Montana Workers’ Compensation Court

No decisions this reporting period.

SUBMITTED MATTERS

Motions & Miscellaneous Matters

Upcoming Trials, Hearings & Conferences

Montana Workers’ Compensation Stipulations Summary (through June 25, 2026)

PLAN 1

PLAN 2

ESD Settlements Approved through June 19, 2026

PLAN 1                     

PLAN 2

PLAN 3

 Key Insights for Montana Work Comp Professionals

1. The Workers’ Compensation Court currently has no new published decisions, but several potentially significant summary judgment motions remain pending.
   
   While there were no new precedential decisions issued during this reporting period, the Court has a substantial number of dispositive motions under advisement, including multiple cross-motions for summary judgment in Rutledge, competing summary judgment motions in Guitron, and several motions in Crisler and Parker/Leggitt. These cases may generate important guidance over the coming months, particularly regarding compensability and procedural issues.
2. “Medicals Closed” continues to dominate higher-value settlements.
   Every Workers’ Compensation Court stipulation listed in this reporting period is a full and final settlement closing future medical benefits. Several settlements exceeded $80,000, including:
   • $115,782 (including a $70,782 Medicare Set-Aside)
   • $100,000
   • $80,000

This trend reinforces that parties continue to assign significant value to obtaining complete closure of future medical exposure.

      3.  Medicare Set-Asides remain a major driver in larger settlements.

Two of the largest reported settlements specifically identify Medicare Set-Asides:

• • Steven Hippe — $115,782 settlement including a $70,782 MSA.
  • Michael Gosman — $45,000 settlement including a $27,668 MSA.

These figures illustrate that Medicare compliance continues to materially influence settlement structure and valuation in significant                 cases involving future medical exposure.

       4.  Disputed initial compensability claims continue to resolve for relatively modest amounts.

The ESD settlement approvals show numerous disputed compensability cases settling for comparatively small sums, including:

• • $250
  • $1,500
  • $4,150
  • $5,500
  • $7,000

These resolutions suggest that parties frequently use modest settlements to eliminate litigation risk when liability remains disputed,              rather than fully litigating compensability.

       5.   Low back injuries remain among the most valuable and frequently litigated injury categories.

Low back claims appear repeatedly among both Court stipulations and ESD approvals, with settlements ranging from approximately              $41,000 to over $115,000. Several involve older dates of injury or multiple injury dates, reflecting the continued complexity and long-            term exposure associated with lumbar spine claims, particularly when future medical benefits are at issue.

Overall takeaway

The June 26 update reflects several ongoing trends in Montana workers’ compensation practice:

• No new appellate guidance has emerged, increasing attention on pending dispositive motions.
• Full-and-final settlements with closure of medical benefits remain the predominant resolution method.
• Medicare Set-Asides continue to substantially affect settlement values.
• Disputed compensability claims often resolve through relatively small negotiated settlements.
• Lumbar spine injuries continue to generate some of the largest settlement values in the Montana system.