Court Of Appeals Rejects Carrier’s Challenge To Settling Around Workers’ Compensation Lien

A valiant effort by a California workers’ compensation carrier to make it more difficult for an employee to argue employer fault and settle around a workers’ compensation carrier’s statutory lien and right of reimbursement fell on deaf ears recently, when the California Court of Appeals rejected the notion that the workers’ compensation carrier has adequate standing to challenge the employee’s attorney from assuming the defense of the carrier’s subrogation action which remained after the employee and the defendant settled around the carrier’s subrogation interests.

California remains a state in which it is necessary to engage subrogation counsel to protect workers’ compensation subrogation liens.

The negligence of an employee in a third-party action reduces the gross recovery of the employee, but it does not reduce the employer/carrier’s right of reimbursement or subrogation interest.