Usually, no - not right away, and sometimes not at all. That surprises a lot of Wyoming business owners who assume the "other driver's insurance" automatically pays every dollar back after a wreck.

If your employee was driving for work near Sheridan - say on I-90, a slick overpass, or in a chain-reaction crash during heavy rain or storm runoff - your commercial auto insurer may pay first for the vehicle damage, minus your deductible. You do not automatically get that deductible back just because another driver looks at fault.

What makes it worse: Wyoming workers' compensation can cover the employee's medical care and wage benefits for a job-related crash, but it does not reimburse your vehicle deductible, rental losses, downtime, or every out-of-pocket business expense.

Things go better when your insurer successfully pursues subrogation - meaning it recovers from the at-fault driver's insurer. If that happens, you may get:

• all of your deductible back if your insurer makes a full recovery
• part of it back if recovery is only partial
• nothing back if fault is disputed or the other driver is uninsured/underinsured

That last part matters in Wyoming because fault fights are common in weather crashes. On a hydroplaning or flash-flood roadway case, insurers often argue speed for conditions, following distance, and whether your driver shares blame. Wyoming's modified comparative fault rule can reduce recovery, and if your side is found more than 50% at fault, recovery can be blocked.

Bad advice to ignore: "Workers' comp will handle everything" or "just wait, the deductible always comes back." It doesn't work that way.

For a work crash, notify your auto carrier fast, file the workers' comp report if the employee was hurt, and get the Wyoming Highway Patrol or Sheridan Police Department report number. Those details often decide whether subrogation succeeds.