895.453 Payments of chiropractic services from attorney contingency fees.

(1) In this section:

(a) “Chiropractor" means a person licensed under ch. 446.

(b) “Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, including a combination of 2 or more vehicles or an articulated vehicle, which is self-propelled, except a vehicle operated exclusively on a rail.

(2) Notwithstanding s. 803.03, if all of the following conditions exist, fees for chiropractic services provided to an injured person shall be paid out of the amount of fees due to his or her attorney under the contingency fee arrangement made between the person and the attorney:

(a) The person is injured as the result of a motor vehicle accident.

(b) The services were provided by a chiropractor because of the injuries arising from the motor vehicle accident.

(c) The person is represented by an attorney under a contingency fee arrangement.

(d) The person receives an amount under a settlement agreement that is less than his or her damages.

(e) Prior to the person's acceptance of the settlement agreement, the chiropractor has not been paid for his or her services and has provided written notification to the person's attorney of the services that were provided to the person.

(3) Except as provided in sub. (4), if the conditions under sub. (2) are met, the distribution of the amount due under the contingency fee arrangement shall be allocated on a pro rata basis between the person's attorney and each chiropractor who provided services, based on the percentage obtained by comparing the outstanding fees owed to the attorney and each chiropractor to the aggregate outstanding attorney and chiropractic fees.

(4) This section does not apply if any of the following exist:

(a) The chiropractor is eligible for payment for the services provided to the person under any health insurance contract or self-insured health plan.

(b) The chiropractor is eligible for payment for the services provided to the person under any governmental health plan or program, including Medicaid or Medicare.

History: 2011 a. 32.