Thin skin and subrogation do not go hand-in-hand. We are the crashers at every party and the uninvited guests that nobody wants to see show up when a personal injury suit has been filed. Trial lawyers believe we take money from the pockets of victims and defense lawyers believe that we make the cases they…
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation and Employee Leasing Companies At its core, workers’ compensation subrogation is quite simple. Employee injured while at work receives workers compensation benefits. Carrier paying benefits recovers those benefits from anyone responsible for causing the injury other than the employer. As the saying goes, however, “Progress is man’s ability to complicate the simple.”…
The quid pro quo premise underlying the social compromise known as workers’ compensation is simple: an employee injured at work receives no-fault medical expenses and wage replacement indemnity benefits and, in exchange, the employer is given protection from employee lawsuits and a statutory right to be reimbursed from the tortfeasor who actually caused the work-related injury –…
Most state workers’ compensation laws, or cases construing them, allow the employer and its carrier to waive its right to subrogate against a third party that caused or contributed to an employee’s injury. The purpose of a subrogation waiver is not well understood and is a subject of some confusion in the marketplace. Most frequently,…
The ability of a workers’ compensation carrier to subrogate against and/or seek reimbursement from a recovery made from a third-party tortfeasor responsible for causing the employee’s work-related injuries is universally recognized across the country as a major tool for holding down workers’ compensation premiums for large and small businesses and employers. Whether or not this…
In Louisiana, when a company undertakes to execute any work which is a part of its trade, business or occupation, and contracts with any subcontractor for the execution of such work, the company is entitled to the exclusive remedy protection of § 23:1032. The company will be liable to pay workers’ compensation benefits to any such…
It has been seven years since we first published our rankings of the ten best and ten worst states for workers’ compensation subrogation. Since then, case decisions and legislatures have been busy trying to help trial lawyers destroy workers’ compensation subrogation liens in third-party personal injury cases. Therefore, it is time to revisit our rankings…
As is the case in many no-fault states, Delaware employees injured in an automobile accident in the course and scope of employment might be entitled to both workers’ compensation and PIP benefits simultaneously. The Worker’s Compensation Act requires every employer in the state, unless excluded, to provide statutory workers’ compensation benefits to an injured employee.…
On March 23, 2023, the Florida Senate passed a sweeping tort reform bill known as HB 837. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis the very next day and becomes effective immediately. Some elements of the new bill will apply to all causes of action filed on or after March 24, 2023,…
A huge segment of America’s service economy involves flexible, temporary, part-time, or freelance jobs—frequently involving professional employer organizations (PEO’s) or employee leasing companies. The “gig economy” is the labor market that relies on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors, leased employees, and freelancers, rather than full-time permanent employees. Threading the needle of workers’…