SENATE BILL 76
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Carroll H. Leavell
AN ACT
RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION; PROVIDING FOR LUMP-SUM SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS FOR PAYMENTS OF COMPENSATION, MEDICAL BENEFITS OR BOTH; REQUIRING APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENTS BY WORKERS' COMPENSATION JUDGE; PROVIDING FOR A LIMIT ON ATTORNEY FEES IN SETTLEMENTS FOR FUTURE PAYMENTS OF COMPENSATION OR MEDICAL BENEFITS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 52-5-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 22, Section 38, as amended) is amended to read:
"52-5-12. PAYMENT--PERIODIC OR LUMP SUM--SETTLEMENT.--
A. It is stated policy for the administration of the Workers' Compensation Act and the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law that it is in the best interest of the injured worker or disabled employee that [he] the worker or employee receive benefit payments on a periodic basis. Except as provided in [Subsections B, C and D of] this section, lump-sum payments in exchange for the release of the employer from liability for future payments of compensation or medical benefits shall not be allowed.
B. With the approval of the workers' compensation judge, a worker may elect to receive compensation benefits to which [he] the worker is entitled in a lump sum if [he] the worker has returned to work for at least six months, earning at least eighty percent of the average weekly wage [he] the worker earned at the time of injury or disablement. If a worker receives [his] the benefit income in a lump sum, [he] the worker is not entitled to any additional benefit income for the compensable injury or disablement and [he] the worker shall only receive that portion of the benefit income that is attributable to the impairment rating as determined in Section 52-1-24 NMSA 1978. In making lump-sum payments, the payment due the worker shall not be discounted at a rate greater than a sum equal to the present value of all future payments of compensation computed at a five-percent discount compounded annually.
C. After maximum medical improvement and with the approval of the workers' compensation judge, a worker may elect to receive a partial lump-sum payment of workers' compensation benefits for the sole purpose of paying debts that may have accumulated during the course of the injured or disabled worker's disability.
D. The worker and employer may elect to resolve a claim for injury with a lump-sum payment to the worker for past, present and future payments of compensation, medical benefits or both in exchange for a full and final release of the employer from liability for such payments. The proposed lump-sum payment agreement shall be presented to the workers' compensation judge for approval, and a hearing shall be held on the record. The workers' compensation judge shall approve the lump-sum payment agreement if the judge finds that:
(1) a written agreement describing the nature of the proposed settlement has been mutually agreed upon and executed by the worker and the employer;
(2) the worker has been fully informed and understands the terms, conditions and consequences of the proposed settlement; and
(3) the lump-sum payment agreement complies with the requirements for approval set forth in Sections 52-5-13 and 52-5-14 NMSA 1978.
E. The workers' compensation judge shall approve a lump-sum payment agreement pursuant to Subsection D of this section by order. Once the agreement has been approved and filed with the clerk of the administration, any further challenge to the settlement is barred and the matter shall notbe reopened, set aside or reconsidered nor shall any additional benefits be imposed.
F. If a worker elects to receive a lump-sum payment in exchange for releasing the employer from liability for future payments of compensation or medical benefits, the limit on attorney fees pursuant to Subsection I of Section 52-1-54 NMSA 1978 shall apply.
[D.] G. If an insurer pays a lump-sum payment to an injured or disabled worker without the approval of a workers' compensation judge and if at a later date benefits are due for the injured or disabled worker's claim, the insurer alone shall be liable for that claim and shall not in any manner, including rate determinations and the employer's experience modifier, pass on the cost of the benefits due to the employer.
[E.] H. If the compensation benefit to which a worker is entitled is less than fifty dollars ($50.00) per week, any party may petition the workers' compensation judge to consolidate that payment into quarterly installments.
[F. Periodic compensation payments under the Workers' Compensation Act or the New Mexico Occupational Disease Disablement Law for disability arising from primary mental impairments or secondary mental impairments shall be paid as incurred and shall not be included in any lump-sum payments.]"
Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2009.
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