Brett Tishler on Workers' Comp Subrogation, Industrial Disasters, and Building a 50-State Practice

What happens when an insurance attorney spends two decades flying across the country to investigate crane collapses, smelting explosions, and forklift accidents — and then bets everything on building the largest dedicated workers' comp subrogation practice in the country? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Brett Tishler, a Philadelphia-based attorney at Derrevere Law, about the niche world of workers' compensation subrogation — recovering millions of dollars that insurers are owed after workplace disasters. Brett explains how subrogation works, why early intervention at an accident scene can make or break a case, and how his team goes far beyond just sending a lien letter. They also discuss a $17 million trucking verdict in North Carolina, a million-dollar recovery on 40-year-old potato-cutting equipment that amputated a worker's arm, why Pennsylvania's lack of a product liability statute of repose opens doors most states close, and what it took to leave White and Williams after 15 years to build something new. Brett Tishler is an attorney at Derrevere Law, where he and Rob Kaplan lead what they are building into the largest dedicated workers' comp subrogation practice in the country. Their team of eight attorneys handles work comp subrogation across all 50 states. Brett can be reached at [email protected]. Connect with Brett Tishler: Derrevere Law [email protected] LinkedIn: Brett Tishler Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Brett Tishler 00:28 What is workers' comp subrogation and how does it work 02:16 The car insurance analogy that explains it simply 03:39 What types of defendants get targeted in these cases 04:30 How Brett's team investigates industrial accidents 05:38 The Duluth forklift paper roll case 06:43 How insurance companies bring Brett in at the start 07:34 Why early intervention changes everything 08:03 How 50-state statutory differences affect every case 09:50 Why plaintiff attorneys want to work with Brett 11:02 Inside the $17 million North Carolina trucking verdict 14:16 What strict contributory negligence means for plaintiffs 15:22 How the lien and attorney fees get divided after a verdict 17:47 Why Brett and Rob Kaplan left White and Williams 19:31 Building an eight-attorney 50-state subrogation team 21:25 How they market to insurance companies nationally 22:25 Rapid fire questions 25:26 Recovering a million dollars on 40-year-old farm equipment 27:38 Product liability and making workplaces safer 28:46 How to contact Brett Tishler #BrettTishler #WorkersComp #Subrogation #WorkplaceInjury #ProductLiability #InsuranceLaw #PhiladelphiaLawyer #TrustcastShow #IndustrialAccident #TrialLawyer