NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
Bobby Anglin, a South Carolina resident, suffered a compensable automobile accident while working for his North Carolina employer, Dunbar Armored, Inc. Anglin received benefits pursuant to the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act from Defendants and later settled his third-party claim against the other driver in the South Carolina accident for $92,712.55. After this settlement, Defendants agreed to resolve their workers’ compensation lien against the liability settlement for one third of the lien value or $10,613.16. Anglin also reached a settlement with his under insured motorist (UIM) carrier; however, Defendants were not aware of the UIM settlement when the workers’ compensation lien was settled.
Subsequently, Anglin filed suit in Superior Court seeking a declaration eliminating Defendants’ workers’ compensation lien pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2. He contended that South Carolina law applied to the determination of Defendants’ subrogation interests in the UIM settlement because it was paid pursuant to a South Carolina policy. He also contended that since South Carolina law does not allow subrogation of UIM funds, Defendants’ lien should be eliminated. Finally, Anglin argued that Defendants lien was already satisfied by their previous agreement to accept one third of the lien value. The trial court disagreed, applied North Carolina law, held there was no accord and satisfaction of the lien with the previous settlement as Defendants were not aware of Anglin’s UIM settlement at the time of the previous lien settlement, and awarded Defendants the remaining $21,206.31 of their workers’ compensation lien. Anglin appealed.
On April 2, 2013, in Anglin v. Dunbar Armored, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court, upholding the award to Defendants in satisfaction of their workers’ compensation lien. The court noted that where a party seeks a determination of a workers’ compensation lien pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2 it is seeking "remedial" or "procedural" relief and, as such, the law of North Carolina, as the forum state, applies. Since North Carolina law does not prohibit subrogation of UIM funds, the trial court did not improperly award Defendants a portion of Anglin’s UIM settlement in satisfaction of the remainder of their workers’ compensation lien.
Risk Handling Hint: Where Defendants have a particular interest in recovering from an injured workers’ third-party settlement to satisfy their subrogation lien, special consideration should be given to bringing an action in North Carolina’s courts, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2, to avoid the potential application of unfavorable subrogation laws in other states.