It is the purpose of this article to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities by protecting employers from excess liability for compensation when an injury to a disabled worker merges with a preexisting permanent impairment to cause a greater disability than would have resulted from the subsequent injury alone. It shall not be construed […]
As used in this article, the term: “Merger of an injury with a preexisting permanent impairment” describes or means that: Had the preexisting permanent impairment not been present, the subsequent injury would not have occurred; The disability resulting from the subsequent injury in conjunction with the preexisting permanent impairment is materially, substantially, and cumulatively greater […]
Employers which are self-insured with regard to workers’ compensation benefits but which are not authorized by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation or other regulatory bodies as self-insured employers shall not be eligible for reimbursement from the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund. History. Code 1981, § 34-9-351.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1426, § […]
There is established a Subsequent Injury Trust Fund which shall be of a perpetual, nonlapsing nature for the sole purpose of making payments in accordance with this article. The fund shall be administered by the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund. All moneys in the fund shall be held in trust and shall not […]
The administrator and the custodian, before entering upon the performance of their duties, shall each execute and file an official surety bond of not less than $50,000.00. The bonds shall be approved as to form and sufficiency by the Attorney General. The bonds shall be payable to the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund and conditioned upon […]
There is created a Board of Trustees of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund composed of five members who shall serve for a term of six years each. One member shall be selected from each of the following fields: the insurance industry; rehabilitation professionals; management; labor; and the public at large. The Commissioner of Insurance and […]
The board of trustees shall appoint the administrator of the fund, and he or she shall serve at the pleasure of the trustees and without term of office. All officials, personnel, and employees of the Board of Trustees of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund are placed in the classified service as defined by Code Section […]
The members of the board of trustees, the administrator, and the employees of the fund shall be entitled to receive their actual necessary expenses while traveling on the business of the fund, but the expenses shall be sworn to by such person incurring the same. The expenses of members of the board of trustees shall […]
The entire cost of the administration of the fund shall be paid from the assets of the fund. The administrator shall annually submit to the board of trustees, under such rules and regulations as the board of trustees may prescribe, a budget of the costs of administration of the fund for the fiscal year. The […]
Prior to January 1, 2010, each insurer and self-insurer under this chapter shall, under regulations prescribed by the board of trustees, make payments to the fund in an amount equal to that proportion of 175 percent of the total disbursement made from the fund during the preceding calendar year less the amount of the net […]
As soon as practicable after January 1 but not later than January 31 of each calendar year, the administrator shall forward to each insurer and self-insured employer a questionnaire asking for the total amount of compensation, medical benefits, and rehabilitation benefits paid by each insurer and self-insured employer during the preceding calendar year. This report […]
If an employee who has a permanent impairment incurs a subsequent injury or disease arising out of and in the course of employment, which subsequent injury results in liability for the disability arising from merger of the subsequent injury with the preexisting permanent impairment, the employer or insurer shall in the first instance pay all […]
It shall be incumbent upon the employer to establish that the employer had reached an informed conclusion prior to the occurrence of the subsequent injury or occupational disease that the preexisting impairment is permanent and is likely to be a hindrance or obstacle to employment or reemployment. Where, however, the employer establishes knowledge of the […]
An employer or insurer shall notify the administrator of the fund of any possible claim against the fund as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 78 calendar weeks following the injury or the payment of an amount equivalent to 78 weeks of income or death benefits, whichever occurs last. The claim must […]
When any employer or insurer and the administrator reach an agreement with respect to reimbursement under this article, it shall be reduced to writing and submitted to the State Board of Workers’ Compensation for approval. The board shall consider such an agreement upon receipt thereof and, if it finds it to meet the provisions of […]
After the employer or insurer and the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund reach an agreement with respect to reimbursement and either the reimbursement agreement is approved by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation or the State Board of Workers’ Compensation otherwise orders reimbursement pursuant to Code Section 34-9-363, the employer or the insurer […]
The administrator of the fund may apportion or deny the employer or insurer reimbursement from the fund for medical expense provided by Code Section 34-9-360 where there are clear and unequivocal facts to establish that the subsequent injury to the permanently impaired employee was not caused by or in any way related to the employee’s […]
The effective date of this article is March 23, 1977, but it shall apply only to injuries occurring on or after July 1, 1977. History. Ga. L. 1977, p. 608, § 3.
The fund shall not be bound as to any question of law or fact by reason of an award or an adjudication to which it was not a party. History. Code 1933, § 114-917, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 608, § 1.
The Subsequent Injury Trust Fund shall not be liable for any interest on sums due claiming parties nor shall it be liable for attorney’s fees due attorneys of the claiming parties except where it is proven by a preponderance of evidence that the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund has failed or refused to accept a valid […]
