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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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§ 11.38 Oregon
§ 11.38[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
Workers' compensation subrogation in Oregon is controlled
primarily by § 656.5931 and § 656.154.2 A third-party action may be
brought by the worker or the carrier, but not both. Whether an action is
brought by the worker or the carrier is determined by an election by
the worker or a "compelled election" by the carrier. Section 656.154
provides the statutory right for an injured worker to pursue a third
party. Once a third-party action is brought by the worker or the carrier
("paying agency"), it is governed by a series of statutes from
§ 656.576 to § 656.593. Some of the relevant statutes read as follows:
§ 656.154. Injury arising from negligence or wrong of third
person; election of remedy. If the injury to a worker is due to
the negligence or wrong of a third person not in the same
employ, the injured worker, or if death results from the injury,
the spouse, children or other dependents, as the case may be,
may elect to seek a remedy against such third person.3
§ 656.578. Suits against third person or noncomplying
employer for damages, elections by workers. If a worker of
a noncomplying employer receives a compensable injury in
the course of employment, or if a worker receives a
compensable injury due to the negligence or wrong of a third
person (other than those exempt from liability under O.R.S.
§ 656.018), entitling the worker under O.R.S. § 656.154 to
seek a remedy against such third person, such worker or, if
death results from the injury, the other beneficiaries shall
elect whether to recover damages from such employer or
third person. If a worker leaves beneficiaries who are
minors, the right of election shall be exercised by their
surviving parent, if any; otherwise, such election shall be
exercised by the guardian.4
§ 11.38 Oregon
§ 11.38[1] Statutory Subrogation Rights
§ 11.38[2] Third Parties
§ 11.38[3] Allocation of Third-Party Recovery
§ 11.38[4] Attorneys' Fees and Costs
§ 11.38[5] Credit/Advance
§ 11.38[6] Related Subrogation Issues
§ 11.38[7] Statutes of Limitations
§ 11.38[8] Workers' Compensation in Oregon
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.
