Cost savings through subrogation

Subrogation is defined as, the assumption by a third party of another’s legal right to collect a debt or damages.

ORC 4123.931 gives BWC subrogation rights if a third party, other than the employer or a coworker, caused or contributed to the work related injury, occupational disease or death for which a workers compensation claim has been filed.

What types of accidents typically involve subrogation?
The most common accident type is a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver. However, there are many other accident situations where subrogation could be applied. These include but are not limited to;

• Premise Liability (i.e. slips and falls not on company property)
• Products Liability (i.e. malfunctioning machinery)
• Medical Malpractice (i.e. IW goes in for surgery and is injured by the procedure)
• Construction Sites (i.e. Subcontractor A put up a scaffolding which collapses injuring an employee of Subcontractor B)
• Dog bites or Animal attacks

These injuries must occur while in the course of an injured worker’s employment and must be caused by someone other than the employer or a fellow employee.

How does subrogation reduce my costs?
The current statute allows BWC to subrogate all past payments of compensation and medical benefits as well as an estimate of future values of compensation and medical benefits.

The total amount recovered by BWC through the subrogation effort is credited back to the employer’s account. The employer will receive notification of the subrogation amount recovered prior to the credit appearing on the account.

If an employer becomes aware after a claim has been filed with BWC that the injured worker or the dependents of the injured worker are seeking recovery from a source other than BWC, this information should be communicated to the BWC customer service specialist.

If an employer believes that a work place injury is such that it may lead to a third party action, this information should be communicated to the BWC customer service specialist during the initial contact.

An employer with additional questions or needing further information about subrogation should contact BWC Legal Operations at 614-466-6600.