26 N.Y.2d 6 (1970)
r
r
A workmen’s compensation insurance carrier has a lien on payments made to dependents by the U.S. Government under the Military Claims Act to the extent of compensation awarded, even if negligence isn’t explicitly proven.
r
r
Summary
r
Mary Ryan, the widow of a deceased airplane pilot, received workmen’s compensation benefits and a settlement under the Military Claims Act after her husband’s plane was struck by a Navy jet. The insurance carrier, Electric Mutual Liability Insurance Company, asserted a lien on the Military Claims Act payments to cover the benefits already paid. The New York Court of Appeals held that the payments under the Military Claims Act were in the nature of a recovery for negligence or wrong, even if not a judicially cognizable cause of action, and thus, the carrier’s lien was properly imposed. This decision broadens the scope of recovery subject to a carrier’s lien under Section 29 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law.
r
r
Facts
r
Mary Ryan’s husband, a pilot for General Electric, died when his plane collided with a U.S. Navy jet during a military exercise in October 1962.
r
Ryan received workmen’s compensation death benefits totaling $6,083 from Electric Mutual Liability Insurance Company.
r
She also negotiated a settlement with the Department of the Navy under the Military Claims Act, receiving $5,000 initially and later an additional $120,000 via a special act of Congress.
r
The carrier then asserted a lien on the Military Claims Act payments, seeking reimbursement for the compensation benefits paid and for any future benefits.
r
r
Procedural History
r
The Workmen’s Compensation Board reversed the referee’s initial decision, holding that the Military Claims Act settlement constituted a “recovery” covered by Section 29 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law.
r
The Appellate Division affirmed the Board’s decision.
r
The New York Court of Appeals granted leave to appeal.
r
r
Issue(s)
r
Whether payments received from the United States Government under the Military Claims Act are considered a