Does estoppel apply to a plaintiff's claim for damages against her employer?

We find no estoppel. Where, as here, the action was prosecuted by the employee alone, ¹² "it is clear that the jury is not concerned, in arriving at its verdict, with the rights of the employer and that the verdict and judgment may properly refer only to the plaintiff and to the third party tortfeasor. It is for the court, after judgment has been entered (or concurrently therewith), to make the orders provided for by subdivision (b) of section 3856 [regarding any lien on the judgment for benefits paid or owed]." (Kuhlmann v. Pascal & Ludwig (1970) 5 Cal.App.3d 144, 150, 85 Cal.Rptr. 199.)