In an action brought by an injured employee, who settled with a third party who was not aware of the industrial aspect of the settlement, does the employer have a right to reimbursement?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from O'Dell v. Freightliner Corp., 10 Cal.App.4th 645, 12 Cal.Rptr.2d 774 (Cal. App. 1992):

In Abdala v. Aziz, supra, 3 Cal.App.4th 369, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 130, a similar situation developed. There an injured employee settled with a third party who was unaware of the industrial aspect of the injury and thus did not know the settlement might include the employer's right of reimbursement. The employer had not received formal notice of the action but knew about the lawsuit and, prior to satisfaction of judgment, filed a complaint in intervention and an application for a lien against the settlement. The trial court eventually sustained a demurrer to the complaint in intervention and struck the application for lien. Before these orders had become final, the defendant paid the settlement amount and a satisfaction of judgment was filed. The trial court entered a judgment dismissing the complaint in intervention and the employer appealed.

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