GA Code § 34-9-363.1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 34 - Labor and Industrial Relations|Chapter 9 - Workers' Compensation|Article 9 - Subsequent Injury Trust Fund|§ 34-9-363.1. Duty to Notify Administrator of Proposed Settlement Agreements After Reimbursement Agreement Has Been Reached; Approval of Such Settlement Agreements

  After the employer or insurer and the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund reach an agreement with respect to reimbursement and either the reimbursement agreement is approved by the State Board of Workers' Compensation or the State Board of Workers' Compensation otherwise orders reimbursement pursuant to Code Section 34-9-363, the employer or the insurer shall have a continuing obligation to keep the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund informed as to any proposed settlement agreement, pursuant to Code Section 34-9-15, between the employee and the employer or the insurer.   The employer or the insurer shall obtain the approval from the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund for any and all settlement agreements between the employee and the employer or the insurer in all cases where a reimbursement agreement between the employer or the insurer and the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund exists prior to the submitting of the settlement agreement to the State Board of Workers' Compensation for approval; provided, however, that if the employer or insurer fails to obtain the approval from the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund for such a settlement agreement, but the State Board of Workers' Compensation approves such agreement, the reimbursement agreement between the employer or the insurer and the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund shall become null and void, and the State Board of Workers' Compensation shall, upon the petition of the administrator of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund, issue an order rescinding the reimbursement agreement; provided, further, that nothing in this Code section shall prohibit the parties from reaching a compromise settlement as to reimbursement from the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund, upon approval of the State Board of Workers' Compensation.    (Code 1933, § 114-918, enacted by Ga. L. 1981, p. 836, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 34.)   Law reviews.   - For article surveying developments in Georgia workers' compensation law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 323 (1981).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Necessity for approval of reimbursement agreement.    - If a reimbursement agreement between an employer and the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund had been submitted to, but not yet approved by, the State Board of Worker's Compensation, the employer was required to submit a settlement agreement with its employee first to the Fund for approval, rather than submitting it directly to the Board. Altermatts Painting v. Subsequent Injury Trust Fund, 219 Ga. App. 357, 464 S.E.2d 922 (1995), aff'd, 266 Ga. 866, 471 S.E.2d 877 (1996).    Cited in Bekaert Steel Wire Corp. v. Georgia Subsequent Injury Trust Fund, 191 Ga. App. 490, 382 S.E.2d 197 (1989).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Denial of reimbursement before claim accepted.   - The Subsequent Injury Trust Fund does not have legal authority to deny reimbursement before it has accepted the reimbursement claim of an employer/insurer when an employer/insurer fails to inform the Trust Fund of a settlement with a claimant. 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 86-48.