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MAY / JUNE 2024 FURTHERING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CLAIMS AND LITIGATION MANAGEMENT Batten Down the Hatches— Hurricane Season Is Here Ruby v. Rudy: How Not to Control a Nuclear Verdict Legal Implications after the Francis Scott Key Bridge Allision The Disaster and the Aftermath MAY / JUNE 2024 DIGITAL EDITION SPONSORED BY:800.580.3228Consultants. Experts. Innovators.rimkus.com YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. WE PROVIDE ANSWERS. WHAT HAPPENED? WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE, YOU NEED TO KNOW Slip, trip, and fall injury accidents are often complicated matters. Using a scientific approach and reliable methodologies, Rimkus specialists in injury biomechanics and human factors work side by side with engineering and building experts to isolate the facts and determine what happened. We have evaluated thousands of such incidents across a broad spectrum of public and private environments. If you're facing a complex forensic challenge of any kind, count on us to uncover the facts.MAY / JUNE 2024 FURTHERING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CLAIMS AND LITIGATION MANAGEMENT Batten Down the Hatches— Hurricane Season Is Here Ruby v. Rudy: How Not to Control a Nuclear Verdict Legal Implications after the Francis Scott Key Bridge Allision The Disaster and the Aftermath800.580.3228Consultants. Experts. Innovators.rimkus.com YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. WE PROVIDE ANSWERS. WHAT HAPPENED? WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE, YOU NEED TO KNOW Slip, trip, and fall injury accidents are often complicated matters. Using a scientific approach and reliable methodologies, Rimkus specialists in injury biomechanics and human factors work side by side with engineering and building experts to isolate the facts and determine what happened. We have evaluated thousands of such incidents across a broad spectrum of public and private environments. If you're facing a complex forensic challenge of any kind, count on us to uncover the facts.THECLM.ORG/MAGAZINE CLM MAGAZINE 3 MAY / JUNE 2024 DIGITAL EDITION SPONSORED BY: CLM MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2024 CONTENTS 18 THE DISASTER AND THE AFTERMATH Legal implications after the Francis Scott Key Bridge allision 24 RUBY V. RUDY: HOW NOT TO CONTROL A NUCLEAR VERDICT $148 million verdict offers lessons well beyond the political realm 28 SHATTERING THE DOOM LOOP Quieting our internal chatter to break the cycle of ruin 32 MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR CLAIMS COLLEGE Join CLM in Austin on Sept. 4-7 to further your knowledge and earn a designation 33 BETWEEN THE LINES Do you believe the industry is ahead, behind, or on pace when it comes to adopting AI solutions? 34 VOICES Getting to know Kate Whitlock, Partner, McAngus Goudelock & Courie LLC FEATURES 4 FRONT DESK Whichever Way the Wind Blows 6 EXPOSURE Twisted From Twisters 8 BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES Hurricane season is here, and forecasts point to an active one 10 REPRESENTING THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT BOARD Best practices for an effective attorney-client relationship 12 THE POWER OF STORYTELLING FOR WORKING WOMEN AND MOTHERS Finding life balance in the insurance defense industry 14 THE PENALTIES ARE HERE Understanding the exposures in Medicare Section 111 reporting COLUMNS 18 24 28 8 34 33 12 AROUND THE CLM 32 >>>© Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images © Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images4 CLM MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2024 A publication of DIRECTOR OF CONTENT Phil Gusman ASSOCIATE EDITOR Angela Sabarese ASSISTANT EDITOR Fran Clark ART DIRECTOR/ PUBLISHING OPERATIONS MANAGER Jason T. Williams EDITORIAL QUESTIONS Phil Gusman phil.gusman@TheCLM.org CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ronna Ruppelt VP PARTNERSHIPS Jeremy Campbell SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Laurel Metz ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Megan Josd ADVERTISING QUESTIONS Jeremy Campbell jeremy.campbell@TheCLM.org 513-377-7228 MAY / JUNE • ISSUE 4 • VOL. 8 REPRINTS For reprints and licensing please contact Jeremy Campbell at jeremy.campbell@TheCLM.org or 513-377-7228. CLM Magazine is published monthly and covers news and topics of interest to insurance claims, risk, and litigation management professionals. Copyright © 2024 by the CLM. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the CLM. The views expressed in the articles are solely those of the authors or those interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of CLM or the companies in which the authors are employed. This issue of CLM Magazine should be hitting your mailbox right around the start of hurricane season on June 1. Forecasts indicate there could be a lot of activity in the Atlantic this year, with an AccuWeather report suggesting the possibility that 2024 could set a record while a Colorado State University (CSU) report notes that its forecast contains the highest prediction for hurricanes it has ever made in its April outlook. The CSU report further states that its forecast team has higher- than-normal confidence in this year’s April outlook, although the report adds that the April outlook historically has the lowest level of skill of CSU’s operational seasonal hurricane forecasts. The forecasts, along with comments on industry preparedness, are covered in our column on page eight, “Batten Down the Hatches.” Not mentioned in the column, but covered in an article on our website, is how at-risk states are preparing for the inevitability of active hurricane seasons, and where they currently stand with those preparations. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recently released its “Rating the States” report, evaluating the 18 states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts based on residential building code adoption, enforcement, training, education, and contractor licensing. Of particular interest in our online article: • Virginia has overtaken Florida as the top-rated state for protection against hurricanes. The article includes comments from CLM fellows David B. Johnson, CHCM, CSP, director, risk management and chief risk officer; and Ron Clements, county building official, both with Chesterfield County, Virginia. They discuss what makes Virginia one of the best states for resilience to severe weather, mentioning that Virginia has a uniform statewide building code mandated in state law since 1973. • Hurricane Ian in 2022 was a recent successful test of the Florida Building Code’s (FBC) system of protections. “IBHS estimated that the protections of the modern FBC were successful in saving between $1 billion and $3 billion in damage to single-family homes alone in southwest Florida.” • Louisiana substantially improved in the IBHS rankings thanks to improving its code officials training program and, in 2023, launching a grant program to help homeowners upgrade their roofs to the FORTIFIED standard. Check out the article, “Virginia Overtakes Florida as Top-Rated State in Building Code Hurricane Resilience” at theclm.org/ magazine, and also be sure to read our hurricane season coverage in this issue on page eight. Phil Gusman Director of Content phil.gusman@TheCLM.org Whichever Way the Wind Blows FRONT DESK >>>AT CLM CLAIMS COLLEGE INVEST IN YOUR CAREER CHECK OUT THE 11 SCHOOLS OFFERING TARGETED CONTENT SPECIFIC TO YOUR JOB OR FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS. SCAN TO LEARN MORE AND ENROLL NOW! SEPTEMBER 4-7 • AUSTIN CLAIMS COLLEGE Earn real-world skills through the expert guidance of knowledge leaders who craft the curriculum and teach the courses at our annual Claims College. Participants can work toward an insurance claims designation that has become the industry standard or earn a one-level certificate to show off your hard work. 6 CLM MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2024 EXPOSURE TWISTED FROM TWISTERS The Veterans of Foreign Wars facility in Temple, Texas is severely damaged after a May 23 tornado. Temple reported widespread damage. Tornado activity continued through Memorial Day weekend, resulting in damage and deaths across the U.S. May is peak time for tornadoes in the U.S. PHOTO: BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGESNext >