Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1070 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require employer-requested medical examinations for determining permanent impairment in workers' compensation cases to be performed by a physician who has been mutually agreed upon by the parties or, barring agreement, a physician appointed by the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR).

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the ILWU Local 142, the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, and a private citizen.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by DLIR, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the Hawaii Insurers Council, the Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, the Hawaii Occupational Medical Association, the Academy of Independent Medical Examiners of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Chiropractic Association, and four private citizens.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, there is no defined process for the selection of permanent impairment examiners. Your Committee also finds that the determination of permanent impairment is of the utmost importance in workers' compensation cases. Therefore, the qualifications, fairness, and actual impartiality of the impairment examiner are of paramount importance to everyone involved in a workers' compensation claim.

Accordingly, your Committee believes that requiring the employer and employee to mutually agree upon an acceptable examiner, or, barring agreement, that the Director of the DLIR appoint an examiner will help to improve the workers' compensation claim process by reducing delays and costs and resulting in the appointment of a fair and qualified examiner.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1070 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.