A PIP carrier may file a claim with the Division of Workers’ Compensation as a means of enforcing its statutory right of reimbursement under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-6

The PIP carrier filed a workers’ compensation claim for reimbursement as subrogor of its insured. This right of reimbursement exists under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-6, the so-called “collateral sources” provision of New Jersey’s PIP statute, which was interpreted by the Appellate Division in Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Para Manufacturing Co., 176 N.J. Super. 532 (App. Div. 1980). The court in Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. held that, where a PIP insured is entitled to, but never files, a workers’ compensation claim, the PIP carrier, as subrogor for its insured, may file a claim for reimbursement in the Division of Workers’ Compensation to prove that the motor vehicle accident in which its insured was injured is compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Although effectively exercising this right, High Point ultimately received no reimbursement as it failed to sustain its burden of proof as to the compensability of its insured’s injuries.

_{Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2015}

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