w/c and going to court

[muttley]

I was in a terrible wreck 2 months ago driving a company tractor trailer .The wreck was the fault of a third party. I live in Maryland and Ive been told W/C has a lean on any money won in court toward their cost minus lawyer fees.
My question is what should I expect them to take from any judgement ? Would it be the total they spent or a portion? Also does this include money lost from the truck and other damage or just the medical expense?My company is self insured.

[jayne]

every penny they (WC)spent they will want back...with a good lawyer you might get to keep some

[muttley]

What worries me is the whole settlement thing and the gives and takes there. Im not sure if my injuries will come back down the road or not.
My injuries include brain injury , broken skull , broken upper arm , broken finger , broken vertabra , cracked pelvis , broken teeth , etc Ive had 3 operations and currently suffer Dizzy spells from a busted inner ear , lost hearing in left ear which did return , double vision , and I did suffer memory loss for about 7 weeks.
Should I expect much from settlement and if I cannot return to driving will that affect my settlement??

[sparkey]

I would definitly keep the medical part of your settlement open for something that may happen in the future. Good luck.

[capricorn]

muttley....so sorry for your injuries. They are very serious and you need to be sure you don't slight yourself in any way. When a third party case is involve din a WC case , the WC carrier gets reimbursed from your settlemnt from the third party. They are paid every dime they paid out. Just a scenerio here: Third party settles at $500,000. WC paid out $210,000. You would get the balance less attorney and legal fees unless your attorney has legal fees to be paid by the opposition. Did that help any???

CAP

[backache]

I agree with Sparkey

[Still in Limbo]

Cap. is Right on the Money with their Response Muttley! I was a Driver also, but My Injuries were from Unloading. I Wish You the Very Best, and as Sparkey has said, try and Keep Those Medicals Open, You never Know when You may need them in the Future!! Happy Holidays!!

[muttley]

The down side for me is the third party is a local goverment and their truck. My understanding is once I max out their insurance in the case thats it.

[stiffnecked]

Once you max out the third coverage that would be it. But there is no limit on the WC/ICoverage. If you don't have an attorney get one. Let them worry about it. Just don't let them make decisions without your input and approval.

[Pooh]

The third party insurance will only pay up to their insurance limits - since the 3rd party is the local government - then anything over and above that amount becomes the responsibility of the local government to pay. i.e. you would have to win the lawsuit in a civil court where you can sue for pain and suffering along with your medical bills and future medical etc.

This is where you really need an attorney because each state law is different on 3rd party law suits. Some will only allow the IC to get 1/3 of the 3rd party settlement for the simple fact that pain and suffering is included.

Here is MD info on 3rd party - http://www.workerscompensation.com/regul...arent=1513

as you can see the IC can sue the local government on your behalf so you know they would not have your best interest on hand just the amount that they have paid out to date.


here is a link to your state statues

http://www.workerscompensation.com/regul...arent=1503