Frazier v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

In this appeal, as in Utica Mutual Ins. Co. v. Maran & Maran, 142 N.J. 609, 667 A.2d 680 (1995), also decided today, the 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.

I

In March 1987, plaintiff, Christopher Frazier, an electrician employed by Autotron Electric, Inc., was injured in a work-related accident. He fell…