SB 0046

CHAPTER 124

SB 46 - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to payments of scheduled awards under the workers' compensation law.

SPONSORS: Sen. McCarley, Dist 6

This bill provides time limits for objections by the employer or the employer's insurance carrier relative to the extent of loss claimed by the employee for payments of scheduled awards. The bill also requires payments of scheduled awards to be made in a single payment.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to payments of scheduled awards under the workers' compensation law.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

XI. PAYMENT DUE. Payment of the scheduled award becomes due upon prompt medical disclosure, after maximum medical improvement has been achieved, regarding the loss or loss of the use of the member of the body [and shall begin, upon notice of the commissioner, as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after the end of the healing period. Payment of the scheduled award shall generally be made through weekly benefits rather than through a single payment, except for a single payment approved by the commissioner upon the commissioner's determination that a single payment fits the unique conditions of the injured worker better than weekly payments]. No later than 15 days following such disclosure the employer, or the employer's insurance carrier shall notify the commissioner as to whether it objects to the extent of the loss claimed by the employee, in which case it shall have 30 days to arrange for a medical examination, pursuant to RSA 281-A:38, and request a hearing and determination by the commissioner. Payment of the scheduled award shall be made in a single payment.