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          Personal-injury suits are especially important to those who have Workers' Compensation claims if there is also a suit in negligence which can be brought against a party other than the employer.  For instance, this often happens when "outside sales" persons get into car accidents while traveling to meet an employer’s clients.

           In such cases, the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier retains a statutory lien against any recovery the worker may achieve in a personal injury suit. This statutory lien arises under Section 29 of the Workers' Compensation Law.  The purpose of the lien is to prevent double recovery.  Under Section 29, a Workers' Compensation insurance carrier must consent in advance to any settlement of the injured worker's negligence suit.  If the worker settles his/her negligence claim against the third party who was at fault without obtaining the consent of the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier, the worker may face losing all Workers' Compensation benefits in the future, depending on the precise facts involved.

          If an attorney does not properly consider whether an injured worker even has a coexisting claim through the Workers' Compensation Board, this can lead to a large financial loss for the injured worker, as well as a need for unnecessary and protracted litigation (a filing must be made nunc pro tunc to a court of competent jurisdiction in order to obtain an order stating that, notwithstanding the lack of consent from the Workers' Compensation carrier, the amount of the settlement was reasonable). 

         For this and other reasons, it is always best to consult an attorney with competent knowledge of the Workers' Compensation Law.  Also, those who find themselves in this situation may want to be well-read on the leading Court of Appeals case concerning the interaction of Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury suits.

         If you were injured by the negligence of another while going to or from work, or while performing your normal work duties (even if you were attending an outside function or sporting event that was mandated by your employer), you should certainly Contact Us for competent legal advise.  Even If we don't handle your precise type of personal injury claim, we can evaluate your claim to help you determine whether other forms of recovery are available.

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