 70 (C.39:6A-4), the automobile insurer shall provide the following coverage options:
Medical expense benefits in amounts of $150,000, $75,000, $50,000 or $15,000 per person per accident; except that, medical expense benefits shall be paid in an amount not to exceed $250,000 for all medically necessary treatment of permanent or significant brain injury, spinal cord injury or disfigurement or for medically necessary treatment of other permanent or significant injuries rendered at a trauma center or acute care hospital immediately following the accident and until the patient is stable, no longer requires critical care and can be safely discharged or transferred to another facility in the judgment of the attending physician.
An option elected by the named insured in accordance with this section shall apply only to the named insured and any resident relative in the named insured’s household who is not a named insured under another automobile insurance policy, and not to any other person eligible for personal injury protection benefits required to be provided in accordance with section 4 of P.L.1972, c. 70 (C.39:6A-4). (emphasis added)
Therefore, if a PIP carrier provides notice that a limited policy amount has been exhausted and no more medical bills will be reimbursed, request documents to demonstrate that the limited policy indeed applies. If the patient is not the named insured and is not a resident relative of the named insured, it is critical to determine if the governing policy is “basic” or “standard.”
We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $200,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.
A local lawyer is fighting both in and out of the courtroom, as he deals with a genetic disease that is causing him to lose his eyesight.