Senate Bill No. 64–Committee on Commerce and Labor
CHAPTER........
AN ACT relating to industrial insurance; authorizing notice of a civil action to recover
damages for an industrial injury to be given by the attorney or representative of the
injured employee or his dependents; and providing other matters properly relating
thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 616C.215 is hereby amended to read as follows:
616C.215 1. If an injured employee or, in the event of his death, his
dependents, bring an action in tort against his employer to recover payment
for an injury which is compensable
chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS and,
notwithstanding the provisions of NRS 616A.020, receive payment from
the employer for that injury:
(a) The amount of compensation the injured employee or his dependents
are entitled to receive pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D,
inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS, including any future compensation, must
be reduced by the amount paid by the employer.
(b) The insurer, or in the case of claims involving the uninsured
employer's claim fund or a subsequent injury fund the administrator, has a
lien upon the total amount paid by the employer if the injured employee or
his dependents receive compensation pursuant to the provisions of chapters
616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS.
This subsection is applicable whether the money paid to the employee or
his dependents by the employer is classified as a gift, a settlement or
otherwise. The provisions of this subsection do not grant to an injured
employee any right of action in tort to recover damages from his employer
for his injury.
2. When an employee receives an injury for which compensation is
payable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or
chapter 617 of NRS and which was caused under circumstances creating a
legal liability in some person, other than the employer or a person in the
same employ, to pay damages in respect thereof:
(a) The injured employee, or in case of death his dependents, may take
proceedings against that person to recover damages, but the amount of the
compensation the injured employee or his dependents are entitled to
receive pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or
chapter 617 of NRS, including any future compensation, must be reduced
by the amount of the damages recovered, notwithstanding any act or
omission of the employer or a person in the same employ which was a
direct or proximate cause of the employee's injury. (b) If the injured employee, or in case of death his dependents, receive
compensation pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D,
inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS, the insurer, or in case of claims involving
the uninsured employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund the
administrator, has a right of action against the person so liable to pay
damages and is subrogated to the rights of the injured employee or of his
dependents to recover therefor.
3. When an injured employee incurs an injury for which compensation
is payable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive,
or chapter 617 of NRS and which was caused under circumstances entitling
him, or in the case of death his dependents, to receive proceeds under his
employer's policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage:
(a) The injured employee, or in the case of death his dependents, may
take proceedings to recover those proceeds, but the amount of
compensation the injured employee or his dependents are entitled to
receive pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or
chapter 617 of NRS, including any future compensation, must be reduced
by the amount of proceeds received.
(b) If an injured employee, or in the case of death his dependents,
receive compensation pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D,
inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS, the insurer, or in the case of claims
involving the uninsured employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund
the administrator, is subrogated to the rights of the injured employee or his
dependents to recover proceeds under the employer's policy of uninsured
or underinsured vehicle coverage. The insurer and the administrator are not
subrogated to the rights of an injured employee or his dependents under a
policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage purchased by the
employee.
4. In any action or proceedings taken by the insurer or the
administrator pursuant to this section, evidence of the amount of
compensation, accident benefits and other expenditures which the insurer,
the uninsured employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund have paid
or become obligated to pay by reason of the injury or death of the employee
is admissible. If in such action or proceedings the insurer or the
administrator recovers more than those amounts, the excess must be paid to
the injured employee or his dependents.
5. In any case where the insurer or the administrator is subrogated to
the rights of the injured employee or of his dependents as provided in
subsection 2 or 3, the insurer or the administrator has a lien upon the total
proceeds of any recovery from some person other than the employer,
whether the proceeds of such recovery are by way of judgment, settlement
or otherwise. The injured employee, or in the case of his death his
dependents, are not entitled to double recovery for the same injury,
notwithstanding any act or omission of the employer or a person in the
same employ which was a direct or proximate cause of the employee's
injury. 6. The lien provided for
the total compensation expenditure incurred by the insurer, the uninsured
employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund for the injured employee
and his dependents.
7. An injured employee, or in the case of death his dependents,
or theattorney or representative of the injured employee or his dependents,
shall notify the insurer, or in the case of claims involving the uninsured
employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund the administrator, in
writing before initiating a proceeding or action pursuant to this section.
8. Within 15 days after the date of recovery by way of actual receipt of
the proceeds of the judgment, settlement or otherwise:
(a) The injured employee or his dependents, or the attorney or
representative of the injured employee or his dependents; and
(b) The third-party insurer,
shall notify the insurer, or in the case of claims involving the uninsured
employers' claim fund or a subsequent injury fund the administrator, of the
recovery and pay to the insurer or the administrator, respectively, the
amount due
statement showing the distribution of the total recovery. The attorney or
representative of the injured employee or his dependents and the third-party
insurer are jointly and severally liable for any amount to which an insurer is
entitled pursuant to this section if the attorney, representative or third-party
insurer has knowledge of the lien provided for in this section.
9. An insurer shall not sell its lien to a third-party insurer unless the
injured employee or his dependents, or the attorney or representative of the
injured employee or his dependents, refuses to provide to the insurer
information concerning the action against the third party.
10. In any trial of an action by the injured employee, or in the case of
his death by his dependents, against a person other than the employer or a
person in the same employ, the jury must receive proof of the amount of all
payments made or to be made by the insurer or the administrator. The court
shall instruct the jury substantially as follows:
Payment of workmen's compensation benefits by the insurer, or in
the case of claims involving the uninsured employers' claim fund or a
subsequent injury fund the administrator, is based upon the fact that a
compensable industrial accident occurred, and does not depend upon
blame or fault. If the plaintiff does not obtain a judgment in his favor
in this case, he is not required to repay his employer, the insurer or the
administrator any amount paid to him or paid on his behalf by his
employer, the insurer or the administrator.
If you decide that the plaintiff is entitled to judgment against the
defendant, you shall find his damages in accordance with the court's
instructions on damages and return your verdict in the plaintiff's favor
in the amount so found without deducting the amount of any compensation benefits paid to or for the plaintiff. The law provides a
means by which any compensation benefits will be repaid from your
award.
11. To calculate an employer's premium, the employer's account with
the system must be credited with an amount equal to that recovered by the
system from a third party pursuant to this section, less the system's share of
the expenses of litigation incurred in obtaining the recovery, except that the
total credit must not exceed the amount of compensation actually paid or
reserved by the system on the injured employee's claim.
12. As used in this section, "third-party insurer" means an insurer that
issued to a third party who is liable for damages pursuant to subsection 2, a
policy of liability insurance the proceeds of which are recoverable pursuant
to this section. The term includes an insurer that issued to an employer a
policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage.
Sec. 2. This act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 1999.
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