SB0012sam001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Christine Radogno

Filed: 1/24/2017

10000SB0012sam001 LRB100 06318 KTG 18422 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 12

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 12 on page 10, line 23, by deleting "1,"; and

on page 10, line 23, by deleting "8.7,"; and

on page 10, line 24, by deleting "and by adding Section 14.3"; and

by deleting all of pages 11 through 18; and

on page 19, by deleting lines 1 through 15; and

on page 29, line 20, by changing $755.22 to $775.18; and

on page 45, by replacing lines 16 and 17 with the following: "fingers, leg, foot, or any toes, or loss under Section 8(d)2 due to accidental injuries to the same part of the spine, such loss or partial loss of any such member or loss under Section 8(d)2 due to accidental injuries to the same part of the spine shall be deducted from any award made"; and

on page 45, line 20, by replacing "eye" with "eye or loss under Section 8(d)2 due to accidental injuries to the same part of the spine"; and

on page 45, line 22, by inserting immediately following the period the following: "For purposes of this subdivision (e)17 only, "same part of the spine" means: (1) cervical spine and thoracic spine from vertebra C1 through T12 and (2) lumbar and sacral spine and coccyx from vertebra L1 through S5."; and

on page 46, by replacing lines 6 through 21 with the following: "members, and in a subsequent independent accident loses another or suffers the permanent and complete loss of the use of any one of such members the employer for whom the injured employee is working at the time of the last independent accident is liable to pay compensation only for the loss or permanent and complete loss of the use of the member occasioned by the last independent accident."; and

on page 58, line 5, after "exists", by inserting "and is admitted into evidence"; and

on page 65, lines 3 and 20, by replacing "7110.90" each time it appears with "9110.90"; and

by deleting lines 22 through 25 of page 73, all of pages 74 through 80, and lines 1 through 12 of page 81; and

on page 86, by deleting lines 18 through 25; and

by deleting all of pages 87 and 88; and

on page 89, by deleting lines 1 through 7; and

by replacing lines 20 through 26 of page 92 and lines 1 through 23 of page 93 with the following:

"Whether the employee is working or not, if the employee is not receiving or has not received medical, surgical, or hospital services or other services or compensation as provided in paragraph (a) of Section 8, or compensation as provided in paragraph (b) of Section 8, or if the employer has refused or failed to respond to a written request for authorization of medical care and treatment, the employee may at any time petition for an expedited hearing by an Arbitrator on the issue of whether or not he or she is entitled to receive payment of the services or compensation or authorization of medical care. Provided the employer continues to pay compensation pursuant to paragraph (b) of Section 8, the employer may at any time petition for an expedited hearing on the issue of whether or not the employee is entitled to receive medical, surgical, or hospital services or other services or compensation as provided in paragraph (a) of Section 8, whether or not the employee is entitled to authorization of medical care and treatment, or compensation as provided in paragraph (b) of Section 8. When an employer has petitioned for an expedited hearing, the employer shall continue to pay compensation as provided in paragraph (b) of Section 8 unless the arbitrator renders a decision that the employee is not entitled to the benefits that are the subject of the expedited hearing or unless the employee's treating physician has released the employee to return to work at his or her regular job with the employer or the employee actually returns to work at any other job. If the arbitrator renders a decision that the employee is not entitled to the benefits or medical care that is are the subject of the expedited hearing, a petition for review filed by the employee shall receive the same priority as if the employee had filed a petition for an expedited hearing by an Arbitrator. Neither party shall be entitled to an expedited hearing when the employee has returned to work and the sole issue in dispute amounts to less than 12 weeks of unpaid compensation pursuant to paragraph (b) of Section 8."; and

on page 113, by replacing lines 7 through 18 with the following:

"(k) In case where there has been any unreasonable or vexatious delay of payment or intentional underpayment of compensation, or proceedings have been instituted or carried on by the one liable to pay the compensation, which do not present a real controversy, but are merely frivolous or for delay, then the Commission may award compensation additional to that otherwise payable under this Act equal to 50% of the amount payable at the time of such award. Failure to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of Section 8, paragraph (b) of this Act, shall be considered unreasonable delay."; and

on page 131, by deleting lines 23 and 24; and

on page 131, line 25, by changing "(6)" to "(5)"; and

on page 132, line 2, by changing "(7)" to "(6)"; and

on page 132, line 12, by changing "(8)" to "(7)".