Waivers Of Subrogation Endorsements Are Like Onions
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A recent Texas Court of Appeals decision parsing the wording of a workers’ compensation policy’s waiver of subrogation endorsement reminds us that, like an onion, a waiver endorsement has many layers and should be peeled back fully before giving up on subrogation and/or reimbursement potential.
In Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania v. Exxon, No. 01-15-0453-CV (Tex. Civ. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] July 14, 2016), Kevin Roberts and Arturo Munoz were injured in January 2013 while working for Savage Refinery Services at Exxon Mobil’s Baytown, Texas plant. A tank exploded and a discharge of hot water seriously burned both of them. Savage’s workers’ compensation carrier, Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (“ISCP”), paid nearly $700,000 in benefits to them. Roberts and Munoz sued Exxon Mobil (“Exxon”) and Exxon added ISCP as a third-party defendant to allow the court to determine its subrogation rights in the face of a waiver of subrogation endorsement to the ISCP policy. Despite the waiver of subrogation endorsement, ICSP was asking the court to allow it to subrogate and seek reimbursement of the benefits it paid. After peeling back the layers of its waiver endorsement, ICSP felt that the endorsement didn’t apply to their case.
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