Claimant Attorneys Believe Ruttiger Prompting more Carrier Reviews

Two decades after former oil refinery mechanic Mark Umphrey injured his back at work, his former employer's insurance carrier cut off his lifetime medical benefits after sending the case to utilization review. Umphrey’s attorney, Larry Trimble, saw that decision as evidence of Ruttiger at work. The Texas Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Ruttiger took away the ability of claimants to sue insurers for bad faith claims handling. It ruled that amendments to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act in 1989 eliminated the need for any such cau...