Current through November 28, 2024
(a) The board will review a settlement
agreement that provides for the payment of compensation due or to become due
and that undertakes to release the employer from any or all future liability. A
settlement agreement will be approved by the board only if a preponderance of
evidence demonstrates that approval would be for the best interest of the
employee or the employee's beneficiaries. The board will, in its discretion,
require the employee to attend, and the employer to pay for, an examination of
the employee by the board's independent medical examiner. If the board requires
an independent medical examination, the board will not act on the agreed
settlement until the independent medical examiner's report is received by the
board.
(b) All settlement
agreements must be submitted in writing to the board, must be signed by all
parties to the action and their attorneys or representatives, if any, and must
be accompanied by form 07-6117.
(c)
Every agreed settlement must conform strictly to the requirements of
AS
23.30.012 and, in addition, must
(1) be accompanied by all medical reports in
the parties' possession, except that, if a medical summary has been filed, only
those medical reports not listed on the summary must accompany the agreed-upon
settlement;
(2) include a written
statement showing the employee's age and occupation on the date of injury,
whether and when the employee has returned to work, and the nature of
employment;
(3) report full
information concerning the employee's wages or earning capacity;
(4) state in detail the parties' respective
claims;
(5) state the attorney's
fee arrangement between the employee or his beneficiaries and the attorney,
including the total amount of fees to be paid;
(6) itemize in detail all compensation
previously paid on the claim with specific dates, types, amounts, rates, and
periods covered by all past payments;
(7) include a written statement from all
parties and their representative that
(A) the
agreed settlement contains the entire agreement among the parties;
(B) The parties have not made an undisclosed
agreement that modifies the agreed settlement;
(C) the agreed settlement is not contingent
on any undisclosed agreement; and
(D) an undisclosed agreement is not
contingent on the agreed settlement; and
(8) contain other information the board may
from time to time require.
(d) The board will, within 30 days after
receipt of a written agreed settlement, review the written agreed settlement,
the documents submitted by the parties, and the board's case file to determine
(1) if it appears by a preponderance of the
evidence that the agreed settlement is in accordance with
AS
23.30.012; and
(2) if the board finds the agreed settlement
(A) is in the employee's best interest, the
board will approve, file, and issue a copy of the approved agreement in
accordance with
AS
23.30.110(e); or
(B) lacks adequate supporting information to
determine whether the agreed settlement appears to be in the employee's best
interest or if the board finds that the agreed settlement is not in the
employee's best interest, the board will deny approval of the agreed
settlement, will notify the parties in writing of the denial, and will, in the
board's discretion, inform the parties
(i) of
the additional information that must be provided for the board to reconsider
the agreed settlement; or
(ii) that
either party may ask for a hearing to present additional evidence or argument
for the board to reconsider the agreed settlement; to ask for a hearing under
this paragraph, a party may write to the board or telephone the division; an
affidavit of readiness for hearing is not required; the procedures in
8 AAC 45.070 and
8 AAC 45.074 do not apply to a hearing under this
subparagraph unless a party requests a hearing by filing an affidavit of
readiness for hearing. If a hearing is held under this section, the board will,
in its discretion, notify the parties orally at the hearing of its decision or
in writing within 30 days after the hearing; if after a hearing the board finds
the preponderance of evidence supports the conclusion that the agreed
settlement appears to be in the employee's best interest, the board will
approve and file the agreed settlement in accordance with
AS
23.30.110(e); the evidence
is insufficient to determine whether the agreed settlement appears to be in the
employee's best interest, the board will deny approval of the agreed settlement
and request additional information from the parties; or the agreed settlement
does not appear to be in the employee's best interest, the board will deny
approval of the agreed settlement; the board will not prepare a written
decision and order containing findings of fact and conclusions of law unless,
within 30 days after the board's notification, a party files with the board a
written request for findings of fact and conclusions of law together with the
opposing party's written agreement to the request.
(e) An agreed
settlement in which the employee waives medical benefits, temporary or
permanent benefits before the employee's condition is medically stable and the
degree of impairment is rated, or benefits during rehabilitation training after
the employee has been found eligible for benefits under
AS
23.30.041(g) is presumed not
in the employee's best interest, and will not be approved absent a showing by a
preponderance of the evidence that the waiver is in the employee's best
interest. In addition, a lump-sum settlement of board-ordered permanent total
disability benefits is presumed not in the employee's best interest, and will
not be approved absent a showing by a preponderance of evidence that the
lump-sum settlement is in the employee's best interests.
(f) In single-employer, multi-carrier claims,
when an employee's claims have been consolidated under
8 AAC 45.050, or when parties have been joined under
8 AAC 45.040, no agreed settlement will be approved
unless all parties have agreed to and signed the agreed settlement
document.
(g) The employee or the
employee's beneficiaries and the employer may agree to partially resolve a
claim or a single issue, such as the employee's gross weekly earnings under
AS
23.30.220, and submit a partial agreed
settlement for board approval under
AS
23.30.012 to resolve only a part of the claim
or a single issue.
(h) To report on
the annual report and compensation report the benefits paid in an agreed
settlement as benefits under
AS
23.30.041(1), the agreed
settlement must agree to
(1) reimburse an
employee for tuition, books, or supplies purchased to implement a reemployment
plan prepared by a rehabilitation specialist;
(2) pay an accredited educational or
vocational institution for tuition, books, and supplies;
(3) pay an expert for professional services
for the following items in connection with preparing a self-employment plan
(B) analyzing a self-employment
plan;
(C) performing a market
survey; or
(4) assist
the employee in becoming self-employed by purchasing, or reimbursing the
employee for the expenses for purchasing a business or the facilities, tools,
or equipment for a business, but only if the administrator approves the
self-employment plan or the parties sign a self-employment plan prepared by a
rehabilitation specialist.
Authority:AS
23.30.005
AS 23.30.012
AS 23.30.041
AS 23.30.095
AS 23.30.110
AS
23.30.220
