4412-4418
LABOR CODE
SECTION 4412-4418
4412. The Asbestos Workers' Account shall take all reasonable and appropriate action to insure that recovery is made by the account for all moneys paid as compensation benefits and as costs. In the event that the responsible employer is uninsured, the account shall not be entitled to reimbursement from the Uninsured Employers Fund. 4413. No limitation of time provided by this division shall run against the Asbestos Workers' Account to initiate proceedings before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board when the account has made any payment of moneys, incurred any costs for services, or encumbered any liability of the account. 4414. Immediately following the receipt of knowledge of initiation of proceedings before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, or any other jurisdiction providing benefits for the same injury, the Asbestos Workers' Account shall file a lien and may invoke such other remedies as are available to recover moneys expended for compensation benefits. 4415. In any hearing or proceeding, the Director of Industrial Relations may use attorneys from within the department, or the Attorney General, to represent the director and the state. 4416. Once an agreement as to the responsible employer is reached, or a decision is issued by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and becomes final, the Asbestos Workers' Account shall notify the responsible employer or insurance carrier of the amount of payment necessary to satisfy the lien in full. Full payment of the lien shall be made by the responsible employer or insurance carrier within 30 days of the issue of such notification. The account may grant a reasonable extension of time for payment of the lien beyond 30 days. This payment shall be for all moneys expended for compensation benefits, and for all recoverable costs including the cost of independent medical examination and all costs reasonably incidental thereto, including, but not limited to, costs of transportation, hospitalization, consultative evaluation, X-rays, laboratory tests, and other diagnostic procedures. The payment shall bear interest, as provided in Section 5800, from the date of the agreement or decision through the date of payment. The lien of the Asbestos Workers' Account shall be allowed as a first lien against compensation, and shall have priority over all other liens. The lien of the Asbestos Workers' Account may not be reduced by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board or by the parties unless express written consent to the proposed reduction of the lien is given by the Asbestos Workers' Account and is filed in the record of proceedings before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. 4417. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude the filing by an asbestos worker of a claim or suit for damages or indemnity against any person other than his or her employer. The Asbestos Workers' Account shall be entitled to recover from, and shall have a first lien against, any amount which is recoverable by the injured employee pursuant to civil judgment or settlement in relation to a claim for damages or indemnity for the effect of exposure to asbestos, for all compensation benefits paid to the injured employee by the Asbestos Workers' Account which have not previously been recovered from the responsible employer or employers by the Asbestos Workers' Account. Recovery by the Asbestos Workers' Account pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not have the effect of extinguishing or diminishing the liability of the responsible employer or employers to the injured employee for compensation payable under the provisions of this division. 4418. The provisions of this chapter providing for the payment of workers' compensation asbestos workers' benefits from the Asbestos Workers' Account shall be operative only until January 1, 1989, and as of that date all payments from the fund shall be terminated, and the state shall have no further obligation to pay asbestos workers' benefits, unless a later enacted statute which is chaptered before January 1, 1989, deletes or extends that date. However, if no statute is enacted to delete or extend that date prior to January 1, 1989, the authority of the Asbestos Workers' Account under this chapter to recover the benefits and costs paid to asbestos workers prior to that date shall continue until the benefits and costs have been recovered.