Chapter 52 — Chapter 52

For serious permanent disfigurement about the face or head, the workers' compensation judge may allow, in addition to other compensation benefits that may be allowed under the Workers' Compensation Act, an additional sum for compensation on account of the serious permanent disfig…

operated [upon]; examination; medical care. A worker, in order to be entitled to compensation for a hernia, must clearly prove: A. that the hernia is of recent origin; B. that its appearance was accompanied by pain; C. that it was immediately preceded by some accidental strain su…

Subject to the limitation of compensation payable under Subsection G of this section, if an accidental injury sustained by a worker proximately results in the worker's death within the period of two years following the worker's accidental injury, compensation shall be paid in the…

Subject to the limitation of compensation payable under Subsection G of Section 52- 1-46 NMSA 1978 and except for provision of lifetime benefits for permanent total disability awarded pursuant to Section 52-1-41 NMSA 1978: A. compensation benefits for any combination of disabilit…

A. Unless otherwise contracted for by the worker and employer, workers' compensation benefits shall be limited so that no worker receives more in total payments, including wages and benefits from his employer, by not working than by continuing to work. Compensation benefits under…

The benefits that the worker shall receive during the entire period of disability and the benefits for death shall be based on and limited to the benefits in effect on the date of the accidental injury resulting in the disability or death. History: 1953 Comp., § 59-10-18.9, enact…

provider; artificial members. A. After an injury to a worker and subject to the requirements of the Workers' Compensation Act, and continuing as long as medical or related treatment is reasonably necessary, the employer shall, subject to the provisions of this section, provide th…

From and after the expiration of three years following the date of filing of any insurance policy or certificate thereof, bond or undertaking, pursuant to the provisions of Section 52-1-4 NMSA 1978, the director may, in his discretion, authorize the destruction of such insurance …

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1990 (2nd S.S.), ch. 2, § 151, repeals 52-1-50 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1989, ch. 263, § 29, relating to vocational rehabilitation services, effective January 1, 1991. For provisions of former section, see 1990 Cumulative Supplement. For present c…

A. If an employer is hiring, the employer shall offer to rehire the employer's worker who has stopped working due to an injury for which the worker has received, or is due to receive, benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act and who applies for his pre- injury job or modified…

examination; unsanitary or injurious practices by worker; testimony of health care providers. A. In the event of a dispute between the parties concerning the reasonableness or necessity of medical or surgical treatment, the date upon which maximum medical improvement was reached,…

A. Compensation benefits shall be exempt from claims of creditors and from any attachment, garnishment or execution and shall be paid only to such worker or his personal representative or such other persons as the court may, under the terms hereof, appoint to receive or collect c…

Nothing in this act [Chapter 52, Article 1 NMSA 1978] contained shall repeal any existing law providing for the installation or maintenance of any device, means or method for the prevention of accidents in any occupational pursuit. History: Laws 1929, ch. 113, § 21; C.S. 1929, § …

or workers' compensation judge; discovery costs; offer of judgment; penalty for violations. A. It is unlawful for any person to receive or agree to receive any fees or payment directly or indirectly in connection with any claim for compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act…

pre-employment physical condition statements. A. It is the duty of the worker at the time of the worker's employment or thereafter at the request of the employer to submit to examination by a physician or surgeon duly authorized to practice medicine in the state, or by a physicia…

The workers' compensation judge may, upon the application of the employer, worker or other person bound by the compensation order, fix a time and place for hearing upon the issue of claimant's recovery. If it appears upon such hearing that diminution or termination of disability …

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1987, ch. 235, § 54B repeals 52-1-57 NMSA 1978 as enacted by Laws 1929, ch. 113, § 25 relating to employer's accident reports to insurance department, effective June 19, 1987.

A. It is the duty of every employer of labor in this state subject to the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier to make a written report to the director of all accidental injuries or occupational diseases that occur …

No claim for compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act, as it now provides or as it may hereafter be amended, shall be barred prior to the filing of such report or within thirty days thereafter, but this section does not shorten the time now provided for filing claims with…

A. The provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act shall apply to employers of three or more workers; provided that act shall apply to all employers engaged in activities required to be licensed under the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act [Chapter 60, Articl…

For the purposes of Section 52-1-6 NMSA 1978 "farm and ranch laborers" shall include those persons providing care for animals in training for the purpose of competition or competitive exhibition. Employees of a veterinarian and laborers at a treating facility or a facility used s…

A. Every employer subject to the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act who has an annual workers' compensation premium liability of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more or who is a certified self-insurer shall receive an annual safety inspection. The director shall de…

A. Every employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier shall notify the director of the date on which the initial payment of any claim for benefits has been made within ten days of such payment. B. The director shall provide on a quarterly basis to the child support enforcem…

The director shall impose a penalty on any person who fails to file a report required by, or who violates any provision of, the Workers' Compensation Act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to that act. Unless specified otherwise in the Workers' Compensation Act, the penal…

For the purpose of enforcing the Workers' Compensation Act, there are hereby conferred upon the director the following powers and duties: A. when any employer subject to the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act fails to comply with Section 52-1-4 NMSA 1978 relating to the …

Any educational institution in this state employing student labor in aid of students attending the institution by enabling students to defray their tuition and expenses and in which institution any class of machinery or appliances are [is] used for instruction or otherwise and wh…

If an employee, while working outside the territorial limits of this state, suffers an injury on account of which the employee or, in the event of the employee's death, the employee's dependents would have been entitled to the benefits provided by the Workers' Compensation Act, h…

jurisdictions. The payment or award of benefits under the workers' compensation law of another state, territory, province or foreign nation to an employee or his dependents otherwise entitled on account of such injury or death to the benefits of the Workers' Compensation Act shal…

requirement for insurance; enforcement. A. Every employer not domiciled in the state who employs workers engaged in activities required to be licensed under the Construction Industries Licensing Act [Chapter 60, Article 13 NMSA 1978] and every other employer not domiciled in the …

A. A person's employment is principally localized in this or another state when: (1) his employer has a place of business in this or such other state and he regularly works at or from such place of business; or (2) if Paragraph (1) of this subsection is not applicable, he is domi…

other jurisdictions. For the purpose of effecting mutually satisfactory reciprocal arrangements with other states respecting extra-territorial jurisdictions, the director of workers' compensation division is empowered to promulgate special and general regulations not inconsistent…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1986, ch. 22, § 102 repealed 52-1-69 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1959, ch. 67, § 29, relating to limitation on filing claims, effective May 21, 1986. For present comparable provisions, see 52-5-18 NMSA 1978.

employees or sole proprietors. A. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in the Workers' Compensation Act, an executive employee of a professional or business corporation or limited liability company, employed by the professional or business corporation or limited liabili…

A. No total disability benefits shall be payable under the Workers' Compensation Act for any weeks in which the injured worker has received or is receiving unemployment compensation benefits, except as provided in this section. B. If a worker is entitled to receive unemployment c…

In an action to recover damages for a personal injury sustained by an employee while engaged in the line of his duty as such or for death resulting from personal injuries so sustained in which recovery is sought upon the ground of want of ordinary care of the employer, or of the …

The right to the compensation provided for in this act [Chapter 52, Article 1 NMSA 1978], in lieu of any other liability whatsoever, to any and all persons whomsoever, for any personal injury accidentally sustained or death resulting therefrom, shall obtain in all cases where the…

administration; additional duties. A. The "uninsured employers' fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund shall be administered by the workers' compensation administration as a separate account. The administration shall adopt rules to administer the fund pursuant to the pr…

ANNOTATIONS Recompilations. — Section 52-2-3.1 NMSA 1978, relating to definitions of "director" and "hearing officer", was recompiled as 52-1-1.1 NMSA 1978. 52-2-4 to 52-2-14. Repealed.

This act shall be known as the "New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law". History: 1941 Comp., § 57-1101, enacted by Laws 1945, ch. 135, § 1; 1953 Comp., § 59-11-1.

payment to be made. A. There is imposed upon every employer a liability for the payment of compensation to every employee of such employer who suffers total disablement by reason of an occupational disease arising out of his employment, subject to the following conditions: (1) no…

Where compensation is payable for an occupational disease the only employer liable shall be the employer in whose employment the employee was last injuriously exposed to the hazards of employment resulting in such disease, provided that in the case of silicosis or asbestosis the …

This act shall not be construed to apply to business pursuits or employments which according to law are so engaged in interstate commerce as to be not subject to the legislative power of the state, nor to persons injured while they are so engaged. History: 1941 Comp., § 57-1112, …

A. The following persons, and they only, shall be deemed dependents and entitled to compensation under the provisions of the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law: (1) a child under eighteen years of age or incapable of self-support and unmarried or under twenty-three y…

A. The compensation to which a worker who has suffered disablement, or the worker's dependents, shall be entitled under the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law is limited to the provisions of that law. No compensation shall be due or payable under the New Mexico Occup…

related services; selection of health care provider; artificial members. A. No compensation shall be allowed for the first seven days after the employee has suffered disablement unless such disablement continues for a period of more than four weeks after the disablement occurs, o…

benefits; effect of failure to give required notice or to file claim within time allowed. A. If any employer or his insurer fails or refuses to pay a worker any installment of benefits to which the worker is entitled under the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law, afte…

A. The purpose of this section is the restoration of the disabled employee to gainful employment, preferably that for which he has had training or experience. B. Vocational rehabilitation services are those services designed to return the employee to gainful employment, in the fo…

labor department. All issues of fact or law arising under the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law shall be determined by the worker's compensation division of the labor department pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 52 NMSA 1978. History: 1953 Comp., § 59-11-16, ena…

notice of requirement. A. Any worker claiming to be entitled to benefits under the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law from any employer shall give notice in writing to his employer of the occupational disease within fifteen days after the beginning of such disablemen…

Disease Disablement Law. A. The following employers, when the conditions and hazards inherent in the occupation involved are such as to expose the employees to any of the hazards of occupational disease, shall be subject to the provisions of the New Mexico Occupational Disease Di…