PA Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Changes
Who Pays My PA Workers’ Comp claim when a third party is involved?
Ask Our PA Workers’ Compensation Lawyer. Do you Understand Workers Comp Subrogation Changes?
Leading PA Workers Compensation Attorney Bill Gregory at RG Injury Law explains Subrogation of Workers’ Compensation benefits. Subrogation of Workers’ Compensation benefits means that when you are injured as a result of a third party (as a result of action or inaction of someone else), the Workers’ Compensation benefits paid on your behalf are recoverable by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company, should you make a recovery from the third party who caused your injury.
This occurs many times when someone is driving for work and involved in a car accident, but not the fault of their own. Many times, the amount paid on your behalf by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company is not fully repaid, but the right to recover from your recovery is absolute (subject to a reduction determined by your Workers’ Compensation attorney).
In 2018, our Supreme Court decided in Pennsylvania State Police v. WCAB (Bushta),184 A.3d 958 (Pa. 2018), that an employer or its Workers’ Compensation insurance company cannot subrogate (recover from you) against a third party recovery if the amount sought in subrogation was paid to you as Heart and Lung benefits, and the action arose out of the use of a motor vehicle. The Court distinguished the interplay of longstanding laws.
- Also changed by our Supreme Court is the way subrogation is calculated going forward after you have made a third-party recovery but are still receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits.
When a recovery from a third party is made there is a form that is filled out which shows the amount of the Workers’ Compensation benefits paid to date, the amount of the third-party recovery and the amount of the attorney’s fees and costs associated with making the third party recovery. Based upon the foregoing, a calculation is derived which shows the amount or percentage the Workers’ Compensation insurance is to recover from your third-party recovery. However, if you are still receiving wage loss and medical benefits from your Workers’ Compensation claim at the time the third-party recovery is made, and the amount recovered does not fully reimburse the Workers’ Compensation insurance company, then there is a reduction or offset in the Compensation rate (wage loss check) you would receive going forward.
Our Supreme Court in Whitmoyer v. WCAB (Mountain Country Meats), 186 A.3d 947 (Pa. 2018), solidified that after the third-party is made which does not fully reimburse the Workers’ Compensation lien, the Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier’s obligation to pay medical benefits going forward is not reduced like the wage-loss benefits.
You may be affected by this change to subrogation under PA Workers’ Compensation. Call for a free case review if you have questions about the full coverage of your wage loss benefits or payment of your future medical bills through Workers’ Compensation benefits. Contact Bill Gregory, recognized as one of the top injury and disability lawyers in Pennsylvania who knows how to help victims of workplace injuries, people with disabilities, veterans and their families after a work-related disability, injury, illness, or death has impacted your life. Call us for a no-pressure, Workers’ Compensation benefits consultation at 717.656.5000.
While we call Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, our home, personal injury law firm fight for clients with injuries and disabilities in need of personal injury lawyers, Social Security SSDI and SSI, Workers’ Compensation lawyers, and/or veterans seeking VA Disability Compensation lawyers throughout the mid-Atlantic region from offices in Lancaster County that include service in Harrisburg, Hershey, Middletown, Annville, Mt. Gretna, Elizabethtown, Columbia PA,Lancaster City, Neffsville, Hempfield Township, Manheim Borough, Manor Township, Manheim Township, Gap, Ephrata, Lititz, Leola, Mt. Joy, Marietta, Akron, Denver, Millersville, Willow Street, Strasburg, New Holland, Paradise, Refton, Quarryville, Reamstown, West Chester, Coatesville, Exton, King of Prussia, and Malvern. RG Injury Law also fights for people with disabilities in the counties of Lebanon, Philadelphia, Chester, York, Dauphin, Berks, and Montgomery.
They really made me feel like I was a priority.
★★★★★ Bill Gregory and his team were top notch throughout the course of my workers compensation case. Bill, his paralegal, Karin, and office assistant, Jen, were compassionate, thoughtful, and diligent as they worked to get me a fair settlement for my case. All communication was prompt and thorough and they were all knowledgeable with the content and subject matter of this area of law. I was especially pleased with how patient they were with me and all my many emails and phone calls. They really made me feel like I was a priority. I would recommend this law firm to anyone in need of assistance in a workers compensation case.
Review by: Justin Brandenburg Reviewing: RG Injury Law Date published: 11/15/2017 Rating: 5 / 5 stars
