Hunter v. Midwest Coast Transport, Inc.

This case presents the following question certified to this court by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts: “With respect to third-party recoveries by employees whose injuries are covered by [the workers’ compensation act, G. L. c. 152], does Massachusetts law require that the attorney’s fees and costs paid by an employee, as well as the amount of compensation already paid by the insurer, be deducted from the total recovery for the purpose of calculating the amount of the ‘excess’ to be used as an offset against future compensation payments by the insurer?” 2 We…