Gill v. Brescome Barton, Inc.

Summary

The court held that the workers’ compensation commissioner had statutory authority to require one insurer to reimburse another for half of temporary total disability benefits arising from simultaneous bilateral knee replacement surgery. Because either separate injury independently entitled the claimant to the full relapse-rate benefit, dividing the payment avoided a prohibited double recovery and an unfair windfall while remaining subject to later modification. The court also held that the commissioner had subject matter jurisdiction and that errors concerning the insurance agreement were harmless because the award rested on independent statutory grounds.