Posted on Feb 20, 2013
Attached is a copy of a recent trial court opinion in a case involving a worker’s compensation insurer that filed its own independent third party claim seeking to recover medical bills it paid as a result of a accident involving an employee and a third party where the employee did not file a separate action. The case is Sedgwick Claims Management v. Capriotti’s, Inc., No. 12-0227 (C.P. Carbon Jan. 18, 2013).
The trial court writes that although Section 671 of the worker’s compensation law provides an employer with a right of subrogation, it does not provide standing to an employer or the worker’s compensation carrier to independently sue a third party tortfeasor. The employer and insurer’s right to subrogation is derivative of the injured victim’s lawsuit. Thus, in order to enforce its subrogation rights the carrier can only proceed on behalf of the injured employee.
Anyone who desires a copy of the opinions can feel free to email Scott Cooper at Schmidt Kramer Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyers at [email protected] or call him at 717-888-8888.
If you have been injured in a Pennsylvania car accident or a loved one has been injured or killed in a car accident contact Schmidt Kramer Car Accident Lawyers at 717-888-8888 and we will answer any questions you have about the Pennsylvania car accident and the legal rights you may have due to the personal injury and losses involving any Pennsylvania car accident, especially if you may need a lawyer for the Central Pennsylvania car accident.
Also, download our booklet on Who Pays Your Medical Bills When You Are Injured at Work?