Estate of Maine Worker Bears Burden of Proof on Question of Lien

Case File

The question of whether an employer or the estate of a deceased worker bore the burden of proof on the amount of a lien on the proportionate share of the cost of collection. Simply Research subscribers have access to the full text of the decision.

Case

Boyle v. Lappin Brothers Inc., No. 24-0021 (W.C.B. App. Div. Me. 10/10/25)

What Happened?

The surviving spouse and the estate of a worker appealed a decision of a Maine Workers' Compensation Board administrative law judge denying the petition order of payment. The estate sought a ruling as to the employer's proportional share of the estate's cost of collection related to a third-party settlement. The estate contended that the ALJ erred in placing the burden of proof on the estate.

Workers' Comp 101: In Maine, when an injury or death for which compensation or medical benefits are payable is sustained under circumstances creating in some person other than the employer a legal liability to pay damages, the injured employee may, at the employee’s option, either claim the compensation and benefits or obtain damages from or proceed at law against that other person to recover damages. If the injured employee elects to claim compensation and benefits, any employer having paid the compensation or benefits or having become liable for compensation or benefits under any compensation payment scheme has a lien for the value of compensation paid on any damages subsequently recovered against the 3rd person liable for the injury. If the employee or the employee’s beneficiary recovers damages from a 3rd person, the employee shall repay to the employer, out of the recovery against the 3rd person, the benefits paid by the employer, less the employer’s proportionate share of cost of collection, including reasonable attorney’s fees.

Rule of Law

When an ALJ expressly finds that a party has or has not sustained its burden of proof, that finding is a conclusion of law and the appellate division will reverse that determination only if the record compels a contrary conclusion to the exclusion of any other inference.

What the Appellate Division Said

Looking to whether the employer had a lien under Maine law due to the fact that it had made no payments of either death benefits or medical expenses, the Appellate Division determined that a lien existed but agreed with the ALJ that the estate, as the moving party and party with control and access to evidence of attorney fees and costs associated with the third-party recovery, bore the burden of proof.

Glossary Check: In McKeeman v. Cianbro Corp, 804 A.2d 406 (Me. 2002), Maine's top court wrote, "'Proportion' means 'the relation of one part to another or to the whole with respect to magnitude, quantity, or degree' and noted, "Proportion ... refers to ... the ratio of the employer's benefit to the total settlement received" by the claimant.

Regarding the sufficiency of the evidence in the case, the Appellate Division explained that the estate failed to produce a disbursement sheet or other evidence that detailed the costs it incurred in the collection of the third-party recovery. The court concluded that the record did not compel the conclusion that the ALJ had sufficient evidence from which to calculate the employer's share of collection costs to the exclusion of any other inference.

Verdict: The Appellate Division upheld the ALJ's determination.

Takeaway

On a third-party recovery, the moving party and party with control and access to evidence of attorney fees and costs associated will bear the burden of proof.

Share This Article: