Lane v. Plymouth Restaurant Group

General Laws c. 152, § 15, requires a hearing and court approval of any settlement of a third-party tort action in which a workers’ compensation insurer has a lien. In this case, we are asked to decide whether, at such a hearing, a judge must *470allow a workers’ compensation insurer to present evidence regarding the fair allocation of settlement proceeds among the insurance beneficiaries. A Superior Court judge approved the settlement after denying Managed Comp Insurance Company an opportunity to cross-examine the plaintiffs and present evidence regarding the allocation in the settlement…