44-557. Employer's duty to report accidents; limitation of actions; civil penalty for failure to report; recovery of penalties.
44-557
44-557. Employer's duty to report accidents; limitation ofactions; civil penalty for failure to report; recovery of penalties.(a) It is hereby made the duty of every employer to make or cause to bemade a report to the director of any accident, or claimed or allegedaccident, to any employee which occurs in the course of the employee'semployment and of which the employer or the employer'ssupervisor hasknowledge, which report shall be made upon a form to be prepared by thedirector, within 28 days, after the receipt of suchknowledge, if the personal injuries which are sustained by suchaccidents, are sufficient wholly or partially to incapacitate the personinjured from labor or service for more than the remainder ofthe day,shift or turn on which such injuries were sustained.
(b) When such accident has been reported and subsequently suchperson has died, a supplemental report shall be filed with the directorwithin 28 days after receipt of knowledge of suchdeath,stating such fact and any other facts in connection with such death oras to the dependents of such deceased employee which the director mayrequire. Such report or reports shall not be used nor considered asevidence before the director, any administrative law judge, the board or inany court in this state.
(c) No limitation of time inthe workers compensation act shallbegin to run unless a report of the accident as provided in this sectionhas been filed at the office of the director if the injured employee hasgiven notice of accident as provided by K.S.A. 44-520 andamendments thereto, except that any proceeding for compensation for anysuch injury or death, where report of the accident has not been filed,must be commenced by servingupon the employer a written claim pursuant to K.S.A. 44-520a and amendmentstheretowithin one year from the dateof the accident, suspension of payment of disability compensation, thedate of the last medical treatment authorized by the employer, or thedeath of such employee referred to in K.S.A. 44-520a andamendments thereto.
(d) The repeated failure of any employer to file or cause to be filedany report required bythis section shall be subject to a civil penalty for each violation ofnot to exceed $250.
(e) Any civil penalty imposed by this section shall be recovered, bythe assistant attorney general uponinformation received from thedirector, by issuing and serving upon such employer a summary order orstatement of the charges with respect thereto and a hearing shall be conductedthereon in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas administrativeprocedure act, except that, at the discretion of the director, such civilpenalties may be assessed as costs in a workers compensationproceeding by an administrative law judge uponashowing by the assistant attorney general that arequired report was not filed whichpertains to a claim pending before the administrative law judge.
History: L. 1927, ch. 232, § 54;L. 1955, ch. 250, § 11;L. 1957, ch. 293, § 7;L. 1967, ch. 280, § 12;L. 1970, ch. 190, § 10;L. 1974, ch. 203, § 43;L. 1980, ch. 146, § 13;L. 1993, ch. 286, § 59;L. 2000, ch. 160, § 16; July 1.