Text: HSB00553                          Text: HSB00555
Text: HSB00500 - HSB00599               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index



House Study Bill 554

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 85.3, subsection 1, Code 2003, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    1.  Every employer, not specifically excepted by the
  1  4 provisions of this chapter, shall provide, secure, and pay
  1  5 compensation according to the provisions of this chapter for
  1  6 any and all personal injuries sustained by an employee arising
  1  7 out of and in the course of the employment, and in such cases,
  1  8 the employer shall be relieved from other liability for
  1  9 recovery of damages or other compensation for such personal
  1 10 injury.  For the purposes of this chapter, a personal injury
  1 11 sustained by an employee shall be characterized as either a
  1 12 traumatic injury or a cumulative injury.
  1 13    a.  A traumatic injury is an injury to the body that comes
  1 14 about not through the natural building up and tearing down of
  1 15 the human body, but because of a traumatic or other hurt or
  1 16 damage to the health or body of an employee.
  1 17    b.  A cumulative injury is an injury to the body that is
  1 18 gradual and progressive in nature and does not necessarily
  1 19 result from a sudden and unexpected traumatic event.
  1 20    2.  A traumatic injury does not arise out of and in the
  1 21 course of employment for the purposes of this chapter unless
  1 22 the traumatic injury is a natural incident of an employment
  1 23 activity of the employee or a reasonable consequence of a
  1 24 hazard associated with an employment activity of the employee.
  1 25    3.  A cumulative injury does not arise out of and in the
  1 26 course of employment for the purposes of this chapter unless
  1 27 all of the following are shown:
  1 28    a.  The cumulative injury is caused by an employment
  1 29 activity that is the single most substantial factor
  1 30 contributing to the cumulative injury, or is a significant
  1 31 aggravation of a preexisting condition, that is caused by an
  1 32 employment activity.
  1 33    b.  The cumulative injury, at the time of its occurrence,
  1 34 would not be expected to occur as the result of the normal
  1 35 aging process absent an employment activity of the employee.
  2  1    c.  The employment activity that is alleged to be the
  2  2 single most substantial factor contributing to the cumulative
  2  3 injury is not an activity commonly engaged in by the employee
  2  4 or by an average person in the normal nonemployment life of
  2  5 the employee or average person.  
  2  6                           EXPLANATION
  2  7    This bill amends Code section 85.3, subsection 1, to
  2  8 provide that for the purposes of Code chapter 85, a personal
  2  9 injury sustained by an employee shall be characterized as
  2 10 either a traumatic injury or a cumulative injury.  A traumatic
  2 11 injury is defined to mean an injury to the body that comes
  2 12 about not through the natural building up and tearing down of
  2 13 the human body, but because of a traumatic or other hurt or
  2 14 damage to the health or body of an employee.  A cumulative
  2 15 injury is defined to mean an injury to the body that is
  2 16 gradual and progressive in nature and does not necessarily
  2 17 result from a sudden and unexpected traumatic event.
  2 18    The bill provides that a traumatic injury does not arise
  2 19 out of and in the course of employment for workers'
  2 20 compensation purposes unless the traumatic injury is a natural
  2 21 incident of an employment activity of the employee, or a
  2 22 reasonable consequence of a hazard associated with an
  2 23 employment activity of the employee.
  2 24    The bill also provides that a cumulative injury does not
  2 25 arise out of and in the course of employment unless the
  2 26 cumulative injury is caused by an employment activity that is
  2 27 the single most substantial factor contributing to the
  2 28 cumulative injury, or is a significant aggravation of a
  2 29 preexisting condition, that is caused by an employment
  2 30 activity; the cumulative injury, at the time of its
  2 31 occurrence, would not be expected to occur as the result of
  2 32 the normal aging process absent an employment activity of the
  2 33 employee; and the employment activity that is alleged to be
  2 34 the single most substantial factor contributing to the
  2 35 cumulative injury is not an activity commonly engaged in by
  3  1 the employee or by an average person in the normal
  3  2 nonemployment life of the employee or average person.  
  3  3 LSB 5349YC 80
  3  4 av/cf/24
     

Text: HSB00553                          Text: HSB00555
Text: HSB00500 - HSB00599               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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