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Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Hardcover
Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Electronic
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§ 4.25 MISSISSIPPI
§ 4.25[1] Subrogation Rights
Mississippi recognizes two types of subrogation: (1) subrogation
arising from operation of law (equitable subrogation) and (2)
subrogation arising from contract (conventional subrogation).1 The
Mississippi Supreme Court has stated that the "Equitable Doctrine of
Subrogation applies whenever any person, other than a mere
volunteer, pays a debt or demand which in equity in good conscience
should have been paid by another, or where one finds it necessary for
his own protection to pay the debt for which another is liable."2 A
contractual right of subrogation is also enforceable in Mississippi,
but the insurer’s subrogation rights will be limited to those provided
in the terms of the policy.3
When an auto insurer makes medical payments to an insured to
cover a loss and the insured has a tort claim against a third party to
recover for that same loss, the insurer steps into the shoes of the
insured and acquires the right to recover from that third party the
amount paid to the insured.4 This right of subrogation can be either
contractual or equitable.5 The purposes of subrogation are to prevent
the insured from recovering twice for the same loss and to reimburse
the insurer when a third party should be required to pay for the loss.6
The prohibition and rationale of law in other states prohibiting
subrogation language in insurance policies because a personal injury
cause of action is not assignable is not applicable in Mississippi
because claims for personal injuries may be assigned under § 11-7-3
and supporting Mississippi law.7
In Mississippi, the plain terms of an insurance contract should be
binding and controlling with regard to subrogation rights. A typical
subrogation clause found in Mississippi policies reads:
If we make a payment under this policy and the person to or
for whom the payment was made has a right to recover
damages from another, we shall be subrogated to that right.
If we make a payment under this policy and the person to or
for whom payment is made recovers damages from another,
Gary Wickert is an insurance trial lawyer and is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on insurance subrogation. He is also the author of several subrogation books and legal treatises and is a national and international speaker and lecturer on subrogation and motivational topics. After 15 years as the youngest managing partner in the history of the 30-lawyer Houston law firm of Hughes, Watters & Askanase, L.L.P., Mr. Wickert returned to his native Wisconsin in 1998 and co-founded the subrogation firm of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. He oversees a National Recovery Program which includes a network of nearly 285 contracted subrogation law firms in all 50 states, Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom and boasts recoveries of more than $500 million in recoveries and credits for more than 200 insurance companies. Licensed in both Texas and Wisconsin, Mr. Wickert is double board-certified in both personal injury law and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, for whom he has both written and graded the product liability questions contained on the NBTA national certification exam taken by trial lawyers around the country. For 25 years, Mr. Wickert has served as an expert witness and insurance consultant on subrogation and insurance related issues and has been consulted by insurance carriers, lawyers, and legislative bodies from several states. He is a licensed arbitrator and has attended more than 750 mediations in more than 30 different states. He has represented subrogated insurance carriers in every state, and has been admitted pro hac vice in 17 states. Gary Wickert has worked with the Texas Legislative Oversight Committee in rewriting their workers' compensation subrogation statutes, has served on the Board of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, and has been cited as an authority on workers' compensation subrogation by several appellate courts, including the Texas Court of Appeals. He is one of only a few lawyers to have ever represented a subrogated carrier before the United States Supreme Court, and was named as one of Law & Politics magazine's "Super Lawyers" for 2005, 2006, and 2007.
