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appropriate, based on what has been presented thus far by the
parties it appears doubtful to me that any breach of the settlement
agreement occurred. And it must be acknowledged that the
resolution of the breach issue has serious implications for the
integrity of the legal framework for the protection of statutory
workers’ compensation liens.
Under the Workers’ Compensation Law, an employee injured
in the course of employment by a third-party tortfeasor may accept
workers’ compensation benefits and also sue the third-party
tortfeasor. § 440.39(1), Fla. Stat. (2021). In such circumstances,
the employee “shall sue for the employee individually and for the
use and benefit of the employer, if a self-insurer, or employer’s
insurance carrier.” § 440.39(3)(a), Fla. Stat. Under the statute, the
employer or carrier obtains lien rights:
Upon suit being filed, the employer or the insurance
carrier, as the case may be, may file in the suit a notice
of payment of compensation and medical benefits to the
employee or his or her dependents, which notice shall
constitute a lien upon any judgment or settlement
recovered to the extent that the court may determine to
be their pro rata share for compensation and medical
benefits paid or to be paid under the provisions of this
law, less their pro rata share of all court costs expended
by the plaintiff in the prosecution of the suit including
reasonable attorney’s fees for the plaintiff’s attorney.