Changes in Delaware at the Intersection of Workers’ Compensations and Liability

A recent amendment to Delaware law allows an employee to seek uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage from an employer’s insurance policy if he or she was injured in the course and scope of employment in a motor vehicle accident with a third-party tortfeasor.

Prior to September 2016, an employee was precluded from collecting uninsured and/or underinsured motorist benefits under his employer’s policy because he/she could only recover workers compensation benefits “to the exclusion of all other rights and remedies.” 19 Del. C. § 2304. Simpson v. State, 2016 WL 425010.

In September 2016, the Delaware State Legislature passed House Bill 308 as a response to the Delaware Superior Court decision in Simpson v. State of Delaware and Government Employees Insurance Company, 2016 WL 425010 (Del. Super. Ct. Jan. 28, 2016).

HB 308, which took effect immediately, expressly excluded uninsured motorist benefits and underinsured motorist benefits from the workers’ compensation exclusivity rule thus allowing employees injured in an automobile accident with an uninsured or underinsured tortfeasor to collect from their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy as well as the employer’s UM/UIM insurance policy.

For more information about this article, please contact Krista Shevlin at 302.594.9780 or kshevlin@fandpnet.com.