Title 11 — Labor and Industrial Relations

(a) (1) Compensation to the injured employee shall not be allowed for the first seven (7) days' disability resulting from injury, excluding the day of injury.(2) If a disability extends beyond that period, compensation shall commence with the ninth day of disability.(3) If a disa…

(a) The benefits shall be paid for a period not to exceed four hundred fifty (450) weeks of disability, except that this limitation shall not apply in cases of permanent total disability or death. (b) (1) (A) For injuries occurring on or after March 1, 1981, but on or before Dece…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other definition of extra-hazardous employer as provided by § 11-9-409(c), any employer who fails to utilize the consultative safety services available through the Division of Labor, its own insurance carrier, or a private safety consultant shall be id…

(a) Where an injury or death is sustained by a minor employed in violation of federal or state statutes pertaining to minimum ages for employment of minors, including without limitation § 11-6-101 et seq., compensation or death benefits provided for by this chapter shall be doubl…

(a) (1) Any employer who without reasonable cause refuses to return an employee who is injured in the course of employment to work, where suitable employment is available within the employee's physical and mental limitations, upon order of the Workers' Compensation Commission, an…

(a) Any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, no compensation in any amount for temporary total, temporary partial, or permanent total disability shall be payable to an injured employee with respect to any week for which the injured employee receives u…

(a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1987, the Workers' Compensation Commission shall allocate one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to a special project for the following purposes:(1) Identification of industries or jobs having a high incidence of injuries;(2) Determinati…

(a) (1) The employer shall promptly provide for an injured employee such medical, surgical, hospital, chiropractic, optometric, podiatric, and nursing services and medicine, crutches, ambulatory devices, artificial limbs, eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and other appara…

(1) The amounts payable or time periods allowable for authorized medical, hospital, and other services and treatment furnished under §§ 11-9-508 — 11-9-516, unless waived by the employer-respondent or approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission and warranted by the preponder…

The employer shall not be liable for any of the payments provided for in §§ 11-9-508 — 11-9-516 in the case of a contest of liability where the Workers' Compensation Commission shall decide that the injury does not come within the provisions of this chapter.

(a) An injured employee claiming to be entitled to compensation shall submit to such physical examination and treatment by another qualified physician, designated or approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission, as the commission may require from time to time if reasonable an…

Except in cases of hernia, which are specifically covered by § 11-9-523, where an injured person unreasonably refuses to submit to a surgical operation which has been advised by at least two (2) qualified physicians and where the recommended operation does not involve unreasonabl…

(a) All persons who render services or provide things mentioned in §§ 11-9-508 — 11-9-516 shall submit the reasonableness of the charges to the Workers' Compensation Commission for its approval, and, when so approved, the charges shall be enforceable by the commission in the same…

(a) (1) If the employee selects a physician, the Workers' Compensation Commission shall not authorize a change of physician unless the employee first establishes to the satisfaction of the commission that there is a compelling reason or circumstance justifying a change.(2) (A) If…

(a) When an employer and employee so agree in writing, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent an employee whose injury or disability has been established in accordance with the provisions of this chapter from relying in good faith on treatment by prayer or spiritua…

(a) (1) Every hospital or other person furnishing the injured employee with medical services shall permit its records to be copied by and shall furnish full written information to the Workers' Compensation Commission, the Workers' Compensation Fraud Investigation Unit, the employ…

The Workers' Compensation Commission is authorized to establish rules, including schedules of maximum allowable fees for specified medical services rendered with respect to compensable injuries, for the purpose of controlling the cost of medical and hospital services and supplies…

(a) (1) Compensation shall be computed on the average weekly wage earned by the employee under the contract of hire in force at the time of the accident and in no case shall be computed on less than a full-time workweek in the employment.(2) Where the injured employee was working…

(a) In case of total disability, there shall be paid to the injured employee during the continuance of the total disability sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 ⅔%) of his or her average weekly wage. (b) In the absence of clear and convincing proof to the contrary, the loss of bo…

In case of temporary partial disability resulting in the decrease of the injured employee's average weekly wage, there shall be paid to the employee sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66⅔%) of the difference between the employee's average weekly wage prior to the accident and his …

(a) An employee who sustains a permanent compensable injury scheduled in this section shall receive, in addition to compensation for temporary total and temporary partial benefits during the healing period or until the employee returns to work, whichever occurs first, weekly bene…

(a) A permanent partial disability not scheduled in § 11-9-521 shall be apportioned to the body as a whole, which shall have a value of four hundred fifty (450) weeks, and there shall be paid compensation to the injured employee for the proportionate loss of use of the body as a …

(a) In all cases of claims for hernia, it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Workers' Compensation Commission:(1) That the occurrence of the hernia immediately followed as the result of sudden effort, severe strain, or the application of force directly to the abdominal wal…

(a) The Workers' Compensation Commission shall award compensation for serious and permanent facial or head disfigurement in a sum not to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500). (b) No award for disfigurement shall be entered until twelve (12) months after the injury.…

(a) (1) The Second Injury Trust Fund established in this chapter is a special fund designed to ensure that an employer employing a worker with a disability will not, in the event that the worker suffers an injury on the job, be held liable for a greater disability or impairment t…

If any injured employee refuses employment suitable to his or her capacity offered to or procured for him or her, he or she shall not be entitled to any compensation during the continuance of the refusal, unless in the opinion of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the refusal …

(a) Funeral Expenses. If death results from an injury occurring on or after July 1, 1993, the employer shall pay the actual funeral expenses, not exceeding the sum of six thousand dollars ($6,000). (b) Time of Death. If death does not result within one (1) year from the date of t…

(a) Every employer shall keep a record with respect to any injury to an employee. (b) The record shall contain such information of disability or death with respect to the injury as the Workers' Compensation Commission may by rule require. (c) The record shall be available for ins…

(a) Within ten (10) days after the date of receipt of notice or of knowledge of injury or death, the employer shall send to the Workers' Compensation Commission a report setting forth:(1) The name, address, and business of the employer;(2) The name, address, and occupation of the…

Implementation of 11 CAR § 25-128 regarding managed care shall be voluntary for all employers.

(a) Where an employee suffers from an occupational disease as defined in this subchapter and is disabled or dies as a result of the disease and where the disease was due to the nature of the occupation or process in which he or she was employed within the period previous to his o…

(a) As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Asbestosis” means the characteristic fibrotic condition of the lungs caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust; and(2) “Silicosis” means the characteristic fibrotic condition of the lungs caused by the inh…

(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, procedure with respect to notice of disability or death and as to the filing of claims and determination of claims shall be the same as in cases of accidental injury or death.(2) (A) Written notice shall be given to the emp…

(a) (1) Unless an injury either renders the employee physically or mentally unable to do so, or is made known to the employer immediately after it occurs, the employee shall report the injury to the employer on a form prescribed or approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission…

(a) Time for Filing. (1) A claim for compensation for disability on account of an injury, other than an occupational disease and occupational infection, shall be barred unless filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two (2) years from the date of the compensable in…

(1) The Workers' Compensation Commission is authorized and directed to promulgate appropriate rules to establish and implement, for claims with respect to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 1987, a preliminary conference procedure designed to accomplish the following objec…

(a) Notice. Within ten (10) days after a claim for compensation has been filed, the Workers' Compensation Commission shall notify the employer and any other interested person of the filing of the claim. (b) Investigation — Hearing. (1) The commission shall make or cause to be mad…

(a) Conduct of Hearing or Inquiry. (1) In making an investigation or inquiry or conducting a hearing, the Workers' Compensation Commission shall not be bound by technical or statutory rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules of procedure, except as provided by this chapt…

(a) The Workers' Compensation Commission shall have the power to preserve and enforce order during any proceeding had before it, to issue subpoenas for and administer oaths to and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and require the production of books, papers, docum…

(1) In any proceeding for the enforcement of a claim for compensation, the following prima facie presumptions shall exist:(1) That the Workers' Compensation Commission has jurisdiction;(2) That sufficient notice was given; and(3) That the injury was not occasioned by the willful …

The Workers' Compensation Commission may cause depositions of witnesses to be taken in such manner as it may direct.

Each witness who appears in obedience to a subpoena shall be entitled to the same fees as witnesses in a civil action in the circuit court.

(a) Where the Workers' Compensation Commission is a party to or is otherwise interested in a court proceeding under this chapter, it may employ attorneys to appear in its behalf. (b) If requested by the commission, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General or the prosecuting a…

(a) Award or Order of Administrative Law Judge or Single Commissioner — Review. (1) A compensation order or award of an administrative law judge or a single commissioner shall become final unless a party to the dispute shall, within thirty (30) days from the receipt by him or her…

If any employer fails to comply with a final compensation order or award, any beneficiary of the order or award, or the Workers' Compensation Commission, may file a certified copy of the order or award in the office of the circuit clerk of any county in this state where any prope…

(a) (1) Except where a joint petition settlement has been approved, the Workers' Compensation Commission may review any compensation order, award, or decision.(2) This may be done at any time within six (6) months of termination of the compensation period fixed in the original co…

If the court having jurisdiction of proceedings in respect of any claim or compensation order determines that the proceedings in respect to the claim or order have been instituted or continued without reasonable grounds, the cost of the proceedings shall be assessed against the p…

(a) (1) (A) Fees for legal services rendered in respect of a claim shall not be valid unless approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission.(B) Attorney's fees shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of compensation for indemnity benefits payable to the injured employee or dependent…

(a) The Workers' Compensation Commission is authorized to approve lump-sum attorney's fees for legal services rendered in respect of a claim before the commission. (b) The lump-sum attorney's fees are allowable notwithstanding that the award of compensation to the injured employe…

(a) (1) (A) Every claim, request for benefits, request for additional benefits, controversion of benefits, request for a hearing, pleading, motion, and other paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one (1) attorney of record in his or her individua…