Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals Digest

Minnesota Lawyer//April 30, 2026//

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Minnesota Lawyer//April 30, 2026//

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Workers’ Compensation

Vacation of Awards

Employee petitioned to vacate an award on stipulation resolving his Minnesota workers’ compensation claims, arguing mutual mistake and lack of conformity with the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA). The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals held that no mutual mistake of fact existed because the stipulation clearly and unambiguously resolved all claims and any misunderstanding was unilateral or a mistake of law. However, the court concluded that the award was voidable because it exceeded the compensation judge’s subject-matter jurisdiction by purporting to extinguish the rights of an out-of-state insurer and medical providers who had paid benefits for the same injury under another state’s law. Because the settlement did not conform to the WCA and implicated interests beyond Minnesota’s jurisdiction, fundamental fairness and statutory requirements warranted vacating the award. Petition to vacate granted.

WC25-6618 Humble v. N. Cent. Serv., Inc.