High Court Splits 5-4 on Carrier's Ability to Subrogate Death Benefits

A narrowly divided Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Ace American Insurance Co. could not seek subrogation for workers' compensation death benefits it paid to the widow of an Oklahoma worker killed at a job site in Texas. Ace had paid death benefits to Rachel Holley pursuant to Texas law, but a majority of the court said the fact that Holley's husband's employment contract with the Unit Corp. was formed in Oklahoma meant that Oklahoma law controlled Ace's subrogation rights. The Oklahoma law in effect at the time didn't allow the subrogation of death benefits. ...