Escrow account doesn’t save worker’s settlement from reduction

In Indiana, an injured worker who settles with a third party for substantially less than the damages value of his claim without the consent of his employer or the workers’ compensation carrier can reduce his lien by attorney’s fees and costs. A worker for a business suffered third degree burns to his hands and face while performing maintenance on a slag processing system at a steel company. The business’s workers’ compensation carrier paid him temporary total disability benefits and medical expenses.