When an injury occurs during an alleged gap between two workers’ compensation insurance policies, the Division of Workers’ Compensation has exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether a carrier must pay benefits or reimburse the employer for medical expenses incurred in connection with the injury. That was the opinion of the Beaumont Court of Appeals on Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s petition for writ of mandamus, after the district court abused its discretion in denying Texas Mutual’s motion to dismiss a coverage lawsuit brought by the employer. The per curiam opinion was the first appellate decision applying the Texas Supreme Court’s seminal holding in In re Crawford & Company that the Workers’ Compensation Act’s process and remedies for disputes over benefits or the “investigation, handling or settlement of a claim” are “exclusive” of all other remedies. Texas Mutual was represented by Scott Placek and Matthew Foerster at both the district and appellate levels. The petition for writ of mandamus was conditionally granted without oral argument.
In re Texas Mutual Ins. Co., No. 09-15-00265-CV, 2015 WL 4760174 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Aug. 13, 2015, orig. proceeding).
