Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, No. 85-4321
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before GEE, and GARWOOD; EDWARD J. BOYLE, Sr. |
| Citation | 784 F.2d 644 |
| Parties | PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC., et al., Petitioners, v. David COLLIER, and Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, Respondents. |
| Docket Number | No. 85-4321 |
| Decision Date | 10 March 1986 |
Page 644
v.
David COLLIER, and Director, Office of Workers Compensation
Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, Respondents.
Fifth Circuit.
Donald Gillis, Miami, Fla., for petitioners.
T. Timothy Ryan, Jr., Sol., Dept. of Labor, Washington, D.C., Michael Cucullu, Houston, Tex., for respondents.
Benefits Review Bd., U.S. Dept. of Labor, Linda M. Meekins, Washington, D.C., for Other Interested Parties.
Petition for Review of an Order of the Benefits Review Board.
Before GEE, and GARWOOD, Circuit Judges, and BOYLE *, District Judge.
EDWARD J. BOYLE, Sr., District Judge.
In this appeal, our jurisdiction is invoked under 33 U.S.C. Sec. 921(c) to review the Decision and Order of the Benefits Review Board ("BRB") of the United States Department of Labor which affirmed an order of an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). The order of the ALJ, set forth below, awarded future compensation benefits pursuant to the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 901 et seq. ("LHWCA"), to David F. Collier, respondent herein, notwithstanding his failure to obtain prior approval of his employer, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. ("PHI"), and its insurer, American Home Insurance Company (collectively "employer/carrier"), for the compromise by respondent of his
Page 645
third party liability action brought against Continental Oil Company ("Conoco").The question we must answer, though novel, is a narrow one which may be stated simply: does the failure by an injured employee to obtain the prior consent of the employer/carrier to settlement of the employee's claim against a third party tortfeasor bar the employee's right to future benefits under LHWCA when the employer/carrier has contractually waived their subrogation rights against the third party tortfeasor? We answer that question affirmatively.
The following background facts appear in the decision of the Administrative Law Judge and are not challenged by the parties. On August 27, 1976, respondent David Collier was injured while working as a helicopter pilot for PHI. The injury occurred on the landing platform of a drilling rig owned by Conoco and located on the Outer Continental Shelf off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Collier thereafter applied for and received benefits from PHI's insurance carrier. Collier's compensation rate was $176.71 per week, and the carrier began making payments the week of the injury.
Collier subsequently sued Conoco in Federal District Court, 1 seeking $750,000 in damages. Collier settled this claim against Conoco for $50,000 on April 17, 1979 from which settlement he netted $23,020.94. This settlement was confected without the approval of PHI or its carrier, and compensation payments were terminated for that reason on April 17, 1979.
On August 14, 1979, Collier initiated proceedings under LHWCA advancing claims for temporary total disability, permanent partial disability, and future medical expenses. Petitioners interposed Collier's failure to procure petitioners' consent to the settlement as a complete defense to any liability for future compensation or medical expense. An Administrative Law Judge conducted a hearing on October 8, 1981, rejected petitioners' legal defense, and filed a compensation order on August 2, 1982, which provided in pertinent part:
1. The Respondent [PHI] is ordered to pay permanent partial disability benefits to the claimant pursuant to the Act, based on his average weekly wage of $265.07 from April 17, 1979 and continuing.
2. Respondent is entitled to set-off $23,020.94 against benefits accrued since the suspension of the compensation benefits on April 17, 1979.
3. Interest shall be paid on all accrued benefits at the rate of six percent per annum computed from the date such payment was originally due until paid.
4. Respondent is to pay to Claimant the sum owing and due in the amount of $176.71 for the week of August 10, 1978 through August 17, 1978 plus interest on that amount at six percent per annum until paid.
(In this appeal, this last award is not challenged, and we therefore do not disturb it.) The BRB affirmed this order on March 6, 1985.
We begin our analysis of the legal issue herein with an examination of the text of 33 U.S.C. Sec. 933(g)(1):
If the person entitled to compensation ... enters into a settlement with a third person ... for an amount less than the compensation to which the person ... would be entitled under this chapter, the employer shall be liable for compensation as determined under subsection (f) of this section only if written approval of the settlement is obtained from the employer and the employer's carrier, before the settlement is executed, and by the person entitled to compensation....
...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Valdez v. Crosby & Overton, BRB 99-0960
...employer's interests, identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 646-647, 18 BRBS 67, 71 (CRT)(5th Cir. 1986), as employer's right to recoup its compensation liability from the third-party tortfeasors and e......
-
Newton-Sealey v. Armorgroup (Jersey) Services, Ltd., BRB 12-0446
...a claimant from unilaterally bargaining away funds to which his employer might be entitled. Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 18 BRBS 67(CRT) (5th Cir. 1986). It provides protection to the employer when a claimant settles a tort suit for damages with a third person for t......
-
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, No. 93-7077
...Id. at 1553; See also, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 278 (5th Cir.1990); Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 647 (5th Cir.1986). On rehearing en banc of the Cowart case, this Court affirmed the panel's opinion and further made it clear that this appr......
-
Pool v. General American Oil Co., BRB 96-314
...did not bar the claimant's recovery of benefits under the Act, as the employer's interests, see Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 18 BRBS 67 (CRT) (5th Cir. 1986), are protected.[10] Pinell, 22 BRBS at 65. Although my colleagues believe employer, through carrier's action......
-
Valdez v. Crosby & Overton, BRB 99-0960
...employer's interests, identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 646-647, 18 BRBS 67, 71 (CRT)(5th Cir. 1986), as employer's right to recoup its compensation liability from the third-party tortfeasors and e......
-
Newton-Sealey v. Armorgroup (Jersey) Services, Ltd., BRB 12-0446
...a claimant from unilaterally bargaining away funds to which his employer might be entitled. Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 18 BRBS 67(CRT) (5th Cir. 1986). It provides protection to the employer when a claimant settles a tort suit for damages with a third person for t......
-
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, No. 93-7077
...Id. at 1553; See also, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 278 (5th Cir.1990); Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 647 (5th Cir.1986). On rehearing en banc of the Cowart case, this Court affirmed the panel's opinion and further made it clear that this appr......
-
Pool v. General American Oil Co., BRB 96-314
...did not bar the claimant's recovery of benefits under the Act, as the employer's interests, see Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 18 BRBS 67 (CRT) (5th Cir. 1986), are protected.[10] Pinell, 22 BRBS at 65. Although my colleagues believe employer, through carrier's action......