(1) The director and administrative law judges employed by the office of administrative courts in the department of personnel shall have original jurisdiction to hear and decide all matters arising under articles 40 to 47 of this title; except that the following principles shall apply: A claimant in a workers' compensation claim shall have the burden of proving entitlement to benefits by a preponderance of the evidence; the facts in a workers' compensation case shall not be interpreted liberally in favor of either the rights of the injured worker or the rights of the employer; a workers' compensation case shall be decided on its merits; and a party seeking to modify an issue determined by a general or final admission, a summary order, or a full order shall bear the burden of proof for any such modification.
The amendments made to subsection (1) of this section by Senate Bill 09-168, enacted in 2009, are declared to be procedural and were intended to and shall apply to all workers' compensation claims, regardless of the date the claim was filed.
It is appropriate for the director or an administrative law judge to consider the medical treatment guidelines adopted under section 8-42-101 (3) in determining whether certain medical treatment is reasonable, necessary, and related to an industrial injury or occupational disease. The director or administrative law judge is not required to utilize the medical treatment guidelines as the sole basis for such determinations.
Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 501, § 1, effective July 1. L. 91: Entire section amended, p. 1315, § 22, effective July 1. L. 95: Entire section amended, p. 635, § 13, effective July 1. L. 2005: Entire section amended, p. 854, § 11, effective June 1. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (SB 09-168), ch. 184, p. 807, § 3, effective August 5. L. 2010: Entire section amended, (SB 10-163), ch. 66, p. 232, § 3, effective March 31. L. 2014: (3) added, (SB 14-191), ch. 316, p. 1371, § 1, effective July 1.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 8-53-101 as it existed prior to 1990.
Cross references: For judicial review of findings by the director, see § 8-1-130.