Silicosis and diseases related to asbestos as occupational diseases; compensation and claims.
1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 617.366, silicosis and diseases related to asbestos are occupational diseases and are compensable as such when contracted by an employee and when arising out of and in the course of the employment.
2. Claims for compensation on account of silicosis or a disease related to asbestos are forever barred unless application is made to the insurer within 1 year after the date of disability or death and within 1 year after the claimant knew or should have known of the relationship between the disease and the employment.
3. Nothing in this chapter entitles an employee or his dependents to compensation, medical, hospital and nursing expenses or payment of funeral expenses for disability or death because of silicosis or a disease related to asbestos in the event of the failure or omission on the part of the employee truthfully to state, when seeking employment, the place, duration and nature of previous employment in answer to an inquiry made by the employer.
4. No compensation may be paid in case of silicosis or a disease related to asbestos unless the injured employee has been exposed to harmful quantities of silicon dioxide dust or fibers of asbestos for not less than 1 year in employment in this state covered by this chapter and chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS.
5. Compensation on account of silicosis or a disease related to asbestos is payable only in the event of a temporary or permanent disability, or death, in accordance with the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.505, the insurer shall not allow the conversion of the compensation benefits provided for in this section into the payment of a lump sum. Payment of benefits and compensation is limited to the claimant and his dependents.
6. Any claimant who has been disabled by silicosis or a disease related to asbestos before July 1, 1973, or his dependents, upon receiving the maximum sum payable, $14,250, to which they are entitled, are not entitled to compensation from the insurer, but are entitled to continue to receive the same amount of compensation from the account for pensions for silicosis, diseases related to asbestos and other disabilities.
Last modified: February 25, 2006