Lockhart v. New Hampshire Insurance

¶ 1 These combined claims were filed in the Montana Workers’ Compensation Court by Doug Lockhart and Nancy Petak in part to recover attorney fees from medical benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Court, however, found that medical benefits payable to a claimant are not subject to an attorney fee lien and that the fee must be paid by the claimants out of other funds.

¶2 The issue raised on appeal is whether the attorney’s fee lien codified at § 37-61-420, MCA, applies to medical benefits recovered due to the efforts of the attorney in a workers’ compensation claim.

*469FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶3 Lockhart…