Many state laws prohibit health insurance carriers from subrogation, or they may limit the amount of money the insurance carrier may collect from a person's settlement or jury verdict. California law limits subrogation to a maximum of one-third of a person’s total settlement if they hired a personal injury attorney to help with their claim. If they did not hire a personal injury attorney, the law allows for the subrogation of one-half of the settlement.
However, it is important to point out that these amounts can be negotiated, and a skilled personal injury attorney will be able to help. In these cases, subrogation is less if a person hires an attorney in anticipation of an attorney being paid legal fees out of the settlement. An attorney will also be able to vigorously negotiate with parties attempting subrogation in an effort to help their client pay a lower amount. The one-third “maximum” that an insurance carrier can take from a claim is just that – the maximum. A California personal injury attorney will often be able to negotiate that the insurance carrier take much less than that, thereby increasing the total amount of compensation the injury victim receives.