Originally from:
Workers' Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States - 5th Edition - Hardcover
Workers' Compensation Subrogation In All 50 States - 5th Edition - Electronic
Preview Page
§ 11.24 Minnesota
§ 11.24[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
The workers' compensation third-party liability statute in
Minnesota is § 176.061. This statute provides that an injured employee
may prosecute a claim for payment of workers' compensation
benefits1 and simultaneously bring a third-party action against the
responsible third party.2 Section 176.061 provides as follows:
(1) Election of remedies. If an injury or death for which
benefits are payable occurs under circumstances which
create a legal liability for damages on the part of a party
other than the employer and at the time of the injury or death
that party was insured or self-insured in accordance with
this chapter, the employee, in case of injury, or the
employee's dependents, in case of death, may proceed either
at law against that party to recover damages or against the
employer for benefits, but not against both.
(2) Action for recovery of damages. If the employee, in case
of injury, or the employee's dependents, in case of death,
brings an action for the recovery of damages, the amount of
the damages, the manner in which they are paid, and the
persons to whom they are payable, are as provided in this
chapter. In no case shall the party be liable to any person
other than the employee or the employee's dependents for
any damages resulting from the injury or death.
(3) Election to receive benefits from employer; subrogation.
If the employee or the employee's dependents elect to receive
benefits from the employer, or the special compensation
fund, the employer or the special compensation fund has a
right of indemnity or is subrogated to the right of the
employee or the employee's dependents to recover damages
against the other party. The employer, or the attorney
general on behalf of the special compensation fund, may
bring legal proceedings against the party and recover the
aggregate amount of benefits payable to or on behalf of the
employee or the employee's dependents, regardless of
whether such benefits are recoverable by the employee or the
employee's dependents at common law or by statute together
with costs, disbursements, and reasonable attorney's fees of
the action.
§ 11.24 Minnesota
§ 11.24[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
§ 11.24[2] Third Parties
§ 11.24[3] Allocation of Third-Party Recovery
§ 11.24[4] Attorneys' Fees and Costs
§ 11.24[5] Credit/Advance
§ 11.24[6] Related Subrogation Issues
§ 11.24[7] Extra-Territorial Subrogation
§ 11.24[8] Statutes of Limitations
§ 11.24[9] Workers' Compensation in Minnesota
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.
