§ 28-35-12 - Petition for determination of controversy – Contents and filing.
SECTION 28-35-12
§ 28-35-12 Petition for determination ofcontroversy – Contents and filing. – (a) In all disputes between an employer and employee in regard to compensationor any other obligation established under chapters 29 – 38 of this title,and when death has resulted from the injury and the dependents of the deceasedemployee entitled to compensation are, or its apportionment among them is, indispute, any person in interest or his or her duly authorized representativemay file with the administrator of the workers' compensation court a petitionand as many copies of it as there are respondent parties to the dispute uponforms prescribed and furnished by the court, setting forth the names andresidences of the parties, the facts relating to employment at the time ofinjury, the cause, extent, and character of the injury, the amount of wages,earnings, or salary received at the time of the injury, and the knowledge ofthe employer of notice of the occurrence of the injury, and any other factsthat may be necessary and proper for the information of the court, and shallstate the matter in dispute and the claims of the petitioner with reference toit; provided, that no petition shall be filed within twenty-one (21) days ofthe date of the injury and no petition regarding any other obligationestablished under chapters 29 – 38 of this title shall be filed untiltwenty-one (21) days after written demand for payment upon the employer orinsurer or written notice to the employer or insurer of failure to fulfill theobligation, except that any petition alleging the non-payment or late paymentof weekly compensation benefits, attorneys' fees, and costs, may be filed afterfourteen (14) days from the date the payment is due as set forth in§§ 28-35-42, 28-35-43, and 28-35-20(c). Medical bills for servicesordered paid by decree or pretrial order shall be paid within fourteen (14)days of the entry of the decree or order. In the event that the bills are notpaid within the fourteen (14) day period, a petition may be filed to enforcesaid order or decree without any additional written notice to the employer orinsurer.
(b) If one or more claims are filed for an injury and thereare two (2) or more insurers, any one of which may be held to be liable to paycompensation, and the judge determines that the injured employee would beentitled to receive compensation but for the existence of a controversy as towhich one of the insurers is liable to pay compensation, one of the insurersshall be selected by a judge of the workers' compensation court, to pay to theinjured employee the compensation, pending a final decision of the workers'compensation court as to the matter in controversy, and that decision shallrequire that the amount of compensation paid shall be deducted from the awardif made against another insurer and shall be paid by that other insurer to theinsurer selected by the judge.
(2) The workers' compensation court shall award compensation,costs, and attorneys' fees in its discretion if one of the insurers is held tobe liable following the hearing.
(c) If any determination of the workers' compensation courtentitles an employee to retroactive payment of weekly benefits, the court shallaward to the employee interest at the rate per annum provided in § 9-21-10on that retroactive weekly payment from six (6) months subsequent to the datethat the employee first filed a petition for benefits to the time when thatretroactive payment is actually made. If the proceedings are unduly delayed byor at the request of the employee or his or her attorney, the judge may reduceor eliminate interest on retroactive payment; provided, that the provisions ofthis section as they relate to interest shall apply only to petitions filed onor after July 1, 1984.
(d) Any fine, penalty, or interest expense incurred by aninsurer under this section may not be used as an expense for the purpose ofseeking a rate increase before the department of business regulation.