Bad faith in adjusting or settling claim for compensation; awards;
attorney's fees
Sec. 12.1. (a) The worker's compensation board, upon hearing a
claim for benefits, has the exclusive jurisdiction to determine
whether the employer, the employer's worker's compensation
administrator, or the worker's compensation insurance carrier has
acted with a lack of diligence, in bad faith, or has committed an
independent tort in adjusting or settling the claim for compensation.
(b) If lack of diligence, bad faith, or an independent tort is proven
under subsection (a), the award to the claimant shall be at least five
hundred dollars ($500), but not more than twenty thousand dollars
($20,000), depending upon the degree of culpability and the actual
damages sustained.
(c) An award under this section shall be paid by the employer,
worker's compensation administrator, or worker's compensation
insurance carrier responsible to the claimant for the lack of diligence,
bad faith, or independent tort.
(d) The worker's compensation board shall fix in addition to any
award under this section the amount of attorney's fees payable with
respect to an award made under this section. The attorney's fees may
not exceed thirty-three and one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the
amount of the award.
(e) If the worker's compensation board makes an award under this
section, it shall reduce the award to writing and forward a copy to the
department of insurance for review under IC 27-4-1-4.5.
(f) An award or awards to a claimant pursuant to subsection (b)
shall not total more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) during
the life of the claim for benefits arising from an accidental injury.
As added by P.L.258-1997(ss), SEC.11. Amended by P.L.31-2000,
SEC.5.
Last modified: May 27, 2006