Alaska man tied to girl's death appears in court
Legal Events
An Alaska man linked to a missing 10-year-old girl's death made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday. Peter Wilson, 41, of Kotzebue is charged with making false statements as authorities tried to find Ashley Johnson-Barr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Russo, the criminal chief for the U.S. Attorney's office in Alaska, said in court a grand jury also could return an indictment against Wilson this week. If that happens, Wilson would be arraigned Friday. If not, he would return to court Sept. 27.
The girl had been missing since Sept. 6. She was found dead Friday just outside Kotzebue, a town of about 3,100 people on Alaska's northwestern coast.
An FBI affidavit says Wilson had the girl's cellphone, whose GPS coordinates of where the phone traveled led to the girl's body. The affidavit says the girl's death appears to be a homicide, but her death remains under investigation. The federal Public Defender's office was appointed to represent Wilson.
An Alaska man charged in connection with a 10-year-old girl's disappearance and death will make his first appearance in Federal Court Tuesday. Forty-one-year-old Peter Wilson of Kotzebue is charged with making false statements as authorities tried to find Ashley Johnson-Barr.
The girl had been missing since Sept. 6. She was found dead Friday just outside Kotzebue, a town of about 3,100 people on Alaska's northwestern coast.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.