Section 281-A:46 Payment Pending Determination of Coverage; Establishing Liability for Benefits.
I. If an employee's right to compensation, other benefits, or both, under this chapter is not in dispute either as to eligibility or amount, but a dispute arises between successive employers or between successive insurance carriers for the same employer regarding liability for benefits, the commissioner, following notice to all interested parties and hearing, shall enter an order setting forth the liability of an employer or insurance carrier for the payment of compensation, other benefits, or both, in the first instance. The employer or insurance carrier ruled liable shall immediately start payment pending final determination. The commissioner may make such orders for the deposit of security as may be necessary. When the issue of liability is finally determined, either the commissioner or the court in which the issue is finally resolved shall enter an order making such financial adjustment as may be appropriate in order to effectuate the decision.
II. Except as provided in RSA 281-A:54, if compensation is payable for an occupational disease, the employer in whose employment the employee was last injuriously exposed to the hazards of such disease, and any insurance carrier on the risk at the time such employee was last so exposed, shall alone be liable for that compensation without a right to contribution from any prior employer or insurance carrier.
III. Except as provided in RSA 281-A:54, if compensation is payable for an injury, other than an occupational disease, which aggravates a preexisting physical condition, the employer in whose employment the employee sustained the most recent injurious incident and any insurance carrier on the risk when such injurious incident occurred, shall alone be liable for any benefit allowable under this chapter without a right to contribution from any prior employer or insurance carrier.
Source. 1988, 194:2, eff. July 1, 1989.