Suntrust Bank, as Adm'r of the Estate of Michael Patrick v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am.

The worker's compensation insurer for the plaintiff's employer was not bound by the lump sum settlement agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant tortfeasors, which included a statement that the settlement proceeds did not fully and completely compensate the plaintiff for his injuries.

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In this appeal arising from a personal injury lawsuit, SunTrust Bank “SunTrust”, as the administrator of the estate of Michael Patrick, appeals from the trial court’s order granting a motion to enforce a subrogation lien that was filed by Travelers Property Casualty Company of America “Travelers”, the workers’ compensation insurer for Patrick’s employer, Unique Industry Corporation. Patrick was injured in a collision while working for his employer, and he received workers’ compensation benefits before filing suit against two third-party tortfeasors, Associated Grocers of the South, Inc. “Associated Grocers” and Larry Granger, whose negligence caused the collision. Although Travelers timely intervened in the suit in order to protect its workers’ compensation subrogation lien, Patrick and the tortfeasors settled the case for a confidential “lump sum” without Travelers’ knowledge, participation or consent. Among other terms, the settlement agreement included a conclusory statement that the proceeds of the settlement did not fully and completely compensate Patrick for his injuries. On appeal, SunTrust contends that the trial court erred in finding that the express terms of the settlement agreement did not extinguish Travelers’ right to enforce its subrogation lien. For the following reasons, we find no error and affirm.

The record shows the following relevant, undisputed facts. On March 27, 2007, Patrick was driving a pickup truck on Interstate 985 when a tractor-trailer driven by Granger struck his truck from behind and caused Patrick to suffer severe, permanent injuries. At the time of the collision, Granger was working for Associated Grocers, while Patrick was working for Unique Industry Corporation. As a result of Patrick’s injuries, Unique Industry’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier, Travelers, paid him over $800,000 in workers’ compensation benefits for medical costs and lost wages.

Suntrust Bank, as Adm'r of the Estate of Michael Patrick v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am.

The worker's compensation insurer for the plaintiff's employer was not bound by the lump sum settlement agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant tortfeasors, which included a statement that the settlement proceeds did not fully and completely compensate the plaintiff for his injuries.

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