Opinion ID: 1980702
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Petition For Apportionment

Text: [¶ 8] Although the hearing officer was correct in concluding that Thurston lacked standing to object to the settlement, we conclude that the hearing officer exceeded the bounds of his discretion by approving the settlement prior to first determining an apportionment between the parties. [1] The apportionment statute provides: 1. Applicability. When 2 or more occupational injuries occur, during either a single employment or successive employments, that combine to produce a single incapacitating condition and more than one insurer is responsible for that condition, liability is governed by this section. 2. Liability to employee. If an employee has sustained more than one injury while employed by different employers, or if an employee has sustained more than one injury while employed by the same employer and that employer was insured by one insurer when the first injury occurred and insured by another insurer when the subsequent injury or injuries occurred, the insurer providing coverage at the time of the last injury shall initially be responsible to the employee for all benefits payable under this Act. 3. Subrogation. Any insurer determined to be liable for benefits under subsection 2 must be subrogated to the employee's rights under this Act for all benefits the insurer has paid and for which another insurer may be liable. Apportionment decisions made under this subsection may not affect an employee's rights and benefits under this Act. The board has jurisdiction over proceedings to determine the apportionment of liability among responsible insurers. 4. Consolidation. The board may consolidate some or all proceedings arising out of multiple injuries. 39-A M.R.S.A. § 354 (2001). [¶ 9] Pursuant to section 354, the most recent insurer in a multiple injury case is initially responsible for all benefits, but may seek reimbursement from a previous insurer pursuant to an apportionment. See Hincks v. Robert Mitchell Co., 1999 ME 172, ¶ 6, 740 A.2d 992, 994. This statutory scheme was designed to encourage prompt payment of benefits, while still providing the most recent payor with the potential ability to recover a portion of those payments from other responsible employers and insurers. See Robbins v. Bates Fabrics, Inc., 412 A.2d 374, 378 (Me.1980). As the hearing officer stated, the right to apportion against a previous insurer is limited to a right of subrogation; the most recent insurer has no right to reimbursement against a previous insurer, unless the employee has that right against the insurer. See, e.g., Lamonica v. Ladd Holmes, 1998 ME 190, ¶ 9, 718 A.2d 182, 184-85; Kennedy v. Brunswick Convalescent Ctr., 584 A.2d 678, 680 (Me.1991). [¶ 10] In the present case, the hearing officer was faced with two simultaneously pending petitions  a petition for apportionment and a motion for approval of a lump sum settlement. By approving the settlement first, the hearing officer deprived Thurston of the ability to recover a reimbursement from OneBeacon. [¶ 11] We are aware that the settlement agreement between OneBeacon and the employee was contingent on the dismissal of the apportionment petition. It is likely, therefore, that there would have been either no settlement or a different settlement if the hearing officer had first determined the apportionment petition. Although we have recognized a legislative policy to encourage settlement of workers' compensation claims, see, e.g., DeRice v. S.D. Warren Co., 1997 ME 84, ¶ 6, 694 A.2d 450, 452, settlements should not be entered into when the effect will be to render moot a pending petition for apportionment. [¶ 12] Our decision today is limited to the narrow facts of this appeal, and should not be interpreted to require a hearing officer to delay approval of a settlement agreement in a case when a petition for apportionment has not yet been filed. When a petition for apportionment and a motion to approve a lump sum settlement are both pending before the hearing officer, we conclude that it is an abuse of discretion to approve the lump sum settlement prior to reaching a decision on the apportionment issue. The entry is: The decision of the hearing officer of the Workers' Compensation Board approving the lump sum settlement and dismissing the petition for apportionment is vacated. Remanded to the Workers' Compensation Board for further proceedings consistent with the opinion herein.