Re: Ricks v. Nationwide Insurance Company

To The Companies In Interest:

In Ricks v. Nationwide Insurance Company, a panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania was presented with the issue of whether a person making a claim for uninsured motorist benefits under his personal automobile insurance policy is precluded from pleading, proving and recovering the amount of benefits he received from his employer's workers' compensation carrier. Previously in Standish v. American Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co., 698 A.2d 599 (Pa. Super. 1997), the Superior Court held that a workers' compensation carrier did not have the right to subrogate against a person's recovery of uninsured motorist benefits under his own personal automobile policy. Nationwide argued that since the workers' compensation carrier had no right of subrogation with respect to the uninsured motorist recovery under Standish, to avoid a double recovery the claimant should be precluded to plead, prove and recover the losses paid by the workers' compensation carrier.

Both the arbitration panel and the lower court agreed with Nationwide. On appeal, the Superior Court reversed finding that the decision of the arbitrators violated the provisions of Section 1722 of the Financial Responsibility Law. In an incomprehensible footnote, the panel states that its decision does not permit a double recovery on the part of the claimant. The panel's holding clearly does permit a double recovery because it permits the claimant to recover the same losses from his uninsured motorist carrier that were paid by the workers' compensation carrier which has no right to subrogate against the uninsured motorist recovery.

We are advised that Nationwide is in the process of filing a Petition for Reargument in the Superior Court and, if necessary, will seek review in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

If you would like to read a copy of the opinion, please click here . You can also call Denise Alosi at (215) 665-3321 and request a copy from her. If you have any questions about the case or any other automobile insurance law issues, please feel free to call me.

Very truly yours,

Michael Saltzburg

For further information, please contact Michael Saltzburg, Esquire.
Telephone: 215-665-3340
E-mail: saltzburg@bbs-law.com