Bill Text: HI SB207 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Workers' Compensation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-22 - Referred to LCA/CPH, WAM. [SB207 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-SB207-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
207 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 386-79, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§386-79
[Medical examination by
employer's physician.] Requested
mutual examination. [(a) After an injury and during the period of
disability, the employee, whenever ordered by the director of labor and
industrial relations, shall submit to examination, at reasonable times and
places, by a duly qualified physician or surgeon designated and paid by the
employer. The employee shall have the
right to have a physician, surgeon, or chaperone designated and paid by the
employee present at the examination, which right, however, shall not be
construed to deny to the employer's physician the right to visit the injured
employee at all reasonable times and under all reasonable conditions during
total disability. The employee shall
also have the right to record such examination by a recording device designated
and paid for by the employee; provided that the examining physician or surgeon
approves of the recording.
If an employee refuses to submit
to, or the employee or the employee's designated chaperone in any way obstructs
such examination, the employee's right to claim compensation for the work
injury shall be suspended until the refusal or obstruction ceases and no
compensation shall be payable for the period during which the refusal or
obstruction continues.
(b) In cases where the employer is dissatisfied
with the progress of the case or where major and elective surgery, or either,
is contemplated, the employer may appoint a physician or surgeon of the
employer's choice who shall examine the injured employee and make a report to
the employer. If the employer remains
dissatisfied, this report may be forwarded to the director.
Employer requested examinations
under this section shall not exceed more than one per case unless good and valid
reasons exist with regard to the medical progress of the employee's
treatment. The cost of conducting the
ordered medical examination shall be limited to the complex consultation
charges governed by the medical fee schedule established pursuant to section
386-21(c).]
(a) Following an injury and after a claim is
filed by the injured employee, the employer may appoint a qualified physician
mutually agreed upon by the parties and paid for by the employer, to conduct an
independent medical examination or a permanent impairment rating examination of
the injured employee and make a report to the employer.
(b) The cover letter to the physician selected to
perform an examination under this section shall notify the physician that the
physician has been mutually selected by the parties to conduct an independent
examination. The cover letter shall be
transmitted to the injured employee at least five working days prior to the
appointment. Upon the issuance of the
report of the independent medical examination or permanent impairment rating
examination, the employee or employee's representative shall be promptly
provided with a copy thereof.
(c) A physician selected pursuant to this section
to perform an independent medical examination or a permanent impairment rating
examination shall be willing to undertake the examination and be paid by the
employer. The selected physician shall
be currently licensed to practice in Hawaii pursuant to chapter 442, 448, 453,
455, 457, 459, 463E, or 465; except that upon approval by the director, a
physician in a specialty area who resides outside of the State and is licensed
in another state as a physician with requirements equivalent to a physician's
license under chapter 442, 448, 453, 455, 457, 459, 463E, or 465, may be selected
if no physician licensed by the State in that specialty area is available to
conduct the examination.
If the
employee does not reside in Hawaii, a physician who is licensed in and who
resides in the state of the employee's residence may be selected if that
state's physician licensing requirements are equivalent to a physician's license
under chapter 442, 448, 453, 455, 457, 459, 463E, or 465.
If the
parties are unable to mutually agree on the selection of a physician to
conduct the independent medical examination or permanent impairment
rating examination, then the director shall appoint a duly qualified impartial
physician to examine the injured employee and to prepare a report to the
employer. The fees for such examination
shall be paid from the funds appropriated by the legislature for use by the
department.
Any
physician mutually selected or otherwise appointed to perform an independent
medical examination or permanent impairment rating examination pursuant to this
section shall examine the employee within forty-five days of receiving notice
of the selection or appointment, or otherwise, as soon as possible.
(d) In no event shall an independent medical
examination and a permanent impairment rating examination be combined into a
single medical examination unless the employee consents in writing to the
single examination by the selected physician.
In no
event shall the director, appellate board, or a court, order more than one
requested independent medical examination and one permanent impairment rating
examination per case, unless valid reason exists with regard to the medical
progress of the employee's medical treatment or when major surgery or elective
surgery is contemplated. In the event of
multiple examinations, the process of mutually selecting or otherwise
appointing a physician set forth in this section shall apply.
(e) The employee shall have the right to have a
physician, surgeon, or chaperone designated and paid by the employee present at
the examination, which right, however, shall not be construed to deny to the
selected physician the right to visit the injured employee at all reasonable
times and under all reasonable conditions during total disability. The employee shall also have the right to
record such examination by a recording device designated and paid for by the
employee. If an employee refuses to
submit to, or the employee or the employee's designated chaperone in any way
obstructs such examination, the employee's right to claim compensation for the
work injury shall be suspended until the refusal or obstruction ceases and no
compensation shall be payable for the period during which the refusal or
obstruction continues.
The
cost of conducting the ordered independent medical examination or permanent
impairment rating examination shall be limited to the complex consultation
charges governed by the medical fee schedule established pursuant to section
386-21(c).
(f) When an employee has attained medical
stability as determined by the employee's attending physician, a physician may
be appointed to conduct a permanent impairment rating examination. The physician shall be mutually selected by
the parties or otherwise appointed pursuant to this section.
For the
purposes of this subsection, "medical stability" means that no further
improvement in the injured employee's work-related condition can reasonably be
expected from curative health care or the passage of time. Medical stability is also deemed to have
occurred when the injured employee refuses to undergo further diagnostic tests
or treatment that the physician believes will greatly aid in the employee's
recovery."
SECTION 2. Act 172, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, is amended by amending section 4 to read as follows:
"SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval[;
provided that on June 30, 2019, this Act shall be repealed and section 386-79,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the
day before the effective date of this Act]."
SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on June 29, 2019.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Workers' Compensation; Medical Examination
Description:
Amends requirements for medical examinations in workers' compensation claims by requiring that the examining physician be mutually selected by the employer and employee or appointed by the Director of Labor. Provides for document distribution, cost allocation, and physician qualifications.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
