North Dakota Code 54-23.4-12 – Subrogation – Actions – Allocation of expenses
1. If compensation is awarded, the division is subrogated to all the claimant’s rights to receive or recover benefits or advantages, for economic loss for which and to the extent only that compensation is awarded, from a source that is, or, if readily available to the claimant, would be, a collateral source.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-23.4-12
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
- verdict: includes not only the verdict of a jury, but also the finding upon the facts of a judge or of a master appointed to determine the issues in a cause. See North Dakota Code 1-01-41
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. Before bringing an action to recover damages related to criminally injurious conduct for which compensation is claimed or awarded, the claimant shall give the division written notice of the proposed action. If a claimant brings an action for the recovery of damages related to criminally injurious conduct for which compensation is claimed or awarded, the division is subrogated to the rights of the claimant up to the total amount the division has paid. When there has been a recovery of damages, the costs of the action, to be paid by the division from the recovery, exclusive of attorney’s fees, must be prorated and adjusted on the percentage of the total subrogation interest of the division recovered to the total recovery. If there is a recovery, the division shall pay attorney’s fees to the claimant’s attorney from the recovery in the amount of twenty-five percent of the subrogation interest recovered. For purposes of this section, recovery includes proceeds paid pursuant to a settlement, confession of judgment, or judgment of a court. The division may intervene in the action to recover compensation awarded. The division has a lien on a recovery to the extent it has paid compensation. The division is not liable for costs or attorney’s fees when the claimant has not provided the division prior written notice of the commencement of an action. If a claimant does not bring an action for damages within six months from the date the division awarded benefits, the division may bring an action or claim for relief in the division’s name and may retain as the division’s subrogation interest the full amount the division has paid in compensation and benefits to a claimant. The division may bring an action within two years from the date the division first awarded benefits, notwithstanding any other statute of limitation. This section does not limit the claimant’s right to bring an action to recover for other damages.
3. If a judgment or verdict indicates separately economic loss and noneconomic detriment, payments on the judgment must be allocated between them in proportion to the amounts indicated. In an action in a court of this state arising out of criminally injurious conduct, the judge, on timely motion, shall direct the jury to return a special verdict, indicating separately the awards for noneconomic detriment, punitive damages, and economic loss.