SB330 Alabama 2015 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Del Marsh

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2015

Title

Workers' Compensation Law, revision of defintions, Department of Labor approves reimbursements, out of state inquiries, settlements, evidence, advanced payments, maximum comp. limits, burial expenses, physician panels, delete certain verification requirements, stipulations for trials, judge's order within 90 days, mutally agreed contracts, Secs. 25-5-1, 25-5-3, 25-5-11.1, 25-5-35, 25-5-56, 25-5-57, 25-5-67, 25-5-68, 25-5-77, 25-5-80, 25-5-81, 25-5-88, 25-5-90, 25-5-110, 25-5-117, 25-5-197, 25-5-293, 25-5-310, 25-5-311, 25-5-312, 25-5-313, 25-5-314, 25-5-316 am'd.

Summary

SB330 would overhaul Alabama's workers' compensation law by updating definitions, cost controls, and procedures, while reorganizing medical oversight and cross-state injury rules.

What This Bill Does

It updates key definitions, requires the Director of the Department of Labor to approve standardized claim reimbursement forms, and streamlines handling of injuries occurring outside Alabama. It changes settlement rules, allows advanced payments, and sets new limits for permanent total disability and burial expenses. It reorganizes the Workers' Compensation Medical Services Board, adds a pain-management framework, adjusts attorney-fee rules, and allows mutual contracts for medical services between employers and providers, while also tightening court timelines and removing certain department references.

Who It Affects

• Employees and their dependents who pursue workers' compensation benefits, settlements, medical care, or disability determinations (including those involved in cross-state injury cases and pain-management treatments).
• Employers, insurers, self-insured employers, medical providers, hospitals, attorneys, and the Workers' Compensation Medical Services Board (who would face new cost controls, reimbursement rules, panel requirements, and oversight responsibilities).

Key Provisions

• Definitions revised throughout the workers' compensation law (e.g., terms like compensation, employee, injury, and wages).
• Director of the Department of Labor to approve standardized claim reimbursement forms; board to approve forms; support for electronic reporting.
• Injuries occurring out-of-state streamlined; cross-state benefits and credits to be coordinated with existing sections.
• Settlement provisions clarified for claims with attorney representation; includes procedures for approvals, hearings, and potential vacatur for fraud or coercion; advance payments treated as advance payments, not admissions of liability.
• Burial expenses increased (up to a maximum of $6,500).
• Maximum compensation amounts revised; schedules for maximum fees and reimbursements reorganized; prevailing rates and hospital/physician fees set by the board with adjustments over time.
• Workers' Compensation Medical Services Board restructuring and expansion in membership; defined duties to supervise medical services and determine medical necessity standards and uniform claims processes.
• Pain management provisions allowing prescribed pain-control treatments (Schedule II-IV substances) with formal written agreements; violations may terminate or restrict access to pain management.
• Attorney-fee rules updated with caps (up to 25% in some cases; generally up to 15-25% of compensation; higher potential for denial-of-medical-treatment scenarios).
• Court-process enhancements: 14-day requirement to submit stipulations before trial; circuit court to issue judgments within 90 days after trial; some changes to hiring requirements for attorneys representing employees.
• Removal of references to the Department of Industrial Relations; more clearly assigns duties to the Department of Labor and the Medical Services Board.
• Mutually agreed contracts for medical services allowed between employers and providers; private contracting of rates and services.
• Establishment of the Workers' Compensation Administrative Trust Fund to finance department operations; carrier/self-insured fund assessments and annual reporting requirements.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Workers' Compensation