Court Clarifies Proper Allocation of 'Net Amount Recovered' From 3rd-Party Tortfeasor

A Texas appellate court ruled that a trial judge erroneously allocated an injured worker’s third-party settlement and awarded additional attorney fees to the worker. Janery Francois sustained a work-related injury in 2015. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. paid Francois $356,669.73 in medical and indemnity benefits under her employer's workers' compensation policy. Francois later sued the owner and operator of the building where she sustained her injury and settled that claim for $150,000. Hartford intervened in the lawsuit and asserted its subrogation righ...