S.B. 258
- *SB258*
SENATE BILL NO. 258–SENATORS NGUYEN, CANNIZZARO, STONE,
TITUS, BUCK; CRUZ-CRAWFORD, DALY, DOÑATE,
DONDERO LOOP, ELLISON, KRASNER, LANGE,
OHRENSCHALL, PAZINA, ROGICH, SCHEIBLE, STEINBECK
AND TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
____________
JOINT SPONSORS: ASSEMBLYMEMBERS NGUYEN, YUREK, HAFEN,
MARZOLA, TORRES-FOSSETT; ANDERSON, CARTER, COLE,
DALIA, EDGEWORTH, GONZÁLEZ, GRAY, GURR, HARDY,
JACKSON, JAUREGUI, KARRIS, KASAMA, KOENIG,
MONROE-MORENO, MOORE, O’NEILL, ORENTLICHER,
ROTH, WATTS AND YEAGER
____________
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to industrial insurance.
(BDR 53-594)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to industrial insurance; revising provisions
governing certain civil actions involving injured
employees; and providing other matters properly relating
thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law provides for the payment of compensation under industrial 1
insurance if, during the course of employment, an employee is injured or killed by a 2
workplace accident or occupational disease. (Chapters 616A-617 of NRS) Existing 3
law defines the term “compensation” to mean the money which is payable to an 4
employee or to the dependents of the employee as provided in existing law 5
governing industrial insurance, including benefits for funerals, accident benefits or 6
medical benefits and money for rehabilitative services. (NRS 616A.090, 617.050) 7
If the injury of an injured employee was caused under circumstances entitling 8
the employee to recover another payment from the employer for the injury in the 9
form of a gift, settlement or otherwise, existing law requires the amount of 10
compensation to which the injured employee or the dependents of the employee are 11
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entitled, including any future compensation, to be reduced by the additional amount 12
paid by the employer. Existing law provides that the industrial insurer or 13
Administrator of the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business 14
and Industry has a lien against the total amount paid by the employer. 15
(NRS 616C.215) 16
If the injury of an injured employee was caused under circumstances creating 17
legal liability in a person other than the employer or a person in the same employ, 18
or entitling the employee or the dependents of the employee to receive proceeds 19
under his or her employer’s policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage, 20
existing law authorizes an injured employee or the dependents of the employee, 21
under certain circumstances, to take proceedings to recover damages from that third 22
party or to recover those proceeds under the policy. Existing law also authorizes the 23
industrial insurer or Administrator, under certain circumstances, to recover 24
damages from that third party or recover proceeds under the policy. Additionally, 25
under existing law, the industrial insurer or Administrator has a lien against the 26
total proceeds of any recovery by the injured employee or the dependents of the 27
employee. Existing law requires the amount of compensation to which the injured 28
employee or the dependents of the employee are entitled, including any future 29
compensation, to be reduced by the amount of damages or proceeds recovered. 30
(NRS 616C.215) 31
This bill limits the reduction of compensation, including future compensation, 32
to a reduction based on the portion of any amount paid or the portion of damages or 33
proceeds recovered which represents economic damages. This bill also provides 34
that the industrial insurer or Administrator only has a lien upon the portion of any 35
amount paid or the portion of any judgment, settlement or otherwise which 36
represents economic damages, instead of the total amount paid or the total proceeds 37
of any recovery. This bill defines the term “economic damages,” in accordance 38
with provisions of existing law, to mean damages for medical treatment, care or 39
custody, loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity. (NRS 41A.007) 40
This bill provides that the injured employee or the dependents of the employee 41
are entitled to be made whole for the injury, and a lien amount is recoverable only 42
if the injured employee or the dependents of the employee have been made whole. 43
This bill: (1) requires adjustment of the lien amount to reflect a proportional share 44
of any expenses incurred by the injured employee or the dependents of the 45
employee in procuring the payment or recovery; (2) limits the lien amount to the 46
compensation received by the injured employee or dependents of the employee; and 47
(3) excludes from the lien the amount of any benefit penalty or certain other 48
administrative fines. 49
Existing law requires an injured employee or the dependents of the employee, 50
or the attorney or representative of the injured employee or the dependents, to 51
notify the industrial insurer or the Administrator in writing before initiating certain 52
proceedings or actions. (NRS 616C.215) This bill removes that requirement. 53
Existing law generally provides that an action to recover damages for an injury or 54
death of a person must be commenced within 2 years. (NRS 11.190) This bill 55
prohibits an industrial insurer or the Administrator from initiating certain 56
proceedings or actions against a person other than the employer or a person in the 57
same employ unless the injured employee or the dependents of the employee has 58
not initiated a proceeding or action within 1 year of the date on which the injury 59
occurred. If the industrial insurer or Administrator initiates such a proceeding or 60
action, this bill: (1) requires the industrial insurer or the Administrator to 61
immediately notify the injured employee or the dependents of the employee, or an 62
attorney or representative of the injured employee or the dependents, of the 63
proceeding or action in writing; and (2) entitles the injured employee or the 64
dependents of the employee to intervene in the proceeding or action. 65
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In any trial of certain actions against a person other than the employer or a 66
person in the same employ, existing law requires that the jury must receive: (1) 67
proof of the amount of all payments made or to be made by the insurer or 68
Administrator; and (2) certain instructions from the court. (NRS 616C.215) This 69
bill removes those requirements and instead prohibits the jury from receiving proof 70
of any such payments. This bill provides that evidence of the amount of 71
compensation, accident benefits and other expenditures which the insurer or certain 72
accounts under control of the Administrator have paid or become obligated to pay 73
is not admissible at trial. 74
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 616C.215 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
616C.215 1. If an injured employee or, in the event of his or 3
her death, the dependents of the employee, bring an action in tort 4
against his or her employer to recover payment for an injury which 5
is compensable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 6
616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS and, notwithstanding the 7
provisions of NRS 616A.020, receive payment from the employer 8
for that injury: 9
(a) The amount of compensation the injured employee or the 10
dependents of the employee are entitled to receive pursuant to the 11
provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of 12
NRS, including any future compensation, must be reduced by the 13
portion of any amount paid by the employer [.] which represents 14
economic damages. 15
(b) The insurer, or in the case of claims involving the Uninsured 16
Employers’ Claim Account or a subsequent injury account the 17
Administrator, has a lien upon the [total] portion of any amount 18
paid by the employer which represents economic damages if the 19
injured employee or the dependents of the employee receive 20
compensation pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, 21
inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS. 22
This subsection is applicable whether the money paid to the 23
employee or the dependents of the employee by the employer is 24
classified as a gift, a settlement or otherwise. The provisions of this 25
subsection do not grant to an injured employee any right of action in 26
tort to recover damages from the employer for the injury. 27
2. When an employee receives an injury for which 28
compensation is payable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 29
616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS and which was 30
caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person, 31
other than the employer or a person in the same employ, to pay 32
damages in respect thereof: 33
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(a) The injured employee, or in case of death the dependents of 1
the employee, may take proceedings against that person to recover 2
damages, but the amount of the compensation the injured employee 3
or the dependents of the employee are entitled to receive pursuant to 4
the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 5
of NRS, including any future compensation, must be reduced by the 6
[amount] portion of the damages recovered [,] which represents 7
economic damages, notwithstanding any act or omission of the 8
employer or a person in the same employ which was a direct or 9
proximate cause of the employee’s injury. 10
(b) If the injured employee, or in case of death the dependents of 11
the employee, receive compensation pursuant to the provisions of 12
chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS, the 13
insurer, or in case of claims involving the Uninsured Employers’ 14
Claim Account or a subsequent injury account the Administrator, 15
has a right of action against the person so liable to pay economic 16
damages and is subrogated to the rights of the injured employee or 17
of the employee’s dependents to recover [therefor.] such economic 18
damages. 19
(c) The injured employee, or in the case of death the 20
dependents of the employee, must initiate any proceeding or action 21
within the applicable statute of limitations. The insurer, or in the 22
case of claims involving the Uninsured Employers’ Claim Account 23
or a subsequent injury account, the Administrator, may not 24
initiate a proceeding or action pursuant to this subsection unless 25
the injured employee, or in the case of death the dependents of the 26
employee, has not initiated a proceeding or action pursuant to this 27
subsection within 1 year after the date on which the injury 28
occurred. If the insurer or Administrator, as applicable, initiates a 29
proceeding or action pursuant to this subsection, the insurer or 30
Administrator shall immediately notify the injured employee or the 31
dependents of the employee, or the attorney or representative of 32
the injured employee or the dependents of the employee, of such a 33
proceeding or action in writing. The injured employee or the 34
dependents of the employee are entitled to intervene in the 35
proceeding or action. 36
3. When an injured employee incurs an injury for which 37
compensation is payable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 38
616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS and which was 39
caused under circumstances entitling the employee, or in the case of 40
death the dependents of the employee, to receive proceeds under his 41
or her employer’s policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle 42
coverage: 43
(a) The injured employee, or in the case of death the dependents 44
of the employee, may take proceedings to recover those proceeds, 45
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but the amount of compensation the injured employee or the 1
dependents of the employee are entitled to receive pursuant to the 2
provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of 3
NRS, including any future compensation, must be reduced by the 4
[amount] portion of proceeds received [.] which represents 5
economic damages. 6
(b) If an injured employee, or in the case of death the 7
dependents of the employee, receive compensation pursuant to the 8
provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of 9
NRS, the insurer, or in the case of claims involving the Uninsured 10
Employers’ Claim Account or a subsequent injury account the 11
Administrator, is subrogated to the rights of the injured employee or 12
the dependents of the employee to recover the portion of proceeds 13
which represents economic damages under the employer’s policy 14
of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage. The insurer and the 15
Administrator are not subrogated to the rights of an injured 16
employee or the dependents of the employee under a policy of 17
uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage purchased by the 18
employee. 19
(c) Any provision in the employer’s policy of uninsured or 20
underinsured vehicle coverage which has the effect of: 21
(1) Limiting the rights of the injured employee or the 22
dependents of the employee to recover proceeds under the policy 23
because of the receipt of any compensation pursuant to the 24
provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of 25
NRS; 26
(2) Limiting the rights of subrogation of the insurer or 27
Administrator provided by paragraph (b); or 28
(3) Excluding coverage which inures to the direct or indirect 29
benefit of the insurer or Administrator, 30
is void. 31
4. In any action or proceedings taken by the insurer or the 32
Administrator pursuant to this section [, evidence] : 33
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10, evidence of 34
the amount of compensation, accident benefits and other 35
expenditures which the insurer, the Uninsured Employers’ Claim 36
Account or a subsequent injury account have paid or become 37
obligated to pay by reason of the injury or death of the employee is 38
admissible. 39
(b) If in such action or proceedings the insurer or the 40
Administrator recovers more than [those] the amounts [,] described 41
in paragraph (a), the excess must be paid to the injured employee 42
or the dependents of the employee. 43
5. In any case where the insurer or the Administrator is 44
subrogated to the rights of the injured employee or of the 45
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employee’s dependents as provided in subsection 2 or 3, the insurer 1
or the Administrator has a lien upon the [total proceeds] portion of 2
any recovery from some person other than the employer [,] which 3
represents economic damages, whether the proceeds of such 4
recovery are by way of judgment, settlement or otherwise. The 5
injured employee, or in the case of his or her death the dependents 6
of the employee, are [not] entitled to [double recovery] be made 7
whole for the [same injury, notwithstanding any act or omission of 8
the employer or a person in the same employ which was a direct or 9
proximate cause of the employee’s] injury. 10
6. The lien provided for pursuant to subsection 1 or 5 11
[includes] : 12
(a) Includes only the total compensation expenditure incurred 13
by the insurer, the Uninsured Employers’ Claim Account or a 14
subsequent injury account for the injured employee and the 15
dependents of the employee [.] ; 16
(b) Is recoverable only if the injured employee, or in the case 17
of his or her death the dependents of the employee, has been made 18
whole for the injury; and 19
(c) Must be adjusted to reflect a pro rata share of any expenses 20
incurred by the injured employee or the dependents of the 21
employee in procuring the recovery. 22
7. An injured employee, or in the case of death the dependents 23
of the employee, or the attorney or representative of the injured 24
employee or the dependents of the employee, [shall] may notify the 25
insurer, or in the case of claims involving the Uninsured Employers’ 26
Claim Account or a subsequent injury account the Administrator, in 27
writing before initiating a proceeding or action pursuant to this 28
section. 29
8. Within 15 days after the date of recovery by way of actual 30
receipt of the proceeds of the judgment, settlement or otherwise: 31
(a) The injured employee or the dependents of the employee, or 32
the attorney or representative of the injured employee or the 33
dependents of the employee; and 34
(b) The third-party insurer, 35
shall notify the insurer, or in the case of claims involving the 36
Uninsured Employers’ Claim Account or a subsequent injury 37
account the Administrator, of the recovery and pay to the insurer or 38
the Administrator, respectively, the amount due pursuant to this 39
section together with an itemized statement showing the distribution 40
of the total recovery. The attorney or representative of the injured 41
employee or the dependents of the employee and the third-party 42
insurer are jointly and severally liable for any amount to which an 43
insurer is entitled pursuant to this section if the attorney, 44
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representative or third-party insurer has knowledge of the lien 1
provided for in this section. 2
9. An insurer shall not sell its lien to a third-party insurer 3
unless the injured employee or the dependents of the employee, or 4
the attorney or representative of the injured employee or the 5
dependents of the employee, refuses to provide to the insurer 6
information concerning the action against the third party. 7
10. In any trial of an action [by the injured employee, or in the 8
case of his or her death by the dependents of the employee,] 9
pursuant to subsection 2 against a person other than the employer 10
or a person in the same employ, evidence of the amount of 11
compensation, accident benefits and other expenditures which the 12
insurer, the Uninsured Employers’ Claim Account or a 13
subsequent injury account have paid or become obligated to pay is 14
not admissible and the jury must not receive proof of [the amount 15
of all] any payments made or to be made by the employer, insurer or 16
the Administrator. [The court shall instruct the jury substantially as 17
follows: 18
19
Payment of workmen’s compensation benefits by the 20
insurer, or in the case of claims involving the Uninsured 21
Employers’ Claim Account or a subsequent injury account 22
the Administrator, is based upon the fact that a compensable 23
industrial accident occurred, and does not depend upon blame 24
or fault. If the plaintiff does not obtain a judgment in his or 25
her favor in this case, the plaintiff is not required to repay his 26
or her employer, the insurer or the Administrator any amount 27
paid to the plaintiff or paid on the behalf of the plaintiff by 28
the plaintiff’s employer, the insurer or the Administrator. 29
If you decide that the plaintiff is entitled to judgment 30
against the defendant, you shall find damages for the plaintiff 31
in accordance with the court’s instructions on damages and 32
return your verdict in the plaintiff’s favor in the amount so 33
found without deducting the amount of any compensation 34
benefits paid to or for the plaintiff. The law provides a means 35
by which any compensation benefits will be repaid from your 36
award.] 37
38
11. To calculate an employer’s premium, the employer’s 39
account with the private carrier must be credited with an amount 40
equal to that recovered by the private carrier from a third party 41
pursuant to this section, less the private carrier’s share of the 42
expenses of litigation incurred in obtaining the recovery, except that 43
the total credit must not exceed the amount of compensation 44
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actually paid or reserved by the private carrier on the injured 1
employee’s claim. 2
12. As used in this section [, “third-party] : 3
(a) “Economic damages” has the meaning ascribed to it in 4
NRS 41A.007. 5
(b) “Third-party insurer” means an insurer that issued to a third 6
party who is liable for damages pursuant to subsection 2, a policy of 7
liability insurance the proceeds of which are recoverable pursuant to 8
this section. The term includes an insurer that issued to an employer 9
a policy of uninsured or underinsured vehicle coverage. 10
(c) “Total compensation expenditure” means compensation 11
received by an employee or the dependents of the employee. The 12
term does not include a benefit penalty or other administrative fine 13
imposed pursuant to NRS 616D.120. 14
Sec. 2. 1. The amendatory provisions of this act apply to 15
any: 16
(a) Action or proceeding initiated pursuant to or which is subject 17
to the provisions of NRS 616C.215, as that section existed before 18
the effective date of this act, or as amended by section 1 of this act, 19
in which a final judgment, settlement or other disposition has not 20
been entered by the effective date of this act. 21
(b) Claim for compensation pursuant to chapters 616A to 616D, 22
inclusive, or 617 of NRS, which is open on or filed on or after the 23
effective date of this act. 24
2. As used in this section, “compensation” has the meaning 25
ascribed to it in NRS 616A.090 or 617.050, as applicable. 26
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 27
H