We granted the defendants' petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following issue: "If an employee covered by workers' compensation settles a personal injury claim against a third party, is the employer entitled to a credit against future compensation benefits equal to the amount of the settlement?" Libby v. Goodwin Pontiac-GMC Truck, Inc., 239 Conn. 915, 682 A.2d 1002 (1996). We begin our analysis with some overriding principles embodied in the act.