44-569. Same; awards for subsequent injuries to handicapped workers; apportionment of amounts due; duties of commissioner of insurance; employer's liability when fund insufficient, reimbursement.
44-569
44-569. Same; awards for subsequent injuries to handicapped workers;apportionment of amounts due; duties of commissioner of insurance;employer's liability when fund insufficient, reimbursement.(a) In the event that theadministrative law judge finds and determines that a workerhas become disabled under circumstances set forth in K.S.A. 44-567 andamendmentsthereto, the administrative law judge shall make an awardsetting forth the amount due, if any,from the employer by whom the worker was employed when the worker receivedsubsequent injury in the manner and form by which the award shall be paid,and shall in addition thereto make an award setting forth the amount dueto the employee to be paid from theworkers compensation fund. All awardspaid out of the workers compensation fund shall be payable inpayments,the number and size of which shall be set forth by theadministrative law judge in theaward. The administrative law judge at theoption of the administrative law judge is authorized to approve lump-sumsettlements with and lump-sum payments from the workerscompensationfund.
(b) The director, within 30 days from the date of the filing of the award,shall deliver to the commissioner ofinsurance a certifiedcopy of the award and thereafter the commissioner of insuranceshall causepayment to be made from the workers compensation fund to theemployee inharmony with the award.
(c) Whenever the commissioner of insurance finds that there areinsufficient funds in the workers compensation fund to satisfyan awardof compensation made to a worker from such fund,the commissioner of insurance shall give notice ofthis finding to the employer by whom the worker was employed when the workersustained subsequent injury. Upon receiving such notice, the employershall assume and become liable for the payment of compensation as providedin such award and until such time that the commissioner of insurance findsthat there are sufficient funds in the workers compensationfund for thispurpose. The employer shall be reimbursed from theworkers compensationfund for all such payments of compensation which would have been paid fromthe workers compensation fund. The commissioner of insuranceshalldetermine the amount of compensation paid by the employer which is to bereimbursed under this subsection, and the amount so determined shall bepaid to the employer from the workers compensation fund.
(d) The director shall submit in the regular written report of the directorthe number and amount of cases involving the workerscompensationfund.
History: L. 1945, ch. 221, § 5; L. 1968, ch. 102, § 9; L. 1974,ch. 203, § 48; L. 1982, ch. 213, § 8;L. 1993, ch. 286, § 63; July 1.