CHAPTER 4. WORKER'S COMPENSATION: ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES
IC 22-3-4
Chapter 4. Worker's Compensation: Administration and
Procedures
IC 22-3-4-1
Industrial board; office space; furniture and supplies; meetings
Sec. 1. The board shall be provided with adequate offices in the
capitol or some other suitable building in the city of Indianapolis in
which the records shall be kept and its official business be transacted
during regular business hours; it shall also be provided with
necessary office furniture, stationery and other supplies.
The board or any member thereof may hold sessions at any place
within the state as may be deemed necessary.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.54.)
IC 22-3-4-2
Rules; subpoenas; service; hearings
Sec. 2. (a) The worker's compensation board may make rules not
inconsistent with IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 for carrying out the
provisions of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6. Processes and procedures
under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 shall be as summary and simple
as reasonably may be. The board or any member of the board shall
have the power for the purpose of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 to
subpoena witnesses, administer or cause to have administered oaths,
and to examine or cause to have examined such parts of the books
and records of the parties to a proceeding as relate to questions in
dispute.
(b) The county sheriff shall serve all subpoenas of the board and
shall receive the same fees as provided by law for like service in civil
actions. Each witness who appears in obedience to such subpoenas
of the board shall receive for attendance the fees and mileage for
witnesses in civil cases in the courts.
(c) The circuit or superior court shall, on application of the board
or any member of the board, enforce by proper proceedings the
attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production and
examination of books, papers, and records.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.55.) As amended by P.L.144-1986,
SEC.41; P.L.28-1988, SEC.35.
IC 22-3-4-3
Inspection of records; confidential information; destruction of
records
Sec. 3. (a) The board shall prepare and cause to be printed, and
upon request furnish free of charge to any employer or employee,
such blank forms and literature as it shall deem requisite to facilitate
or promote the efficient administration of this chapter, IC 22-3-2
through IC 22-3-3, and IC 22-3-5 through IC 22-3-6. The accident
reports and reports of attending physicians shall be the private
records of the board, which shall be open to the inspection of the
employer, the employee and their legal representatives, but not the
public unless, in the opinion of the board, the public interest shall so
require.
(b) In order to prevent the accumulation of unnecessary and
useless files of papers, the board may destroy or otherwise dispose
of under IC 5-15-5.1-14 all papers that have been on file for more
than two (2) years, when there is no claim for compensation pending,
or, when compensation has been awarded either by agreement or
upon hearing, and more than one (1) year has elapsed since the
termination of the compensation period as fixed by such board.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.56.) As amended by Acts 1979,
P.L.17, SEC.33; P.L.121-1995, SEC.2.
IC 22-3-4-4
Awards; private agreements; approval
Sec. 4. If after seven (7) days from the date of the injury or at any
time in case of death, the employer and the injured employee or his
dependents reach an agreement in regard to compensation under
IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, a memorandum of the agreement in the
form prescribed by the worker's compensation board shall be filed
with the board; otherwise such agreement shall be voidable by the
employee or his dependent. If approved by the board, thereupon the
memorandum shall for all purposes be enforceable by court decree
as specified in section 9 of this chapter. Such agreement shall be
approved by said board only when the terms conform to the
provisions of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.57.) As amended by P.L.144-1986,
SEC.42; P.L.28-1988, SEC.36.
IC 22-3-4-5
Disputes; hearings
Sec. 5. (a) If the employer and the injured employee or the injured
employee's dependents disagree in regard to the compensation
payable under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 or, if they have reached
such an agreement, which has been signed by them, filed with and
approved by the worker's compensation board, and afterward
disagree as to the continuance of payments under such agreement, or
as to the period for which payments shall be made, or to the amount
to be paid, because of a change in conditions since the making of
such agreement, either party may then make an application to the
board for the determination of the matters in dispute.
(b) Upon the filing of such application, the board shall set the date
of hearing, which shall be as early as practicable, and shall notify the
employee, employer, and attorneys of record in the manner
prescribed by the board of the time and place of all hearings and
requests for continuances. The hearing of all claims for
compensation, on account of injuries occurring within the state, shall
be held in the county in which the injury occurred, in any adjoining
county, except when the parties consent to a hearing elsewhere.
Claims assigned to an individual board member that are considered
to be of an emergency nature by that board member, may be heard in
any county within the board member's jurisdiction.
(c) All disputes arising under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, if not
settled by the agreement of the parties interested therein, with the
approval of the board, shall be determined by the board.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.58; Acts 1959, c.360, s.1.) As
amended by P.L.144-1986, SEC.43; P.L.28-1988, SEC.37;
P.L.95-1988, SEC.9; P.L.170-1991, SEC.10.
IC 22-3-4-6
Disputes; summary proceedings
Sec. 6. The board by any or all of its members shall hear the
parties at issue, their representatives and witnesses, and shall
determine the dispute in a summary manner. The award shall be filed
with the record of proceedings, and a copy thereof shall immediately
be sent to each of the employee, employer, and attorney of record in
the dispute.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.59.) As amended by P.L.95-1988,
SEC.10.
IC 22-3-4-7
Disputes; administrative review
Sec. 7. If an application for review is made to the board within
thirty (30) days from the date of the award made by less than all the
members, the full board, if the first hearing was not held before the
full board, shall review the evidence, or, if deemed advisable, hear
the parties at issue, their representatives, and witnesses as soon as
practicable and shall make an award and file the same with the
finding of the facts on which it is based and send a copy thereof to
each of the parties in dispute, in like manner as specified in section
6 of this chapter.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.60; Acts 1969, c.94, s.6.) As amended
by P.L.144-1986, SEC.44; P.L.258-1997(ss), SEC.9.
IC 22-3-4-8
Disputes; awards; appeals
Sec. 8. (a) An award of the board by less than all of the members
as provided in section 6 of this chapter, if not reviewed as provided
in section 7 of this chapter, shall be final and conclusive.
(b) An award by the full board shall be conclusive and binding as
to all questions of the fact, but either party to the dispute may, within
thirty (30) days from the date of such award, appeal to the court of
appeals for errors of law under the same terms and conditions as
govern appeals in ordinary civil actions.
(c) The board of its own motion may certify questions of law to
said court of appeals for its decision and determination.
(d) An assignment of errors that the award of the full board is
contrary to law shall be sufficient to present both the sufficiency of
the facts found to sustain the award and the sufficiency of the
evidence to sustain the finding of facts.
(e) All such appeals and certified questions of law shall be
submitted upon the date filed in the court of appeals, shall be
advanced upon the docket of said court, and shall be determined at
the earliest practicable date, without any extensions of time for filing
briefs.
(f) An award of the full board affirmed on appeal, by the
employer, shall be increased thereby five percent (5%), and by order
of the court may be increased ten percent (10%).
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.61.) As amended by P.L.144-1986,
SEC.45.
IC 22-3-4-9
Contracts; private agreements; appeals
Sec. 9. (a) Upon order of the worker's compensation board made
after five (5) days notice is given to the opposite party, any party in
interest may file in the circuit or superior court of the county in
which the injury occurred a certified copy of the memorandum of
agreement approved by the board, or of an order or decision of the
board, or of an award of the full board unappealed from, or of an
award of the full board affirmed upon an appeal, whereupon said
court shall render judgment in accordance therewith and notify the
parties. Such judgment shall have the same effect and all proceedings
in relation thereto shall thereafter be the same as though said
judgment had been rendered in a suit duly heard and determined by
said court.
(b) Any such judgment of said circuit or superior court
unappealed from or affirmed on appeal or modified in obedience to
the mandate of the court of appeals shall be modified to conform to
any decision of the worker's compensation board ending,
diminishing, or increasing any weekly payment under the provisions
of IC 22-3-3-27 upon the presentation to it of a certified copy of such
decision.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.62; Acts 1947, c.162, s.13.) As
amended by P.L.144-1986, SEC.46; P.L.28-1988, SEC.38.
IC 22-3-4-10
Actions and proceedings; costs
Sec. 10. In all proceedings before the worker's compensation
board or in a court under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, the costs shall
be awarded and taxed as provided by law in ordinary civil actions in
the circuit court.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.63.) As amended by P.L.144-1986,
SEC.47; P.L.28-1988, SEC.39.
IC 22-3-4-11
Medical examination; physician or surgeon
Sec. 11. The board or any member thereof may, upon the
application of either party or upon its own motion, appoint a
disinterested and duly qualified physician or surgeon to make any
necessary medical examination of the employee and to testify in
respect thereto. Said physician or surgeon shall be allowed traveling
expenses and a reasonable fee to be fixed by the board.
The fees and expenses of such physician or surgeon shall be paid
by the state only on special order of the board or a member thereof.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.64; Acts 1963, c.387, s.14.)
IC 22-3-4-12
Rates and charges; attorney's fees; payment
Sec. 12. Except as provided in section 12.1 of this chapter, the
fees of attorneys and physicians and charges of nurses and hospitals
for services under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 shall be subject to the
approval of the worker's compensation board. When any claimant for
compensation is represented by an attorney in the prosecution of his
claim, the worker's compensation board shall fix and state in the
award, if compensation be awarded, the amount of the claimant's
attorney's fees. The fee so fixed shall be binding upon both the
claimant and his attorney, and the employer shall pay to the attorney
out of the award the fee so fixed, and the receipt of the attorney
therefor shall fully acquit the employer for an equal portion of the
award; provided, that whenever the worker's compensation board
shall determine upon hearing of a claim that the employer has acted
in bad faith in adjusting and settling said award, or whenever the
worker's compensation board shall determine upon hearing of a claim
that the employer has not pursued the settlement of said claim with
diligence, then the board shall, if compensation be awarded, fix the
amount of the claimant's attorney's fees and such attorney fees shall
be paid to the attorney and shall not be charged against the award to
the claimant.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.65; Acts 1965, c.217, s.3.) As
amended by P.L.144-1986, SEC.48; P.L.258-1997(ss), SEC.10;
P.L.1-2006, SEC.338.
IC 22-3-4-12.1
Bad faith in adjusting or settling claim for compensation; awards;
attorney's fees
Sec. 12.1. (a) The worker's compensation board, upon hearing a
claim for benefits, has the exclusive jurisdiction to determine
whether the employer, the employer's worker's compensation
administrator, or the worker's compensation insurance carrier has
acted with a lack of diligence, in bad faith, or has committed an
independent tort in adjusting or settling the claim for compensation.
(b) If lack of diligence, bad faith, or an independent tort is proven
under subsection (a), the award to the claimant shall be at least five
hundred dollars ($500), but not more than twenty thousand dollars
($20,000), depending upon the degree of culpability and the actual
damages sustained.
(c) An award under this section shall be paid by the employer,
worker's compensation administrator, or worker's compensation
insurance carrier responsible to the claimant for the lack of diligence,
bad faith, or independent tort.
(d) The worker's compensation board shall fix in addition to any
award under this section the amount of attorney's fees payable with
respect to an award made under this section. The attorney's fees may
not exceed thirty-three and one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the
amount of the award.
(e) If the worker's compensation board makes an award under this
section, it shall reduce the award to writing and forward a copy to the
department of insurance for review under IC 27-4-1-4.5.
(f) An award or awards to a claimant pursuant to subsection (b)
shall not total more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) during
the life of the claim for benefits arising from an accidental injury.
As added by P.L.258-1997(ss), SEC.11. Amended by P.L.31-2000,
SEC.5.
IC 22-3-4-13
Reports of injuries and deaths; violations of article
Sec. 13. (a) Every employer shall keep a record of all injuries,
fatal or otherwise, received by or claimed to have been received by
the employer's employees in the course of their employment. Within
seven (7) days after the occurrence and knowledge thereof, as
provided in IC 22-3-3-1, of any injury to an employee causing death
or absence from work for more than one (1) day, a report thereof
shall be made in writing and mailed to the employer's insurance
carrier or, if the employer is self insured, delivered to the worker's
compensation board in the manner provided in subsections (b) and
(c). The insurance carrier shall deliver the report to the worker's
compensation board in the manner provided in subsections (b) and
(c) not later than seven (7) days after receipt of the report or fourteen
(14) days after the employer's knowledge of the injury, whichever is
later. An employer or insurance carrier that fails to comply with this
subsection is subject to a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50), to be
assessed and collected by the board. Civil penalties collected under
this section shall be deposited in the state general fund.
(b) All insurance carriers, companies who carry risk without
insurance, and third party administrators reporting accident
information to the board in compliance with subsection (a) shall:
(1) report the information using electronic data interchange
standards prescribed by the board no later than June 30, 1999;
or
(2) in the alternative, the reporting entity shall have an
implementation plan approved by the board no later than June
30, 2000, that provides for the ability to report the information
using electronic data interchange standards prescribed by the
board no later than December 31, 2000.
Prior to the June 30, 2000, and December 31, 2000, deadlines, the
reporting entity may continue to report accidents to the board by mail
in compliance with subsection (a).
(c) The report shall contain the name, nature, and location of the
business of the employer, the name, age, sex, wages, occupation of
the injured employee, the date and hour of the accident causing the
alleged injury, the nature and cause of the injury, and such other
information as may be required by the board.
(d) A person who violates any provision of this article, except
IC 22-3-5-1, IC 22-3-7-34(b), or IC 22-3-7-34(c), commits a Class C
infraction. A person who violates IC 22-3-5-1, IC 22-3-7-34(b), or
IC 22-3-7-34(c) commits a Class A infraction. The worker's
compensation board in the name of the state may seek relief from any
court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violation of this article.
(e) The venue of all actions under this section lies in the county
in which the employee was injured. The prosecuting attorney of the
county shall prosecute all such violations upon written request of the
worker's compensation board. Such violations shall be prosecuted in
the name of the state.
(f) In an action before the board against an employer who at the
time of the injury to or occupational disease of an employee had
failed to comply with IC 22-3-5-1, IC 22-3-7-34(b), or
IC 22-3-7-34(c), the board may award to the employee or the
dependents of a deceased employee:
(1) compensation not to exceed double the compensation
provided by this article;
(2) medical expenses; and
(3) reasonable attorney fees in addition to the compensation and
medical expenses.
(g) In an action under subsection (d), the court may:
(1) order the employer to cease doing business in Indiana until
the employer furnishes proof of insurance as required by
IC 22-3-5-1 and IC 22-3-7-34(b) or IC 22-3-7-34(c);
(2) require satisfactory proof of the employer's financial ability
to pay any compensation or medical expenses in the amount and
manner and when due as provided for in IC 22-3, for any
injuries which occurred during any period of noncompliance;
and
(3) require the employer to deposit with the worker's
compensation board an acceptable security, indemnity, or bond
to secure the payment of such compensation and medical
expense liabilities.
(h) The penalty provisions of subsection (d) shall apply only to
the employer and shall not apply for a failure to exact a certificate of
insurance under IC 22-3-2-14 or IC 22-3-7-34(i) or IC 22-3-7-34(j).
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.66; Acts 1937, c.214, s.5; Acts 1943,
c.136, s.6.) As amended by Acts 1978, P.L.2, SEC.2210; Acts 1982,
P.L.135, SEC.1; P.L.145-1986, SEC.1; P.L.28-1988, SEC.40;
P.L.170-1991, SEC.11; P.L.75-1993, SEC.3; P.L.1-1994, SEC.108;
P.L.235-1999, SEC.4; P.L.1-2007, SEC.159; P.L.1-2010, SEC.85.
IC 22-3-4-14
Awards; termination; reports
Sec. 14. Every employer paying compensation directly without
insurance and every insurance carrier paying compensation in behalf
of an employer shall, within ten (10) days from the termination of the
compensation period fixed in any award against him or its insured,
for an injury or death, either by the approval of an agreement or upon
hearing, and within ten (10) days from the full redemption of any
such award by the cash payment thereof in a lump sum as provided
in IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, make such report or reports as the
worker's compensation board may require.
(Formerly: Acts 1929, c.172, s.67.) As amended by P.L.144-1986,
SEC.49; P.L.28-1988, SEC.41.