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Workers' Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States - 5th Edition - Hardcover
Workers' Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States - 5th Edition - Electronic
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§ 11.1 Alabama
§ 11.1[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
Workers' compensation subrogation in Alabama is primarily dealt
with in § 25-5-11 of the Alabama Statutes.1 This statute says that
when an injury or death is caused "under circumstances also creating
a legal liability for damages on the part of any party other than the
employer," the worker can pursue workers' compensation benefits
and simultaneously bring a tort action against a third party.2 If
damages are recovered in the third-party action, the carrier is entitled
to be reimbursed for the amount of benefits paid in the past,
including medical and vocational benefits paid by the carrier.3 The
worker is generally required to file such a third-party action within
the applicable Alabama statute of limitations for personal injury
actions, which is two years.4 If the worker doesn't file a third-party
action within the applicable statute of limitations, then the workers'
compensation carrier has an additional six months after the statute of
limitations has run in which to file suit.5 The carrier has a right of
action only after the employee fails to bring a third-party action
within his statutory time period.6
A workers' compensation carrier may not bring an action against a
third party under § 25-5-11 until the period within which the injured
party has to bring an action has lapsed.7 The workers' compensation
carrier has the right to seek punitive damages in a wrongful death
action against third parties, even though the damages awarded could
exceed the amount of the carrier's subrogation interest.8 The carrier
may file suit either in the name of the injured worker or in its own
name.9 The workers' compensation carrier has a lien on any thirdparty
action proceeds not only for compensation benefits, but also for
medical and vocational benefits.10 This "assignment" is by operation
of law and is administered on equitable principles and has been
designated as an "equitable assignment."11 A carrier may not bring a
third-party action until the time period within which the injured party
has to bring an action has lapsed.12 Section 25-5-11 reads as follows:
§ 11.1 Alabama
§ 11.1[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
§ 11.1[2] Third Parties
§ 11.1[3] Allocation of Third-Party Recovery
§ 11.1[4] Attorneys' Fees and Costs
§ 11.1[5] Credit/Advance
§ 11.1[6] Related Subrogation Issues
§ 11.1[7] Statutes of Limitations
§ 11.1[8] Workers' Compensation in Alabama
Gary Wickert is an insurance trial lawyer and is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on insurance subrogation. He is the author of several subrogation books and legal treatises and is a national and international speaker and lecturer on subrogation and motivational topics. Mr. Wickert is also a politician in Wisconsin, serving his fourth term as Town Supervisor in the Township of Cedarburg. After 15 years as the youngest managing partner in the history of the 30-lawyer Houston law firm of Hughes, Watters & Askanase, L.L.P., he returned to his native Wisconsin in 1998 and co-founded the firm of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. He oversees a National Recovery Program which includes a network of nearly 300 contracted subrogation law firms in all 50 states, Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom and boasts recoveries of more than $500 million in recoveries and credits for more than 250 insurance companies. Gary Wickert is also a commercial fiction author and his latest political thriller, Dark Redemption (Tudor Publishers), is available on Amazon.com.
Licensed in both Texas and Wisconsin, Mr. Wickert is double board-certified in both personal injury law and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also nationally certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), for whom he has both written and graded the product liability questions contained on the NBTA national certification exam taken by trial lawyers around the country. For nearly twenty-five years, he has also served as an expert witness on subrogation and insurance related issues and has been consulted by insurance carriers, lawyers, and legislative bodies from several states. He is a licensed arbitrator and has attended more than 750 mediations in more than 30 different states. He is one of only a few lawyers to have ever represented a client before the United States Supreme Court on a subrogation issue, and was named one of Law & Politics and Milwaukee Super Lawyers magazine's Super Lawyers for 2005, 2006, and 2008. For a complete resume on Gary L. Wickert, see Appendix A-13 of this book.
