44-508. Definitions.
44-508
44-508. Definitions.As used in the workers compensation act:
(a) "Employer" includes: (1) Any person or body of persons, corporate orunincorporate, and the legal representative of a deceased employer orthe receiver or trustee of a person, corporation, association orpartnership; (2) the state or any department, agency or authority ofthe state, any city, county, school district or other politicalsubdivision or municipality or public corporation and any instrumentalitythereof; and (3) for the purposes of community service work, the entity forwhich the community service work is being performed and the governmental agencywhich assigned the community service work, if any, if either such entity orsuch governmental agency has filed a written statement of election with thedirector to accept the provisions under the workers compensation act forpersons performing community service work and in such case such entity and suchgovernmental agency shall be deemed to be the joint employer of the personperforming the community service work and both shall have the rights,liabilities and immunities provided under the workers compensation act for anemployer with regard to the community service work, except that the liabilityfor providing benefits shall be imposed only on the party which filed suchelection with the director, or on both if both parties have filed such electionwith the director; for purposes of community service work, "governmentalagency" shall not include any court or any officer or employee thereof and anycase where there is deemed to be a "joint employer" shall not be construed tobe a case of dual or multiple employment.
(b) "Workman" or "employee" or "worker" means any person who hasentered into the employment of or works under any contract of service orapprenticeship with an employer. Such terms shall include but not belimited to: Executive officers of corporations; professional athletes;persons serving on a volunteer basis as duly authorized law enforcementofficers,attendants, as defined in subsection (d) of K.S.A. 65-6112, andamendmentsthereto, drivers of ambulances as defined in subsection (b) of K.S.A.65-6112, and amendments thereto,firefighters, but only to the extent and during such periods as they are soserving in such capacities; persons employed by educational, religious andcharitable organizations, but only to theextent and during the periods that they are paid wages by suchorganizations; persons in the service of the state, or any department,agency or authority of the state, any city, school district, or otherpolitical subdivision or municipality or public corporation and anyinstrumentality thereof, under any contract of service, express orimplied, and every official or officer thereof, whether elected orappointed, while performing official duties; persons in the service ofthe state as volunteer members of the Kansas department of civil air patrol,but only to the extent and during such periods as they are officially engagedin the performance of functions specified in K.S.A. 48-3302 andamendments thereto; volunteers in any employment, if the employer has filed anelection to extend coverage to such volunteers; minors, whether such minors arelegally or illegally employed; and persons performing community service work,but only to the extent and during such periods as they are performing communityservice work and if an election has been filed an election to extend coverageto such persons. Any reference to an employee who has been injured shall, wherethe employee is dead, include a reference to the employee's dependents, to theemployee's legal representatives, or, if the employee is a minor or anincapacitated person, to the employee's guardian or conservator. Unless thereis a valid election in effect which has been filed as provided in K.S.A.44-542a, and amendments thereto, such terms shall not include individualemployers, limited liability company members, partnersor self-employed persons.
(c) (1) "Dependents" means such members of the employee's family as werewholly or in part dependent upon the employee at the time of the accident.
(2) "Members of a family" means only surviving legal spouse andchildren; or if no surviving legal spouse or children, then parents orgrandparents; or if no parents or grandparents, then grandchildren; orif no grandchildren, then brothers and sisters. In the meaning of thissection, parents include stepparents, children include stepchildren,grandchildren include stepgrandchildren, brothers and sisters includestepbrothers and stepsisters, and children and parents include thatrelation by legal adoption. In the meaning of this section, a survivingspouse shall not be regarded as a dependent of a deceased employee or asa member of the family, if the surviving spouse shall have for more thansix months willfully or voluntarily deserted or abandoned theemployee prior to the date of the employee's death.
(3) "Wholly dependent child or children" means:
(A) A birth child or adopted child of the employee exceptsuch a child whoserelationship to the employee has been severed by adoption;
(B) a stepchild of the employee who lives in the employee's household;
(C) any other child who is actually dependent in whole or in part on theemployee and who is related to the employee by marriage or consanguinity; or
(D) any child as defined in subsections (3)(A), (3)(B) or (3)(C) whois less than 23 years of age and who is not physically or mentally capableof earning wages in any type of substantial and gainful employment or whois a full-time student attending an accredited institution of highereducation or vocational education.
(d) "Accident" means an undesigned,sudden and unexpected event orevents, usually of an afflictive or unfortunate nature and often, butnot necessarily, accompanied by a manifestation of force. The elements of anaccident, as stated herein, are not to be construed in a strict and literalsense, but in a manner designed to effectuate the purpose of the workerscompensation act that the employer bear the expense of accidental injury to aworker caused by the employment. In cases where the accident occurs as aresult of a series of events, repetitive use, cumulative traumas ormicrotraumas, the date of accident shall be the date the authorized physiciantakes the employee off work due to the condition or restricts the employee fromperforming the work which is the cause of the condition. In the event theworker is not taken off work or restricted as above described, then the date ofinjury shall be the earliest of the following dates: (1) The date upon whichthe employee gives written notice to the employer of the injury; or (2) thedate the condition is diagnosed as work related, provided such fact iscommunicated in writing to the injured worker. In cases where none of the abovecriteria are met, then the date of accident shall be determined by theadministrative law judge based on all the evidence and circumstances; and in noevent shall the date of accident be the date of, or the day before the regularhearing. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude a worker'sright to make a claim for aggravation of injuries under the workerscompensation act.
(e) "Personal injury" and "injury" mean any lesion or change in thephysical structure of the body, causing damage or harm thereto, so thatit gives way under the stress of the worker's usual labor. It is notessential that such lesion or change be of such character as to presentexternal or visible signs of its existence.An injury shall not be deemed to have been directlycaused by the employment where it is shown that the employee suffers disabilityas a result of the natural aging process or by thenormal activities of day-to-day living.
(f) The words "arising out of and in the course of employment" asused in the workers compensation act shall not be construed to includeinjuries to the employee occurring while the employee is on the way toassume the duties of employment or after leaving such duties, theproximate cause of which injury is not the employer's negligence. Anemployee shall not be construed as being on the way to assume the dutiesof employment or having left such duties at a time when the worker is onthe premises of the employer or on the only available route to or fromwork which is a route involving a special risk or hazard and which is aroute not used by the public except in dealings with the employer.An employee shall not be construed as being on the way to assume theduties of employment, if the employee is a provider of emergency servicesresponding toan emergency.
The words, "arising out of and in the course of employment" as used in theworkers compensation act shall not be construed to include injuries toemployees while engaged in recreational or social events undercircumstances where the employee was under no duty to attend and where theinjury did not result from the performance of tasks related to the employee'snormal job duties or as specifically instructed to be performed by theemployer.
(g) "Burden of proof" means the burden of a party to persuade thetrier of facts by a preponderance of the credible evidence that suchparty's position on an issue is more probably true than not true on thebasis of the whole record.
(h) "Director" means the director of workers compensation asprovided for in K.S.A. 75-5708 and amendments thereto.
(i) "Health care provider" means any person licensed, by theproperlicensing authority of this state, another state or the District of Columbia,to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathy, chiropractic, dentistry,optometry, podiatry, audiology or psychology.
(j) "Secretary" means the secretary of labor.
(k) "Construction design professional" means any person who is anarchitect, professional engineer, landscape architect or land surveyor whohas been issued a license by the state board of technical professions topractice such technical profession in Kansas or any corporation organizedto render professional services through the practice of one or more of suchtechnical professions in Kansas under the professional corporation law ofKansas or any corporation issued a certificate of authorization underK.S.A. 74-7036, and amendments thereto, to practice one or moreof suchtechnical professions in Kansas.
(l) "Community service work" means: (1) Public or community serviceperformed as a result of a contract of diversion or of assignment to acommunity corrections program or conservation camp or suspension ofsentence or as a conditionof probation or in lieu of a fine imposed by court order; or (2) public orcommunity service or other work performed as a requirement for receipt of anykind of public assistance in accordance with any program administered by thesecretary of social and rehabilitation services.
(m) "Utilization review" means the initial evaluation ofappropriateness interms of both the level and the quality of health care and health servicesprovided a patient, based on accepted standards of the health care professioninvolved. Such evaluation is accomplished by means of a system which identifiesthe utilization of health care services above the usual range of utilizationfor such services, which is based on accepted standards of the health careprofession involved, and which refers instances of possible inappropriateutilization to the director for referral to a peer review committee.
(n) "Peer review" means an evaluation by a peer review committee of theappropriateness, quality and cost of health care and health services provided apatient, which is based on accepted standards of the health care professioninvolved and which is conducted in conjunction with utilization review.
(o) "Peer review committee" means a committee composed of health careproviders licensed to practice the same health care profession as thehealth care provider who rendered the health care services being reviewed.
(p) "Group-funded self-insurance plan" includes each group-funded workerscompensation pool, which is authorized to operate in this state under K.S.A.44-581 through 44-592, and amendments thereto, each municipalgroup-funded poolunder the Kansas municipal group-funded pool act which is covering liabilitiesunder the workers compensation act, and any other similar group-funded orpooled plan or arrangement that provides coverage for employer liabilitiesunder the workers compensation act and is authorized by law.
(q) On and after the effective date of this act, "workers compensationboard" or "board" means the workers compensationboard established under K.S.A. 44-555c and amendmentsthereto.
(r) "Usual charge" means the amount most commonly charged by health careproviders for the same or similar services.
(s) "Customary charge" means the usual rates or range of fees charged byhealth care providers in a given locale or area.
History: L. 1927, ch. 232, § 8;L. 1965, ch. 319, § 1;L. 1968, ch. 102, § 2;L. 1974, ch. 203, § 7;L. 1976, ch. 370, § 18;L. 1977, ch. 175, § 2;L. 1979, ch. 156, § 2;L. 1983, ch. 167, § 1;L. 1985, ch. 175, § 2;L. 1986, ch. 189, § 1;L. 1987, ch. 187, § 2;L. 1988, ch. 167, § 5;L. 1990, ch. 183, § 1;L. 1991, ch. 144, § 2;L. 1993, ch. 286, § 28;L. 1995, ch. 1, § 4;L. 1996, ch. 79, § 3;L. 1997, ch. 125, § 3;L. 1998, ch. 120, § 3;L. 2000, ch. 160, § 6;L. 2001, ch. 121, § 1;L. 2002, ch. 122, § 1;L. 2004, ch. 179, § 15;L. 2005, ch. 55, § 1; July 1.