Utica Mutual Insurance v. Maran & Maran

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

In this appeal, as in Christopher Frazier v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Co., 142 N.J. 590, 667 A.2d 670 (1995), also decided today, the primary issue is whether, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:15-40, a workers’ compensation lien attaches to the proceeds of a malpractice suit brought to recover damages from an attorney who failed to institute an action against the third-party tortfeasor responsible for the worker’s injury.

Defendants also make two additional arguments, both of which were made by Frazier. Defendants claim that even if the lien…