Title 42, Workers' Compensation

The term "employer" means the State and all political subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi-public corporations therein, every person carrying on any employment and the legal representative of a deceased person or the receiver or trustee of any person.

The term "employment" includes employment by the State, all political subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi-public corporations therein and all private employments in which four or more employees are regularly employed in the same business or establishment.

(A) "Injury" and "personal injury" mean only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment and shall not include a disease in any form, except when it results naturally and unavoidably from the accident and except such diseases as are compensable under the pro…

The term "parent" includes stepparents and parents by adoption, parents-in-law and any person who for more than three years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent to him, if dependent on the injured employee.

(A) "Repetitive trauma injury" means an injury which is gradual in onset and caused by the cumulative effects of repetitive traumatic events. Compensability of a repetitive trauma injury must be determined only under the provisions of this statute. (B) An injury is not considered…

The term "surviving spouse" includes only the decedent's wife or husband living with or dependent for support upon the decedent at the time of the decedent's death or living apart from the decedent for justifiable cause or by reason of desertion by the decedent at such time.

When used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms dealt with in Sections 42-1-30 to 42-1-190 shall include the categories or shall have the meanings severally ascribed to them in said sections.

The term "adoption" or "adopted" means legal adoption prior to the time of the injury.

Every employer and employee, except as stated in this chapter, shall be presumed to have accepted the provisions of this title respectively to pay and accept compensation for personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment and shall be boun…

The provisions of this title apply to and include all participants in the Tech Prep or other structured school to work programs, whether compensated or not, for injuries by accident arising out of and in the course of their employment with a sponsoring employer.

The State, its municipal corporations and political subdivisions thereof, and the employees of the State or its municipal corporations and political subdivisions are subject to this title.

This title does not apply to: (1) a casual employee, as defined in Section 42-1-130; (2) any person who has regularly employed in service less than four employees in the same business within the State or who had a total annual payroll during the previous calendar year of less tha…

Any person employing employees in the State and exempted from the mandatory provisions of this title may come in under the terms of this title and receive the benefits and be subject to the liabilities of this title by filing with the commission a written notice of his desire to …

Any employer who, having elected to come under this title, being at that time exempt from this title, and subsequently desiring to withdraw from under its terms, may give notice in writing either to the commission that he no longer is under the terms of this title or to his insur…

"Average weekly wages" means the earnings of the injured employee in the employment in which he was working at the time of the injury during the period of fifty-two weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury, including the subsistence allowance paid to veteran trainees by…

When any person, in this section and Sections 42-1-420 and 42-1-430 referred to as "owner," undertakes to perform or execute any work which is a part of his trade, business or occupation and contracts with any other person (in this section and Sections 42-1-420 to 42-1-450 referr…

When any person, in this section and Sections 42-1-420 to 42-1-450 referred to as "contractor," contracts to perform or execute any work for another person which is not a part of the trade, business or occupation of such other person and contracts with any other person (in this s…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the submission of documentation to the commission that a contractor or subcontractor has represented himself to a higher tier subcontractor, contractor, or project owner as having workers' compensation insurance at the time the…

When a subcontractor in turn contracts with still another person, in this section and Sections 42-1-430 to 42-1-450 also referred to as a "subcontractor," for the performance or execution by or under such last subcontractor of the whole or any part of the work undertaken by the f…

When compensation is claimed from or proceedings are taken against an owner or contractor then, in the application of this title, reference to the owner or contractor shall be substituted for reference to the subcontractor, except that the amount of compensation shall be calculat…

When the principal contractor is liable to pay compensation under any of Sections 42-1-400 to 42-1-450, he shall be entitled to indemnity from any person who would have been liable to pay compensation to the workmen independently of such sections or from an intermediate contracto…

Nothing in Sections 42-1-400 to 42-1-450 shall be construed as preventing a workman from recovering compensation under this title from a subcontractor instead of from the principal contractor but he shall not collect from both.

Every contract of service between any employer and employee covered by this title, written or implied, in operation or made or implied prior to July 17, 1936, shall be presumed to continue, subject to the provisions of this title; and every such contract made subsequent to said d…

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article, this title shall not apply to state, county or municipal prisoners and convicts.

Any inmate of the State Department of Corrections, as defined in this section, in the performance of his work in connection with the maintenance of the institution, any department vocational training program, or with any industry maintained therein, or with any highway or public …

Payments for injuries as authorized in Section 42-1-480 shall be paid from the State Accident Fund from appropriations thereto in the manner claims are paid to state employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no inmate shall be paid a lump-sum settlement for an…

As used in this title, the term "average weekly wage in this State for the preceding fiscal year" shall mean the average weekly wage for that period determined by the Department of Employment and Workforce for employment covered by the employment security compensation law.

A county or municipality, by resolution of its governing body, may elect to cover prisoners in the custody of the county or municipality with workers' compensation benefits in accordance with the provisions of Sections 42-1-480 and 42-1-490. As used in this section, prisoners in …

The Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services may elect to cover convicted persons under its custody or supervision with workers' compensation benefits in accordance with the provisions of this title. For purposes of this section, the department is considered the employ…

An officer of a corporation who elects not to operate under this title, shall, in any action to recover damages for personal injury or death brought against an employer accepting the compensation provisions of this title, proceed at common law and the employer may avail himself o…

The rights and remedies granted by this title to an employee when he and his employer have accepted the provisions of this title, respectively, to pay and accept compensation on account of personal injury or death by accident, shall exclude all other rights and remedies of such e…

When an employee, his personal representative or other person may have a right to recover damages for injury, loss of service or death from any person other than the employer, he may institute an action at law against such third person before an award is made under this title and…

(a) The right to compensation and other benefits under this title shall not be affected by the fact that the injury or death is caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person, other than the employer or another person exempt from liability under Section 42-1…

The amount of compensation paid by the employer or the amount of compensation to which the injured employee or his dependents are entitled shall not be admissible as evidence in any action brought to recover damages.

When the facts are such at the time of the injury that a third person would have the right, upon payment of any recovery against him, to enforce contribution or indemnity from the employer, any recovery by the employee against the third person shall be reduced by the amount of su…

When an employer and employee have accepted the provisions of this title, any injury to a minor while employed contrary to the laws of this State shall be compensable under this title the same, and to the same extent, as if such minor employee was an adult.

The term "carrier" or "insurer" means any person or fund authorized under Section 42-5-20 to insure under this title and includes self-insurers.

Any employee of the State or any political subdivision or of any department thereof shall be entitled to bring suit against his employer for the recovery of the benefits to which he may be entitled under the terms and provisions of this title and consent to such suit or suits is …

No contract or agreement, written or implied, and no rule, regulation or other device shall in any manner operate to relieve any employer, in whole or in part, of any obligation created by this title except as otherwise expressly provided in this title.

No agreement by an employee to waive his rights to compensation under this title shall be valid.

Upon the trial of any action in tort for injuries not coming under the provisions of this title no provisions of this title shall be placed in evidence or be permitted to be argued to the jury.

Nothing in this title shall be construed to relieve any employer or employee from penalty for failure or neglect to perform any statutory duty.

If any claim for compensation is made upon the theory that such claim, or the injury upon which the claim is based, is within the jurisdiction of the commission under the provisions of this title and if the commission, or the Supreme Court or court of appeals on appeal, shall adj…

No architect, engineer, land surveyor, landscape architect, or their employees or a corporation, partnership, or firm offering architectural services, engineering services, land surveyor services, or landscape architectural services who is retained to perform professional service…

The term "child" shall include a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee and a stepchild or acknowledged illegitimate child dependent upon the deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly dependent upon him. "Grandchild" mean…