Third Party Comp Claim Leads to $7M Settlement

A recent $7 million wrongful death settlement paid to the family of a man killed on the job demonstrates the importance of carefully screening workers’ compensation cases for third party liability.

In the case, the plaintiffs brought a third party claim against an engineering company which had made repairs to a fuel-loading system and allegedly failed to close a key valve in the system, causing it to malfunction.

Doulgas K. Sheff of Boston, counsel for the plaintiffs, acknowledged that finding third parties who may be responsible for the worker’s injury can be a difficult task since they are often hidden.

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Sheff said. “You need to be willing to put in the time early to investigate and pay for the right experts.”