Gutierrez v. City of Albuquerque

OPINION

McKINNON, Justice.

{1} This ease requires us to revisit a provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act, NMSA 1978, § 52-5-17 (1987), and our decision in Montoya v. ARAL Security, 114 N.M. 354, 838 P.2d 971 (1992). In Montoya, we held that Section 52-5-17 allows an injured worker to pursue a third-party tort claim and also receive compensation benefits for the same injury, subject to an employer’s right of reimbursement depending on the relative success of the tort claim. The question presented here is whether an employer is entitled to full reimbursement from a worker’s fair, but partial,…