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S1035.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES
WORKER'S COMPENSATION - Amends existing law to provide when employers or
sureties pay their share of attorney's fees in third party liability
worker's compensation cases.
01/22 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/25 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
02/05 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/08 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/11 3rd rdg - PASSED - 34-0-1
AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Geddes, Hawkins,
Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry, Richardson,
Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne,
Twiggs, Wheeler, Whitworth
NAYS--None
Absent and excused--Frasure
Floor Sponsor - Davis
Title apvd - to House
02/12 House intro - 1st rdg - to Comm/Hu Res
02/24 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/25 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/01 3rd rdg - PASSED - 68-0-2
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe,
Bruneel, Campbell, Chase, Clark, Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney,
Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Geddes, Gould, Hadley,
Hammond, Hansen(23), Hansen(29), Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones,
Judd, Kellogg, Kempton, Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Limbaugh, Linford,
Loertscher, Mader, McKague, Meyer, Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle,
Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Ridinger, Ringo, Robison, Sali,
Schaefer, Sellman, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone,
Taylor, Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson, Wheeler, Williams, Wood,
Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Callister, Marley
Floor Sponsor - Trail
Title apvd - to Senate
03/02 To enrol
03/03 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/04 Sp signed
03/05 To Governor
03/11 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 52
Effective: 07/01/99
S1035|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1035 BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO WORKER'S COMPENSATION; AMENDING SECTION 72-223, IDAHO CODE, TO 3 PROVIDE THAT AN EMPLOYER SHALL RECEIVE A CREDIT AGAINST ITS FUTURE LIABIL- 4 ITY FOR COMPENSATION BENEFITS IF THE AMOUNT RECOVERED FROM A THIRD PARTY 5 EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT OF THE SUBROGATED PORTION PAYABLE TO THE EMPLOYER FOR 6 PAST COMPENSATION BENEFITS PAID AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE EMPLOYER'S REIM- 7 BURSEMENT TO THE EMPLOYEE OF ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS PAID BY THE 8 EMPLOYEE IN OBTAINING THAT PORTION OF THE THIRD PARTY RECOVERY CORRESPOND- 9 ING TO THE CREDIT CLAIMED. 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 11 SECTION 1. That Section 72-223, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 12 amended to read as follows: 13 72-223. THIRD PARTY LIABILITY. (1) The right to compensation under this 14 law shall not be affected by the fact that the injury, occupational disease or 15 death is caused under circumstances creating in some person other than the 16 employer a legal liability to pay damages therefor, such person so liable 17 being referred to as the third party. Such third party shall not include those 18 employers described in section 72-216, Idaho Code, having under them contrac- 19 tors or subcontractors who have in fact complied with the provisions of sec- 20 tion 72-301, Idaho Code; nor include the owner or lessee of premises, or other 21 person who is virtually the proprietor or operator of the business there car- 22 ried on, but who, by reason of there being an independent contractor or for 23 any other reason, is not the direct employer of the workmen there employed. 24 (2) Action may be instituted against such third party by the employee, or 25 in event compensation has been claimed and awarded, by the employee and 26 employer jointly, in the employee's name, or, if the employee refuses to par- 27 ticipate in such action, by the employer in the employee's name. 28 (3) If compensation has been claimed and awarded, the employer having 29 paid such compensation or having become liable therefor, shall be subrogated 30 to the rights of the employee, to recover against such third party to the 31 extent of the employer's compensation liability. 32 (4) On any recovery by the employee against a third party, the employer 33 shall pay or have deducted from his subrogated portion thereof, a proportion- 34 ate share of the costs and attorney's fees incurred by the employee in obtain- 35 ing such recovery. 36 (5) If the amount recovered from the third party exceeds the amount 37 of the subrogated portion payable to the employer for past compensation bene- 38 fits paid, then to the extent the employer has a future subrogated interest in 39 that portion of the third party recovery paid to the employee, the employer 40 shall receive a credit against its future liability for compensation benefits. 41 Such credit shall apply as future compensation benefits become payable, and 42 the employer shall reimburse the employee for the proportionate share of 43 attorney's fees and costs paid by the employee in obtaining that portion of 2 1 the third party recovery corresponding to the credit claimed. The employer 2 shall not be required to pay such attorney's fees and costs related to the 3 future credit prior to the time the credit is claimed. However, the employer 4 and employee may agree to different terms if approved by the industrial com- 5 mission. 6 (6) If death results from the injury or occupational disease and 7 if the employee leaves no dependents entitled to benefits under this law, the 8 surety shall have a right of action against the third party for recovery of 9 income benefits, reasonable expenses of medical and related services and 10 burial expense actually paid by the surety and for recovery of amounts paid 11 into the industrial special indemnity account pursuant to section 72-420, 12 Idaho Code, and such right of action shall be in addition to any cause of 13 action of the heirs or personal representatives of the deceased. 14 (67 ) All rights and restrictions herein granted 15 to the employer have previously been intended to be, and are hereby expressly 16 granted to the industrial special indemnity account.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 08581C1
There are some workers, compensation cases that involve a
third party whose actions were the cause of an accident and
injury to a worker. If the injured worker is successful in
recovering damages from the third party, the surety/employer
also has a right to recover any workers' compensation
liability they incur as a result of the accident. At the time
the surety/employer receives their recovery for monies already
paid out in benefits, they are obligated to pay a portion of
the injured worker's attorneys fees which made the recovery
possible. The portion of fees the surety/employer must pay is
based on the amount of their recovery.
Because there are often future expenses associated with the
injury, the surety/employer will have to pay their share of
attorney's fees based on the amount of any future recovery.
Today, they are required to pay these fees in advance, based
on an estimate of future recovery. This bill will require the
surety/employer to pay at the time they receive the recovery.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact to the General Fund.
CONTACT
Name: Dawn Justice, VP Human Resources
Organization: Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry
Phone: 343-1849
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact S1035