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AT&T;Technologies6/22/1993
Per Curiam:
On October 14, 1980, respondent Richard Reid was injured during the course of his work. At the time he was employed by Western Electric Company, the predecessor of appellant AT&T;Technologies, Inc. (“AT&T;€). Reid's injury occurred when an elevator manufactured and maintained by Otis Elevator Company malfunctioned. Western Electric maintained a private accident disability plan which paid Reid's medical expenses and wage continuation benefits (the equivalent of workers' compensation benefits). Western Electric was a “grandfathered self-insurer” under the provisions of NRS 616.2551 and was thus outside the purview of the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act (“NIIA”).
In May of 1982, Reid filed a civil action against Western Electric, Otis Elevator and Nevada Bell (the owner of the building which housed the elevator). Western Electric was voluntarily dismissed from that action on September 30, 1983, expressly reserving its subrogation rights.
In December, 1983, while Reid's civil action was still pending, Western Electric was acquired by AT&T; At that time, AT&T;became a certified self-insured employer under the provisions of the NIIA and continued to pay Reid benefits pursuant thereto.
In January of 1984, Reid obtained a judgment against Otis
[109 Nev. 592, Page 594]
Elevator for $317,000, including $137,000 for loss of future earnings, $6,500 for future medical expenses and $75,000 for future pain and suffering. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. See Otis Elevator Co. v. Reid, 101 Nev. 515, 706 P.2d 1378 (1985). The judgment was paid in the latter part of 1985; AT&T;received no subrogation benefits at that time.
Relying on the 1981 amendments to the NIIA which granted grandfathered self-insurers subrogation rights, AT&T;asserted its right to offset worker's compensation benefit payments against Reid's 1985 recovery. By letter of April 16, 1987, AT&T;advised Reid that it would stop paying workers' compensation benefits until its portion of the third-party recovery was exhausted. Reid was informed that he would instead receive weekly accident disability benefits under AT&T;s Sickness and Accident Disability Plan. At that juncture, AT&T;had paid Reid over $90,000 in unreimbursed benefits.
Reid appealed AT&T;s decision to the Nevada Department of Administration (“NDA”). In December of 1988, the NDA Appeals Officer determined that the NDA had jurisdiction to hear the matter notwithstanding the fact that Western Electric had not been a certified self-insurer when Reid was injured in 1980. See Dorion v. Bell Telephone Company of Nevada, 102 Nev. 5, 714 P.2d 174 (1986). The Appeals Officer also concluded that AT&T;was entitled to suspend Reid's weekly worker's compensation benefits until AT&T;s subrogation claim against Reid's third-party recovery was exhausted. Reid sought judicial review of that determination pursuant to NRS Chs. 233 and 616.
The district court reversed, concluding that all rights and obligations among Reid, Western Electric/AT&T; and any third-party tortfeasor vested as of October 14, 1980, and were unaffected by the 1981 legislative amendments to NRS 616.560. The district court remanded the case to the Appeals Officer with instructions to disallow AT&T;s subrogation lien. This appeal followed.
On appeal, AT&T;contends that it was entitled to assert a statutory right of subrogation against Reid's recovery from Otis Elevator. Discussion
NRS 616.5603 governs subrogation rights between an insurer and an employee injured by a third-party tortfeasor. Once the
[109 Nev. 592,
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