Title 39-A, Title 39-A

Except for statements made in proceedings before the board, a statement to any investigator or employer's representative, of any kind, oral or written, recorded or unrecorded, made by the injured employee is not admissible in evidence or considered in any way in any proceeding un…

No statement of any kind made by the injured employee to any investigator, employer or employer's representative, whether oral or written, recorded or unrecorded, may be admitted into evidence or considered in any way in any proceeding under this Act if it was obtained by means o…

1. Examiner system. The board shall develop and implement an independent medical examiner system consistent with the requirements of this section. As part of this system, the board shall, in the exercise of its discretion, create, maintain and periodically validate a list of not …

1. Procedure. Except as provided in section 205, subsection 9, paragraph D, upon filing of notice of controversy or other indication of controversy, the matter must be referred by the board to mediation. 2. Mediation. The mediator shall by informal means, which may include teleph…

Any case for which an application for a hearing has been filed may be heard by an arbitrator mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties. [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).] 1. Evidence. An arbitrator shall admit evidence in accordance wit…

Upon filing of the mediator's report indicating that mediation has not resolved all issues in dispute, the matter must be referred to the board, which shall fix a time for hearing upon at least a 5-day notice given to all the parties or to the attorney of record of each party. Al…

If an injured employee is a minor or is mentally incompetent or, when death results from the injury, if any of the employee's dependents entitled to compensation are minors or mentally incompetent at the time when any right, privilege or election accrues under this Act, the paren…

The appearance before the board of an authorized officer, employee, advocate or representative of a party in any hearing, action or proceeding in which the party is participating or desires to participate is not an unauthorized practice of law and is not subject to any criminal s…

The administrative law judge shall hear those witnesses as may be presented or, by agreement, the claims of both parties as to the facts may be presented by affidavits. If the facts are not in dispute, the parties may file with the administrative law judge an agreed statement of …

Upon the petition of either party, the board may reopen and review any compensation payment scheme, award or decree on the grounds of newly discovered evidence that by due diligence could not have been discovered prior to the time the payment scheme was initiated or prior to the …

An administrative law judge may request that the full board review a decision of the administrative law judge if the decision involves an issue that is of significance to the operation of the workers' compensation system. Except when a motion is filed to find the facts specially …

1. Agreements. Upon the petition of either party at any time, the board may annul any agreement that has been approved by the board if it finds that the agreement has been entered into through mistake of fact by the petitioner or through fraud. Except in the case of fraud on the …

1. Establishment. There is established within the board the Appellate Division, referred to in this subchapter as "the division." 2. Composition. The division is composed of full-time administrative law judges who are appointed by the executive director of the board to serve on p…

1. Procedure. An appeal of a decision by an administrative law judge pursuant to section 318 to the division must be conducted pursuant to this subsection. A. A party in interest may file with the division a notice of intent to appeal a decision by an administrative law judge pur…

1. Appeals. Any party in interest may present a copy of the decision of the division or of the board, if the board has reviewed a decision pursuant to section 320, to the clerk of the Law Court within 20 days after receipt of notice of the filing of the decision by the division o…

Any decision of the board is enforceable by the Superior Court by any suitable process, including execution against goods, chattel and real estate and proceedings for contempt for willful failure or neglect to obey the orders or decrees of the court or in any other manner that de…

1. Order or decision. The employer or insurance carrier shall make compensation payments within 10 days after the receipt of notice of an approved agreement for payment of compensation or within 10 days after any order or decision of the board awarding compensation. If the board …

1. Costs and attorney's fees. Except as otherwise provided by law, by the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure or by rule of court, each party is responsible for the payment of the party's own costs and attorney's fees. In the event of a disagreement as to those costs or fees, an inter…

No proceedings under this Act abate because of the death of the petitioner, but may be prosecuted by the employee's legal representatives or by any person entitled to compensation by reason of the death under this Act.

In any claim for compensation, when the employee has been killed or is physically or mentally unable to testify, there is a rebuttable presumption that the employee received a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment, that sufficient notice of the injury has…

Cardiovascular injury or disease and pulmonary disease suffered by a firefighter or resulting in a firefighter's death are governed by this section. [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).] 1. Firefighter defined. For the purposes of this section,…

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Body fluids" means blood and body fluids containing visible blood and other potentially infectious materials, as defined in a regulation of the Oc…

Cancer suffered by a firefighter is governed by this section. [PL 2009, c. 408, §1 (NEW).] 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Cancer" means kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, co…

There is a rebuttable presumption that an employee of the State whose regular or incidental duties require the care, supervision or custody of a person confined in a prison or state correctional facility pursuant to an order of a court or as a result of an arrest and who contract…

Cardiovascular injury or disease and pulmonary disease suffered by a law enforcement officer or resulting in a law enforcement officer's death are governed by this section. [PL 2023, c. 445, §1 (NEW).] 1. Law enforcement officer defined. For the purposes of this section, "law enf…

An employee whose native language is not English and who does not understand the English language to the degree necessary to reasonably understand and participate in proceedings that affect the employee's rights is entitled to have an interpreter present at all proceedings before…

If an employee receiving weekly payments under this Act ceases to reside in the State or if the employee's residence at the time of the injury is in another state, the board upon application of either party may, in its discretion, having regard to the welfare of the employee and …

1. Agreement. An insurer, self-insurer or self-insured group and an employer and employee may by agreement discharge any liability for compensation, in whole or in part, by the employer's payment of an amount to the employee if: A. The insurer, the employer, the employee or the e…

An employee may not be discriminated against by any employer in any way for testifying or asserting any claim under this Act. Any employee who is so discriminated against may file a petition alleging a violation of this section. The matter must be referred to an administrative la…

1. Applicability. When 2 or more occupational injuries occur, during either a single employment or successive employments, that combine to produce a single incapacitating condition and more than one insurer is responsible for that condition, liability is governed by this section.…

If an employee who has completed a rehabilitation program under section 217, whether implementation is approved or ordered by the board, subsequently sustains a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment and that injury, in combination with the prior injury, r…

1. Creation of fund. The Supplemental Benefits Fund, referred to in this section and sections 355‑B to 356 as the "fund," is created to reimburse insurers and self-insurers for their payments of compensation to employees under section 213, subsections 3 and 4. 2. Administration o…

The Supplemental Benefits Oversight Committee, referred to in this section and sections 355‑C and 356 as the "committee," is created and charged with the duty to monitor, facilitate and provide general oversight in the administration of reimbursement of workers' compensation bene…

The committee shall review and evaluate requests for reimbursement of workers' compensation benefits paid or payable under section 213, subsections 3 and 4. [PL 2001, c. 448, §5 (NEW).] 1. Power to bind fund. The committee has power to bind the fund with respect to the monetary v…

1. Assessment. 1-A. Assessment. The committee may levy an assessment against insurers to provide funds to meet the obligations of the fund for reimbursement pursuant to section 213, subsections 3 and 4. The committee may also delegate its duties and powers under this section to a…

1. Completion of forms. Every insurance company insuring employers under this Act shall fill out any blanks and answer all questions submitted that may relate to policies, premiums, amount of compensation paid and such other information as the board or the Superintendent of Insur…

1. Workers' compensation system annual report. The board, in consultation with the Superintendent of Insurance and the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards within the Department of Labor, shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the …

1. Audits. The board shall audit claims, including insurer, self-insurer, Maine Insurance Guaranty Association and 3rd-party administrator claim files, on an ongoing basis to determine whether insurers, self-insured employers, the Maine Insurance Guaranty Association and 3rd-part…

1. Reporting violations. The board may assess a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for each violation on any person: A. Who fails to file or complete any report or form required by this Act or rules adopted under this Act; or [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. …

1. Payment. All penalties assessed under this Act are payable to the Workers' Compensation Board Administrative Fund, unless otherwise provided by law. Upon certification by the board that certain amounts in the Workers' Compensation Board Administrative Fund attributable to pena…

1. Private employers. Every private employer, including an independent contractor who hires and pays employees, is subject to this Act and shall secure the payment of compensation with respect to all employees by purchasing a workers' compensation policy or self-insuring as set f…

An insurance company that issues workers' compensation insurance policies may not require prepayment of premium more than 1/4 year in advance.

An employer subject to this Act shall secure compensation and other benefits to the employer's employees in one or more of the ways described in this section. The failure of any employer subject to this Act to procure insurance coverage for the payment of compensation and other b…

1. Created; purpose. There is created the Maine Self-Insurance Guarantee Association, a nonprofit unincorporated legal entity referred to in this section as the "association," to provide mechanisms for the payment of covered claims under self-insurance coverage, to avoid excessiv…

Any private employer, any of whose employees are exempt from this Act, may become subject to this Act with respect to the employer's employees and the act of the employer in securing the payment of compensation to such employee or class of employees in conformity with sections 40…

A notice in a form as the board approves, stating that the employer has conformed to this Act, together with other information as the board determines, must be posted by the employer and kept posted by the employer in each of the employer's mills, factories or places of business.…