New Policies Bearing on the Negligent Employer's Immunity from Loss-Sharing

The statutory and judicial controls on loss-sharing between third-party tortfeasor and negligent employer must yield in the face of major modern developments in tort law. The third party's tort liability burden has sharply increased both in amount and frequency. New attitudes towards loss-apportionment highlight the imbalance that results from the employer's immunity and subrogation right. Although the situation is ripe for legislative action, courts, in the absence of full-scale systemic reassessment, must attempt some balancing of the competing policy objectives. While this Comment concludes by urging the adoption of a specific remedy allowing the third party to assert the employer's concurrent negligence and to realize a form of limited contribution, this proposal represents only a compromise solution. Ultimately, the problem demands comprehensive treatment in statutory form.