Existing law provides for the payment of compensation under industrial insurance if, during the course of employment, an employee is injured or killed by a workplace accident or occupational disease. (Chapters 616A-617 of NRS) Existing law defines the term “compensation” to mean the money which is payable to an employee or to the dependents of the employee as provided in existing law governing industrial insurance, including benefits for funerals, accident benefits or medical benefits and money for rehabilitative services. (NRS 616A.090, 617.050)
If the injury of an injured employee was caused under circumstances entitling the employee to recover another payment from the employer for the injury in the form of a gift, settlement or otherwise, existing law requires the amount of compensation to which the injured employee or the dependents of the employee are entitled, including any future compensation, to be reduced by the additional amount paid by the employer. Existing law provides that the industrial insurer or Administrator of the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business and Industry has a lien against the total amount paid by the employer. (NRS 616C.215)
If the injury of an injured employee was caused under circumstances creating legal liability in a person other than the employer or a person in the same employ, or entitling the employee or the dependents of the employee to receive proceeds under his or her employer's policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage, existing law authorizes an injured employee or the dependents of the employee, under certain circumstances, to take proceedings to recover damages from that third party or to recover those proceeds under the policy. Existing law also authorizes the industrial insurer or Administrator, under certain circumstances, to recover damages from that third party or recover proceeds under the policy. Additionally, under existing law, the industrial insurer or Administrator has a lien against the total proceeds of any recovery by the injured employee or the dependents of the employee. Existing law requires the amount of compensation to which the injured employee or the dependents of the employee are entitled, including any future compensation, to be reduced by the amount of damages or proceeds recovered. (NRS 616C.215)
This bill limits the reduction of compensation, including future compensation, to a reduction based on the portion of any amount paid or the portion of damages or proceeds recovered which represents economic damages. This bill also provides that the industrial insurer or Administrator only has a lien upon the portion of any amount paid or the portion of any judgment, settlement or otherwise which represents economic damages, instead of the total amount paid or the total proceeds of any recovery. This bill defines the term “economic damages,” in accordance with provisions of existing law, to mean damages for medical treatment, care or custody, loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity. (NRS 41A.007)
This bill provides that the injured employee or the dependents of the employee are entitled to be made whole for the injury, and a lien amount is recoverable only if the injured employee or the dependents of the employee have been made whole. This bill: (1) requires adjustment of the lien amount to reflect a proportional share of any expenses incurred by the injured employee or the dependents of the employee in procuring the payment or recovery; (2) limits the lien amount to the compensation received by the injured employee or dependents of the employee; and (3) excludes from the lien the amount of any benefit penalty or certain other administrative fines.
Existing law requires an injured employee or the dependents of the employee, or the attorney or representative of the injured employee or the dependents, to notify the industrial insurer or the Administrator in writing before initiating certain proceedings or actions. (NRS 616C.215) This bill removes that requirement. Existing law generally provides that an action to recover damages for an injury or death of a person must be commenced within 2 years. (NRS 11.190) This bill prohibits an industrial insurer or the Administrator from initiating certain proceedings or actions against a person other than the employer or a person in the same employ unless the injured employee or the dependents of the employee has not initiated a proceeding or action within 1 year of the date on which the injury occurred. If the industrial insurer or Administrator initiates such a proceeding or action, this bill: (1) requires the industrial insurer or the Administrator to immediately notify the injured employee or the dependents of the employee, or an attorney or representative of the injured employee or the dependents, of the proceeding or action in writing; and (2) entitles the injured employee or the dependents of the employee to intervene in the proceeding or action.
In any trial of certain actions against a person other than the employer or a person in the same employ, existing law requires that the jury must receive: (1) proof of the amount of all payments made or to be made by the insurer or Administrator; and (2) certain instructions from the court. (NRS 616C.215) This bill removes those requirements and instead prohibits the jury from receiving proof of any such payments. This bill provides that evidence of the amount of compensation, accident benefits and other expenditures which the insurer or certain accounts under control of the Administrator have paid or become obligated to pay is not admissible at trial.