King v. O. P. Baur Confectionery Company

Before the claim of a compensable employee against a third person is assigned by operation of law to the insurance carrier under the provisions of section 4461, supra, there must first have been an election in writing by the employee to the effect that he will take compensation under the act, and, secondly, the awarding of compensation to him. The defendant contends that the acts of the plaintiff in signing the wage history form, accepting and receipting for the payments made by the insurance carrier, constituted an election on his part to come under the act and that the approval of the admission of liability on the basis of the wage history furnished by the employer and signed by the plaintiff constituted an awarding of compensation within the meaning of the statute, and thereby effectuated a complete assignment of the alleged cause of action to the insurance carrier.