Posted By: DBL Law | email: news@dbllaw.com
Gerald E. Benzinger, managing partner of Dressman Benzinger LaVelle (DBL Law), and fellow partners James A. Dietz, Mathew R. Klein and Robert G. Stevens have been selected as The Best Lawyers in America® 2011.
Best Lawyers has been described as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. To choose who is listed
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Posted By: Ellen Houston | email: ehouston@dbllaw.com
After reviewing the landmark Tuomey case, healthcare providers and lawyers alike should consider what the results mean for future compensation arrangements. In Tuomey, it was alleged that agreements between Tuomey Healthcare System in Sumter, South Carolina and various physicians violated the Stark law when Tuomey engaged various surgeons to operate at Tuomey’s new outpatient surgery center.
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Posted By: Ryan McLane | email: rmclane@dbllaw.com
Some confusion has arisen in construction defect cases as to the proper measure of damages and the evidence needed to prove them. The two competing theories for measure of damages are: 1) the cost of repair or restoration; and 2) the diminution in value of the property resulting from the defect. The Kentucky Courts answer the question by stating that the measure of damages is the cost of remedying the defect as long as it is reasonable to do so or the diminution in the value of the building by reason of the defect, in the alternative.
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Posted By: Mathew Klein | email: mklein@dbllaw.com
One key concept in Medicare reform is to base payments on the quality of care, rather than the quantity. In other words, Medicare payments in the future will in part be based on the results providers achieve for patients, rather than the number of procedures they provide. Over the next several years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be implementing quality initiatives in an effort to improve care and reduce costs. To achieve the results mandated by these new quality initiatives, providers should be making plans to implement necessary changes and to incentivize physicians to assist providers in reaching quality benchmarks.
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Posted By: Bob Hoffer | email: rhoffer@dbllaw.com
On March 1 the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision that will have far-reaching effects on employers everywhere. In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, the plaintiff filed suit under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”) following his termination of employment. Under USERRA, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of an employee’s membership in the armed services.
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Posted By: Ryan McLane | email: rmclane@dbllaw.com
I recently read an article explaining ways to increase the likelihood of success at mediation. The article presented the advice in the negative, that is, mistakes to avoid. One of the key points presented was: Do not leave the decision-makers at home. I reflected on my experiences and provide the following commentary on this advice, but from a positive—must do—perspective.
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Posted By: Joseph Cleves | email: jcleves@dbllaw.com
The core premise of Lean Project Delivery is intensive collaboration based on trust. Critical to its successful implementation is free flowing communication between team members. Construction and design participants are brought into the project at the beginning of the design. This allows critical dialogues to take place during design rather than later, when changes become more expensive.
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Posted By: David Dirr | email: ddirr@dbllaw.com
The Kentucky Legislature has not adopted the federal income tax treatment of the extended healthcare insurance coverage for adult children under age 27. This means that Kentucky employees who have adult children who qualify for health insurance under the new federal law will not receive the same treatment for Kentucky income tax purposes as they will under the federal tax laws. In general, employers must treat the amounts paid for adult children as being paid with post-tax dollars for the Kentucky income taxes if those adult children are not eligible for the gross income exclusion.
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