View all text of Chapter 18 [§ 901 - § 950]
§ 933. Compensation for injuries where third persons are liable
(a) Election of remedies
(b) Acceptance of compensation operating as assignment
(c) Payment into section 944 fund operating as assignment
(d) Institution of proceedings or compromise by assignee
(e) Recoveries by assigneeAny amount recovered by such employer on account of such assignment, whether or not as the result of a compromise, shall be distributed as follows:
(1) The employer shall retain an amount equal to—
(A) the expenses incurred by him in respect to such proceedings or compromise (including a reasonable attorney’s fee as determined by the deputy commissioner or Board);
(B) the cost of all benefits actually furnished by him to the employee under section 907 of this title;
(C) all amounts paid as compensation;
(D) the present value of all amounts thereafter payable as compensation, such present value to be computed in accordance with a schedule prepared by the Secretary, and the present value of the cost of all benefits thereafter to be furnished under section 907 of this title, to be estimated by the deputy commissioner, and the amounts so computed and estimated to be retained by the employer as a trust fund to pay such compensation and the cost of such benefits as they become due, and to pay any sum finally remaining in excess thereof to the person entitled to compensation or to the representative; and
(2) The employer shall pay any excess to the person entitled to compensation or to the representative.
(f) Institution of proceedings by person entitled to compensation
(g) Compromise obtained by person entitled to compensation
(1) If the person entitled to compensation (or the person’s representative) enters into a settlement with a third person referred to in subsection (a) for an amount less than the compensation to which the person (or the person’s representative) would be entitled under this chapter, the employer shall be liable for compensation as determined under subsection (f) only if written approval of the settlement is obtained from the employer and the employer’s carrier, before the settlement is executed, and by the person entitled to compensation (or the person’s representative). The approval shall be made on a form provided by the Secretary and shall be filed in the office of the deputy commissioner within thirty days after the settlement is entered into.
(2) If no written approval of the settlement is obtained and filed as required by paragraph (1), or if the employee fails to notify the employer of any settlement obtained from or judgment rendered against a third person, all rights to compensation and medical benefits under this chapter shall be terminated, regardless of whether the employer or the employer’s insurer has made payments or acknowledged entitlement to benefits under this chapter.
(3) Any payments by the special fund established under section 944 of this title shall be a lien upon the proceeds of any settlement obtained from or judgment rendered against a third person referred to under subsection (a). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such lien shall be enforceable against such proceeds, regardless of whether the Secretary on behalf of the special fund has agreed to or has received actual notice of the settlement or judgment.
(4) Any payments by a trust fund described in section 917 of this title shall be a lien upon the proceeds of any settlement obtained from or judgment recorded against a third person referred to under subsection (a). Such lien shall have priority over a lien under paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(h) Subrogation
(i) Right to compensation as exclusive remedy
(Mar. 4, 1927, ch. 509, § 33, 44 Stat. 1440; June 25, 1938, ch. 685, §§ 12, 13, 52 Stat. 1168; Pub. L. 86–171, Aug. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 391; Pub. L. 92–576, § 15(f)–(h), Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1262; Pub. L. 98–426, § 21, Sept. 28, 1984, 98 Stat. 1652.)