Remedies: Restitution

Montana Municipal Insurance Authority v. Roche [11/14/07] 2007 MTWCC 47Respondent received $45,272.86 in TTD benefits during the same time period as he received a wage from a business he operated without the written consent of the insurer, and thus Respondent violated § 39-71-701, MCA. The language of the statute leaves no room for apportionment and plainly states that a worker may not receive both wages and TTD benefits without the written consent of the insurer. Accordingly, Respondent must repay the benefits to which he was not entitled pursuant to the statute.

Montana Municipal Insurance Authority v. Roche [11/14/07] 2007 MTWCC 47 While Respondent argues that the Court has no authority to order him to repay any TTD benefits he received to which he may not have been entitled, in Reil v. State Comp. Mut. Ins. Fund, 254 Mont. 274, 837 P.2d 1334 (1992), the Montana Supreme Court concluded that restitution is within the remedies available in this Court, and that the exclusivity of the Workers’ Compensation Act does not preclude restitution of benefits to which a worker was not entitled. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to order restitution in the present case.