EBI Companies/Orion Group v. Industrial Commission

OPINION

LIVERMORE, Presiding Judge.

This case presents an issue of first impression in Arizona: Is a workers’ compensation carrier entitled to a lien against a claimant’s third-party recovery for the amount the carrier paid the claimant pursuant to a settlement agreement?

The facts are undisputed. Billy James was injured in an automobile accident while in the course of his employment with Casa Grande Union High School. His workers’ compensation claim was accepted by the employer’s carrier, EBI Companies, as a “no time lost” claim and closed with no permanent disability. Some six months later,…