Legislature OKs workers’ comp changes

PROVIDENCE – State lawmakers have approved legislation making several changes to the workers’ compensation law, including an increase in the award to injured workers after suffering a “loss of use.”
The measure, which now goes to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, would increase the award from half of the average weekly wage with a maximum of $90 and a minimum of $45 per week to half the average weekly wage with a maximum of $180 and a minimum of $90 per week.
It’s the first such increase in nearly 30 years, the General Assembly said.
The bill also adopts the most recent edition of the American Medical Association’s Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment in determining “loss of use.”
It also changes the scheduling and reporting requirements of the Medical Advisory Board, intended to save time for the physicians, the board and the insurers. At the same time, the measure clarifies that treating physicians must furnish employees or their attorneys a medical report on “loss of use” within 10 days of a request.
The legislation was the result of several hours of negotiations and discussions among worker’s comp insurer Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., state officials, injured workers and defense attorneys, and leaders of both the House and Senate committees on labor.
The bills – H8114a and S2083a – were sponsored by Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, D-Providence, and Sen. Paul W. Fogarty, D-Glocester.
The legislation, recommended by the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, would change medical review procedures for claimants receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
Occupational hearing loss, a traditionally controversial element for the American Medical Association because of its relation to age-related hearing loss, will now have a benefit award equating that of traumatic hearing loss, lawmakers said.
The measure also preserves the confidentiality of employment, the employer and insurance information, except for information necessary to determine compliance with the Workers’ Compensation insurance laws.
Under terms of the legislation, lawmakers will be required to fund the Uninsured Employer Fund for another year, which will delay implementation for a year.