Title 39, Title 39

An injured employee or an employee's beneficiaries pursuing an independent cause of action pursuant to 39-71-515 shall bring the action in the district court in the district where the claimant resides or where the alleged violation occurred. The court may grant interim relief tha…

In pursuing remedies under 39-71-501, 39-71-503 through 39-71-511, and 39-71-515 through 39-71-520, an injured employee or the employee's beneficiaries shall serve all pleadings and all other litigation papers on the department and the uninsured employer, regardless of whether th…

Any actual monetary compensation received by judgment or settlement by the injured employee or the employee's beneficiaries under 39-71-509 or 39-71-515 may be offset by the uninsured employer against the employer's remaining liability under those sections.

The department, the uninsured employer, the injured employee or the employee's beneficiaries, a third party who shares liability as defined in 39-71-412, or a fellow employee who shares liability as defined in 39-71-413 may enter into a settlement agreement to finally settle the …

(1) A dispute concerning uninsured employers' fund benefits must be appealed to mediation within 90 days from the date of the determination by the department or the determination is considered final. (2) (a) If the parties fail to reach a settlement through the mediation process,…

(1) In a proceeding brought by the department or an employer to resolve the issue of the existence of workers' compensation insurance coverage for that employer, the initial burden of proof is on the department to demonstrate that: (a) the employer is required to have workers' co…

(1) In recognition of the benefit of fair competition among business competitors and the public policy of this state providing for enforcement of workers' compensation insurance coverage requirements, the legislature finds that it is reasonable to allow access by authorized emplo…

Information obtained from any individual under this part is confidential and may not be disclosed, sold, or opened to public inspection except to department employees when necessary to allow them to perform their public duties under this chapter or to provide relevant and necessa…

(1) If the department is unable to collect penalties, claim costs, late fees, or interest assessed pursuant to the provisions of this part, the department may assign the debt to a collection service or transfer the debt to the department of revenue pursuant to Title 17, chapter 4…

(1) An uninsured employer or an employer alleged to be uninsured is a party to all disputes concerning any benefits for which the employer may become obligated to indemnify the department pursuant to 39-71-504(1)(b). (2) (a) After mediation pursuant to department rules, an uninsu…

(1) Except for a claim for benefits for occupational diseases pursuant to subsections (3) and (4), all claims in the case of personal injury or death must be forever barred unless signed by the claimant or the claimant's representative and presented in writing to the employer, th…

No limitation of time as provided in 39-71-601 or in this chapter, known as the Workers' Compensation Act, shall run as against any injured worker who is mentally incompetent and without a guardian or an injured minor under 18 years of age who may be without a parent or guardian.…

(1) A claim to recover benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act for injuries not resulting in death may not be considered compensable unless, within 30 days after the occurrence of the accident that is claimed to have caused the injury, notice of the time and place where the …

(1) If a worker is entitled to benefits under this chapter, the worker shall file with the insurer all reasonable information needed by the insurer to determine compensability. It is the duty of the worker's attending physician to lend all necessary assistance in making applicati…

(1) (a) Whenever in case of injury the right to compensation under this chapter would exist in favor of any employee, the employee shall, upon the written request of the insurer, submit from time to time to examination by a physician, psychologist, or panel that must be provided …

(1) Each insurer under any plan for the payment of workers' compensation benefits shall, within 30 days of receipt of a claim for compensation signed by the claimant or the claimant's representative, either accept or deny the claim and, if denied, shall inform the claimant and th…

Under rules adopted by the department, an insurer may suspend compensation payments pending the receipt of medical information when an injured worker unreasonably fails to keep scheduled medical appointments. If, after a medical examination, the injured worker is released to retu…

(1) An insurer may, after written notice to the claimant and the department, make payment of compensation benefits within 30 days of receipt of a claim for compensation without the payments being construed as an admission of liability or a waiver of any right of defense. (2) An i…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), if an insurer determines to deny a claim on which payments have been made under 39-71-608 during a time of further investigation or, after a claim has been accepted, terminates all biweekly compensation benefits, it may do so onl…

If an insurer terminates biweekly compensation benefits and the termination of compensation benefits is disputed by the claimant, the department may, upon written request, order an insurer to pay additional biweekly compensation benefits prior to a hearing before the workers' com…

(1) The insurer shall pay reasonable costs and attorney fees as established by the workers' compensation court if: (a) the insurer denies liability for a claim for compensation or terminates compensation benefits; (b) the claim is later adjudged compensable by the workers' compen…

(1) If an insurer pays or submits a written offer of payment of compensation under this chapter but controversy relates to the amount of compensation due, the case is brought before the workers' compensation judge for adjudication of the controversy, and the award granted by the …

(1) When an attorney represents or acts on behalf of a claimant or any other party on any workers' compensation claim, the attorney shall submit to the department a contract of employment, on a form provided by the department, stating specifically the terms of the fee arrangement…

(1) The amount of an attorney's fee assessed against an insurer under 39-71-611 or 39-71-612 must be based exclusively on the time spent by the attorney in representing the claimant on the issues brought to hearing. The attorney must document the time spent, but the judge is not …

(1) An insurer may pay a medical claim that is based upon the report of a nonwage loss injury or occupational disease without the payments being construed as an acceptance of liability for the claim. (2) An insurer shall, within 10 days of making payment under subsection (1), not…

(1) Subject to the limitation in 39-71-736 and subsection (4) of this section, a worker is eligible for temporary total disability benefits: (a) when the worker suffers a total loss of wages as a result of an injury and until the worker reaches maximum healing; or (b) until the w…

(1) If a worker is no longer temporarily totally disabled and is permanently totally disabled, as defined in 39-71-116, the worker is eligible for permanent total disability benefits. Permanent total disability benefits must be paid for the duration of the worker's permanent tota…

(1) If an injured worker suffers a permanent partial disability and is no longer entitled to temporary total or permanent total disability benefits, the worker is entitled to a permanent partial disability award if that worker: (a) has an actual wage loss as a result of the injur…

(1) In addition to the compensation provided under this chapter and as an additional benefit separate and apart from compensation benefits actually provided, the following must be furnished: (a) After the happening of a compensable injury or occupational disease and subject to ot…

(1) Injured workers who suffer serious face, head, or neck disfigurement may be entitled to benefits not to exceed $2,500, in addition to benefits payable under 39-71-703. (2) A payment under this section may not be in lieu of the separate benefit of medical and hospital services…

(1) If a claimant is receiving disability or rehabilitation compensation benefits and the claimant receives social security retirement benefits or is eligible to receive or is receiving full social security retirement benefits or retirement benefits from a system that is an alter…

(1) An impairment rating: (a) is a purely medical determination and must be determined by an impairment evaluator after a claimant has reached maximum healing; (b) must be based on the sixth edition of the American medical association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairm…

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (5), if prior to maximum healing an injured worker has a physical restriction and is approved to return to a modified or alternative employment that the worker is able and qualified to perform and the worker suffers an actual wage loss …

(1) Compensation for occupational diseases must be equal to the compensation and medical benefits provided for injuries in this chapter. (2) When the same medical condition may be claimed as an injury and an occupational disease, compensation payable to the claimant, the claimant…

Upon the filing of a claim for compensation for death caused by an occupational disease, if an autopsy is necessary to determine the cause of death, an autopsy may be requested by an insurer. The autopsy must be made under the supervision of the county coroner or a medical examin…

(1) Pneumoconiosis is an occupational disease that is compensable under this part. However, any benefits granted a claimant under this chapter for pneumoconiosis must be reduced, but not below zero, by an amount equal to the benefits granted the claimant under any program under f…

A person receiving compensation or benefits under chapter 73 of this title is not entitled to compensation or benefits under this chapter.

(1) A petition to reopen medical benefits that terminate under 39-71-704(1)(f) must be reviewed as provided in this section. (2) Medical benefits may be reopened only if the worker's medical condition is a direct result of the compensable injury or occupational disease and requir…

(1) (a) If an injured employee dies and the injury was the proximate cause of the death, the beneficiary of the deceased is entitled to the same compensation as though the death occurred immediately following the injury. A beneficiary's eligibility for benefits commences after th…

The question as to who constitutes a beneficiary shall be determined as of the date of the happening of the accident to the employee, whether death shall immediately result therefrom or not.

Compensation that is due to beneficiaries must be paid to the surviving spouse, if any, or if none, divided equally among or for the benefit of the children. In cases in which beneficiaries are a surviving spouse and stepchildren of the spouse, the compensation must be divided eq…

(1) Before payment of compensation to a beneficiary who is not residing within the United States, satisfactory proof of the relationship as to constitute a beneficiary under this chapter must be furnished by the beneficiary, authenticated under seal of an officer of a court of la…

There must be paid, in case of the death of an employee whose death is the result of an accidental injury arising out of the employment and happening in the course of the employment, the reasonable burial expenses of the employee not exceeding $10,000. The payment is not a part o…

If the employee dies from some cause other than the injury, there is no liability for compensation after the death.

(1) For payment of prescription drugs, an insurer is liable only for the purchase of generic-name drugs if the generic-name product is the therapeutic equivalent of the brand-name drug prescribed by the physician, unless the generic-name drug is unavailable. (2) If an injured wor…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(c), compensation may not be paid for the first 32 hours or 4 days of loss of wages, whichever is less, that the worker is totally disabled and unable to work because of an injury. A worker is eligible for compensation starting with the…