News Release

Capehart Scatchard Launches New Practice Area

Mt. Laurel, NJ - Capehart Scatchard announces the expansion of its workers' compensation practice into a new area of Federal Law. Effective immediately, Capehart Scatchard is available to assist any entity in obtaining approval pursuant to the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute (MSP). Capehart Scatchard Workers' Compensation attorney, Robert T. Lewis, Esq., will head up this area of practice.

The MSP is federal legislation that has dramatically impacted the settlement of workers' compensation claims across the country. It provides that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may pursue damages against any entity that attempts to shift the burden of medical costs to Medicare. The MSP must be carefully considered by all parties involved in a settlement when future medical benefits are being limited or closed. Failure to adequately address this issue could result in exposure to both sides of the settlement. A workers' compensation carrier or self-insured can be exposed to double damages and paying future medical benefits despite a previously negotiated settlement. A Petitioner can run the risk of having future medical care declined. Finally, the government may even have a right of recovery against the attorney(s) involved in the handling of the claim. As a result, this is an issue that concerns all parties to a settlement and should be carefully considered by everyone prior to settling a claim.

Mr. Lewis, a Medford resident, concentrates his practice in the representation of employers, self-insured companies, and insurance carriers in defense matters with a special emphasis on workers' compensation and claims impacted by the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute. He is a frequent writer and speaker before business, legal, and trade groups.

Among his professional activities, he is a member of the American, New Jersey and North Carolina Bar Associations. He is also a member of the American Inn of Court Program. He received his law degree from Widener University School of Law and his B.S. degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Mr. Lewis is admitted to practice law in New Jersey, North Carolina, and before the United States Supreme Court.