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Jennifer Rodriguez v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.. MN workers comp/no fault
The appellant in this Hennepin County, Minnesota, case was injured in a motor vehicle accident during the course of her employment as a school bus driver. The workers' compensation insurer paid for twelve weeks of chiropractic treatment but then refused additional treatment.
She then sought additional treatment and made a claim under the uninsured motorist coverage of her personal automobile insurance. When the no-fault automobile insurer refused to pay, she filed a petition for arbitration. The insurer argued that the workers' compensation was the exclusive source of benefits, but the arbitrator ruled in the insured's favor.
The insurer made a motion in district court to vacate the award. The district court held that under Minn. Stat. 176.83, no-fault benefits were unavailable. The driver then appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that when a workers’ compensation insurer refuses to pay for chiropractic services because it has determined under Minn. Stat. Minn. Stat. 176.83, subd. 5(c), that the services are excessive according to the standards established by the workers’ compensation rules, that statute does not relieve an automobile insurer of its obligation to pay basic economic loss benefits according to Minn. Stat. 65B.54, subd. 3, to reimburse its insured for the expense of the chiropractic services.
No. A17-1800 (Minn. Ct. App. July 2, 2018).
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Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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