Legal Question in Workers Comp in Virginia

Your question is multi-layered. First, the workers' compensation insurance company by statute is subrogated to the third party claim so long as they paid on the claim. So if they paid on the claim it means that the plaintiff in the third party case qualified as an employee for purposes of workers' compensation coverage. Second, if there has been an approved settlement of the workers' compensation case, the rights of the workers' compensation insurance company in regard to the third party case will be determined by the compensation settlement documents. If their right of subrogation was preserved in the workers' compensation settlement, then they can assert a claim against the third party claim. If the subrogation right was not preserved, they have not claim. This is pretty technical and you need a more in depth consultation with a qualified Virginia workers' compensation attorney. Contact me if you have further questions.