Paula Kay Brunner v. Post Consumer Brands, No. WC24-6569 (W.C.C.A. January 15, 2025).
This case addresses whether an employer and its workers’ compensation insurer must reimburse a health insurer for medical bills from compensable work injury when the health insurer missed the deadline to intervene.
The Employee worked as a packaging operator for Employer. She developed a left shoulder Gillette injury. She had medical treatment and surgery, and she missed time from work. After her surgery, she returned to her pre-injury job.
Employer and Insurer initially admitted the injury as work-related. But then they denied it after obtaining an expert opinion, which found that the injury was not work related. The Employee’s Health Insurer paid the medical bills for the Employee’s shoulder condition.
The Employee filed a Claim Petition, seeking wage loss benefits and medical expenses. Potential intervenors were served with intervention notices, including the Employee’s Health Insurer.
The Health Insurer did not intervene. They responded by letter and stated they had paid over $31,000.00, relative to the work injury and their policy would not cover a work-related injury if workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for it.
At the workers’ compensation hearing, the Court found that the left-shoulder injury was a compensable work injury. It was also found that the Health Insurer’s interest would be extinguished because they did not file a timely motion to intervene under Minn. Stat. § 176.361. The Court also found the Employee also could not bring a direct claim for medical bills paid by the Health Insurer. The parties had stipulated the medical treatment was reasonable and necessary.
And then on appeal, The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals ruled that the Employer and Insurer had to reimburse Health Insurer for the Employee’s medical bills, even though the Health Insurer missed the intervention deadline.
The Court pointed to Minn. Stat. § 176.191, subd. 3. This statute states that if there is a dispute about whether an injury is covered by workers’ compensation, the health insurer must pay for costs. But if the injury is later found to be work-related, the insurer must reimburse the health insurer and with 12% interest. The Court noted that if the intervenor extinguishment statute under Minn. Stat. § 176.361 was strictly applied, that would violate a key rule of workers’ compensation—that employers, not private health insurers, should be responsible for the costs of work injuries.
Takeaway: A worker’s compensation court can extinguish a late intervenor’s interest, but the court can still require reimbursement if Minn. Stat. 176.191, subd 3 applies. The statute can prioritize a health insurer’s reimbursement for bills paid from a compensable work injury over procedural intervention deadlines.