High Court: Subrogation Rights Extend to Derivative Third-Party Recoveries

The Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday held that employers are generally entitled to a lien on the net amount of third-party settlement proceeds deriving from a compensable occupational disease, even if most of the settlements were based on nonoccupational exposure. The portion of damages for loss of consortium is not subject to a lien because workers' compensation doesn't compensate such damages, but an employer's rights generally mirror its workers' compensation payment obligations, the court reasoned. "The decedent’s occupational disease consequently was fully ...