§23-1-19 Civil remedies.
§23-1-19. Civil remedies.
(a) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity which willfully, by means of false statement or representation, or by concealment of any material fact, or by other fraudulent scheme, device or artifice on behalf of himself, itself or others, obtains or attempts to obtain benefits, payments, allowances or reduced premium costs or other charges, including Workers' Compensation coverage under the programs of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the company, a private carrier or self-insured employer, to which he or it is not entitled, or in a greater amount than that to which he or it is entitled, shall be liable to the Workers' Compensation Commission, the company, the private carrier or self-insured employer, in an amount equal to three times the amount of such benefits, payments or allowances to which he or it is not entitled and shall be liable for the payment of reasonable attorney fees and all other fees and costs of litigation.
(b) No criminal action or indictment need be brought against any person, firm, corporation or other entity as a condition for establishing civil liability hereunder.
(c) A civil action under this section may be prosecuted and maintained on behalf of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the Insurance Commissioner, the company, a private carrier or self-insured employer by any attorney in contract with or employed by the Workers' Compensation Commission, the Insurance Commissioner, the company, a private carrier or self-insured employer to provide such representation.
(d) Venue for a civil action under this section shall be either in the county in which the defendant resides or in Kanawha County as selected by the commission or Insurance Commissioner. Upon creation of the company pursuant to article two-c of this chapter, venue for a civil action under this section for the company, private carriers and self-insured employers shall be either in the county in which the defendant resides or the county in which the injured worker was employed, as selected by the company, the private carrier or self-insured employer.
(e) The remedies and penalties provided in this section are in addition to those remedies and penalties provided elsewhere by law.