Subrogation Rights Stand Firm

Oklahoma Supreme Court holds § 43 constitutional in Alexander v. Duong, 2026 OK 76: Employers and insurers keep their right to recover workers’ comp death benefits.

In a recent published decision involving workers’ compensation subrogation rights the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that an employer’s and its insurance carrier’s right to subrogation from a third-party death claim settlement is constitutionally firm. Alexander v. Duong, 2026, OK 76. In Duong, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier and employer intervened in a district court negligence suit involving a motor vehicle accident seeking their statutory right to subrogation as set out in Okla. Stat. tit. 85A, § 43. The plaintiff asserted that respondents’ § 43 right to recover a portion of the plaintiff’s settlement for repayment of workers’ compensation death benefits violated Article 23, section 7 of the Oklahoma Constitution. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals reversed the decision. The Oklahoma Supreme Court granted review and held that § 43 is constitutionally firm. The decision upholds an employer’s and insurance carrier’s statutory right to recover workers’ compensation benefits paid in death claims.