Under the plain language of 820 ILCS 305/5(b) (2016), an employer's right to reimbursement of the full amount of benefits paid or to be paid to the injured or deceased worker is absolute; it may not be diminished or, as in this case, strikes by a trial court...
Where a surviving spouse of a worker killed in a work-related car accident filed a wrongful death action in a state court and joined a separate federal wrongful death action filed by her son, and the parties eventually settled the claim with the federal court approving...
Where an injured worker (or the worker’s dependents) have accepted workers’ compensation benefits and have further sought to recover over against one or more third parties that are responsible for the worker’s injuries, that worker—or his or her dependents—may...
Idaho’s 1987 adoption of comparative negligence [see Idaho Code § 6–801] and the abrogation of joint and several liability did not affect the rule established in Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Adams , 91 Idaho 151, 417 P.2d 417 (1966), that an employer who...
Relying upon § 90 of the Restatement (Second) Conflict of Laws, a divided Supreme Court of Montana held that because of the strong public policy against subrogation in the state, courts in Montana will not entertain actions involving workers’ compensation subrogation...
Where attorneys for an injured worker bring a successful action against a third party to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the worker in the course of his employment, thereby enabling the worker’s employer to obtain reimbursement of the compensation...
Where the employer and its servicing agent paid $528,665.61 in workers’ compensation benefits to an injured employee and the employee was awarded a substantially smaller sum, $285,000.00, in his third party suit against the driver of another vehicle, an UIM...
Under the West Virginia subrogation statute [W. Va. Code § 23–2A–1], a party is entitled to a lien only to the extent that it has actually paid a sum of money. Accordingly, where a mining electrician suffered catastrophic injuries when he was struck...
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that while an employer is entitled to a lien on an employee’s recovery from a third party for work-related injuries under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 152, § 15, the lien does not attach to damages paid by a third party for...
Unlike the situation in many other states, the subrogation lien of a Georgia employer and/or its insurer attaches to third-party recovery by the injured employee only after the injured employee has been fully and completely compensated for his economic and noneconomic...
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that notwithstanding the strong subrogation rights conferred upon employers or their workers’ compensation insurers, they have no direct right of action against a third-party tortfeasor under 77 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 671, where...
The Commission went too far to resolve a subrogation dispute after a third party settlement and violated due process of the claimant’s spouse when she was not a party to the comp claim. Graham v. Latco Contractors , 2015 MO App. Lexis 379 (lexis.com), 2015...
A Missouri appellate court held that the state’s Industrial Relations Commission’s power to order an employee (and his spouse) to repay some $41,000 in medical benefits following the successful settlement of a third-party civil action for an amount...
Where the employer joined into a third-party settlement agreement that stated the employer agreed to a payment of a sum certain “in full satisfaction of the defendant/employer’s (and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s) right to...
Entering 2014, the Texas workers’ compensation system seemed to be a model of stability; something that would have been impossible to imagine only ten years ago. There was little controversy in the system and no major administrative rule changes were needed...