Subrogation: Making Third-Party Recoveries

Sometimes, people outside of your company or its operations cause an employee's on-the-job accident. When that happens, Texas Mutual Insurance Company will still provide your employee workers' compensation benefits. In the meantime, our dedicated subrogation team will work to recover these claim benefits from the responsible party.

Subrogation saves you money
Successful subrogation ensures that you don't end up paying, through increased premium, for someone else's mistake. Here's why:

• Recoveries lower claim reserves
• Recoveries can reduce your experience modifier

You can help us if you know what to look for and what to do.

Know what to look for
Most subrogation recoveries involve vehicles, products or premises. Here are examples of each:

• Vehicles. Your employee is making a delivery. Another driver, who is not one of your employees, rear-ends the vehicle your employee is driving. We will pursue the other driver's insurance carrier to recover the costs of the claim-related benefits. Click here for a real-life subrogation case archive.
• Products. A ladder breaks, injuring your employee. Your review of the accident shows that the employee was using the ladder correctly; however, the ladder itself was faulty. We will pursue the ladder's manufacturer to recover the costs of the claim-related benefits. Click here for a real-life subrogation case archive.
• Premises. An employee slips on a recently mopped floor at a customer's workplace. There are no warning cones. We will pursue the entity responsible for maintaining the customer's premises to recover the costs of the claim-related benefits. Click here for a real-life subrogation case archive.

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Know what to do
Anytime one of your employees is injured on the job, investigate the accident. A thorough accident investigation process is critical to workplace safety and successful subrogation.

• Immediately secure the scene, and keep employees from tampering with the site. Secure any equipment involved in the accident, and restrict access to it.
• Immediately take photos of the accident site and the machinery, vehicle or premises involved in the accident before they are altered. If the accident happened somewhere other than your workplace, have your personnel take photos of the site.
• Get the name, address, employer and other contact information of the person who contributed to the accident.
• Get medical attention for anyone who needs it. Then, get statements from eyewitnesses and the injured employee as soon as possible. If necessary, get eyewitnesses' names so you can interview them later.

Remember
No matter how an accident happens, immediately contact your adjuster at (800) 859-5995, or email the subrogation team at subref@texasmutual.com if you believe another party caused the accident. We will send a field investigator out as soon as possible to investigate. The sooner we get involved, the better the chances for a recovery.

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