As always, there are several amendments to the Act this year. The Division has posted an advisory memorandum that can be found at the following link.
Senate Bill 13-157 clarifies the definition of statutory-employer as it applies to injuries occurring on the premises of a “buyer of goods.”
As discussed in a separate posting to this web log today, Senate Bill 13-249 changes the procedure and timeframe for responding to a Division IME report.
House Bill 13-025, effective July 1, 2013, (1) changes the maximum insurance deductible permitted per claim, and (2) prohibits a respondent from attempting to shift any costs to the claimant or other source.
Senate Bill 13-285 includes six amendments that go into effect July 1, 2013:
(1) new strict requirements for reimbursing claimants for medical treatment;
(2) new 15-day time limit for recalculating AWW after a fringe benefit is terminated;
(3) requirement that TPD be paid at least once every two weeks (just like TTD);
(4) new 15-day time limit for providing a comprehensive copy of the claim file upon written request;
(5) requirement that a party seeking attorneys fees for endorsement of an unripe issue has first attempted to have the issue stricken by a prehearing judge, and a requirement that any fees awarded must be “directly” related to the endorsement;
(6) changing the time for seeking a DIME to challenge the ATP’s opinion that a claimant is not at MMI from 18 months to 24 months from the date of injury, and requiring the 24-month DIME physician to give an impairment rating if claimant is at MMI (and applying the heightened burden to overcoming both opinions).
