The total compensation due shall be recovered from the employer who last employed the employee in the employment to the nature of which the disease was due and in which it was contracted. If, however, the disease was contracted while the employee was in the employment of a prior employer, the employer who is made liable for the total compensation as provided by this section may petition the workers' compensation court for an apportionment of the compensation among the several employers who since the contraction of the disease have employed the employee in the employment to the nature of which the disease was due. The apportionment shall be proportioned to the time the employee was employed in the service of the employers and shall be determined only after a hearing, notice of the time and place of which shall have been given to every employer alleged to be liable for any portion of the compensation. If the court finds that any portion of the compensation is payable by an employer prior to the employer who is made liable for the total compensation as provided by this section, it shall make an award accordingly in favor of the last employer, and that award may be enforced in the same manner as an award for compensation.
History of Section.
G.L. 1923, ch. 92, art. 8, § 8; P.L. 1936, ch. 2358, § 9; G.L. 1938, ch. 300, art. 8, § 8; P.L. 1954, ch. 3297, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 28-34-8; P.L. 1986, ch. 507, § 8; P.L. 1990, ch. 332, art. 1, § 4.