CHAPTER 34
HB 230 - FINAL VERSION
3/29/01 0567s
2001 SESSION
01/09
HOUSE BILL 230
AN ACT relative to scheduled permanent impairment awards under the workers' compensation law.
SPONSORS: Rep. Clegg, Hills 23; Rep. Lasky, Hills 33; Rep. Boyce, Belk 5; Sen. Boyce, Dist 4
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
This bill adds brain injuries and certain injuries resulting from burns to the law regarding permanent impairment awards.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
3/29/01 0567s
01-0590
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One
AN ACT relative to scheduled permanent impairment awards under the workers' compensation law.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
34:1 Scheduled Permanent Impairment Awards; Brain Injuries and Injuries Resulting From Burns Added. Amend RSA 281-A:32, IX to read as follows:
IX. MORE THAN ONE PERMANENT LOSS. If an injury results in more than one permanent bodily loss specified in paragraphs I-VIII, or if the injury is to the spinal column or the spinal cord, or to the brain, or involves scarring, disfigurement, or other skin impairment resulting from a burn or burns, an award shall be made on the basis of a maximum of 350 weeks with the appropriate number of weeks to be determined in proportion to the maximum in accordance with the percent of the whole person specified for such bodily losses in the most recent edition of ``Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment'` published by the American Medical Association. Injury to spinal column or spinal cord shall not be construed to permit an award under this section as a result of soft tissue injury, nor to permit such an award on the basis of more than one permanent loss, unless such injury results in loss of use of upper or lower extremities. For the purposes of this paragraph "injury to the brain" means cerebral or neurological impairment due to central nervous system injury as described in said American Medical Association Guide.
34:2 Applicability. Section 1 of this act shall apply to injuries occurring on or after the effective date of this act.
34:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
(Approved: June 8, 2001)
(Effective Date: August 7, 2001)