reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
TN Code § 50-6-113 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-113. Liability of Principal Contractor, Intermediate Contractor or Subcontractor. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

  A principal contractor, intermediate contractor or subcontractor shall be liable for compensation to any employee injured while in the employ of any of the subcontractors of the principal contractor, intermediate contractor or subcontractor and engaged upon the subject matter of the contract to the same extent as the immediate employer.   Any principal contractor, intermediate contractor or subcontractor who pays compensation under subsection (a) may recover the amount paid from any person who, independently of this section, would have been liable to pay compensation to the injured employee, or from any intermediate contractor.   Every claim for compensation under this section shall be in the first instance presented to and instituted against the immediate employer, but the proceedings shall not constitute a waiver of the employee's rights to recover compensation under this chapter from the principal contractor or intermediate contractor; provided, that the collection of full compensation from one (1) employer shall bar recovery by the employee against any others, nor shall the employee collect from all a total compensation in excess of the amount for which any of the contractors is liable.   This section applies only in cases where the injury occurred on, in, or about the premises on which the principal contractor has undertaken to execute work or that are otherwise under the principal contractor's control or management.   A subcontractor under contract to a general contractor may elect to be covered under any policy of workers' compensation insurance insuring the contractor upon written agreement of the contractor, by filing written notice of the election, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, with the division. It is the responsibility of the general contractor to file the written notice with the division. Failure of the general contractor to file the written notice shall not operate to relieve or alter the obligation of an insurance company to provide coverage to a subcontractor when the subcontractor can produce evidence of payment of premiums to the insurance company for the coverage. The election shall in no way terminate or affect the independent contractor status of the subcontractor for any other purpose than to permit workers' compensation coverage. The election of coverage may be terminated by the subcontractor or general contractor by providing written notice of the termination to the division and to all other parties consenting to the prior election. The termination shall be effective thirty (30) days from the date of the notice to all other parties consenting to the prior election and to the division.   This section shall not apply to a construction services provider, as defined by § 50-6-901.
TN Code § 50-6-114 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-114. Supremacy of Chapter — Setoffs for Payments by Disability Plan

  No contract or agreement, written or implied, or rule, regulation or other device, shall in any manner operate to relieve any employer, in whole or in part, of any obligation created by this chapter, except as provided in subsection (b).   Any employer may set off from temporary total, temporary partial, permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits any payment made to an employee under an employer funded disability plan for the same injury; provided, that the disability plan permits such an offset. The offset from a disability plan may not result in an employee's receiving less than the employee would otherwise receive under this chapter. In the event that a collective bargaining agreement is in effect, this subsection (b) shall be subject to the agreement of both parties.
TN Code § 50-6-116 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-116. Construction of Chapter

 For any claim for workers' compensation benefits for an injury, as defined in this chapter, when the date of injury is on or after July 1, 2014, this chapter shall not be remedially or liberally construed but shall be construed fairly, impartially, and in accordance with basic principles of statutory construction and this chapter shall not be construed in a manner favoring either the employee or the employer.
TN Code § 50-6-116 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-116. Construction of Chapter. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

 The rule of common law requiring strict construction of statutes in derogation of common law shall not be applicable to this chapter, but this chapter is declared to be a remedial statute, which shall be given an equitable construction by the courts, to the end that the objects and purposes of this chapter may be realized and attained.
TN Code § 50-6-118 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-118. Penalties

 The bureau of workers' compensation shall, by rule promulgated pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, establish and collect penalties for the following:   Failure of a covered employer to provide workers' compensation coverage or qualify as a self-insurer;   Late filing of accident reports;
TN Code § 50-6-118 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-118. Penalties. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

  The division of workers' compensation shall, by rule promulgated pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, establish and collect penalties for the following:  Failure of a covered employer to provide workers' compensation coverage or qualify as a self-insurer;   Late filing of accident reports;   Bad faith denial of claims;   Late filing of notice of denial of claim;   Late filing of notice of change in benefit payments;   Late filing with the department of notice of filing of lawsuits by employees or employee representatives; and   Late filing of judgments by insurance companies or by employers, if self-insured.     All penalties collected by the department from an employer for failure to provide workers' compensation coverage or failure to qualify as a self-insurer shall be paid into and become a part of the uninsured employers fund. All other penalties collected by the department shall be paid into and become a part of the second injury fund.   The commissioner, commissioner's designee, or an agency member appointed by the commissioner, may assess the penalties authorized by this chapter, upon providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing to an employer, an employee, an insurer, or a self-insured pool or trust. If a hearing is requested, the commissioner, commissioner's designee, or an agency member appointed by the commissioner shall have the authority to hear the matter as a contested case, and the authority to hear the administrative appeal of an agency decision, relating to the assessment of the penalties authorized by this chapter. When a hearing or review of an agency decision is requested, the requesting party shall have the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the penalized party was either not subject to this chapter, or that the penalties assessed pursuant to this chapter should not have been assessed.
TN Code § 50-6-119 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-119. Information Awareness Program

  In order to provide greater awareness among employers and employees of the rights and obligations of the workers' compensation laws, the bureau of workers' compensation shall institute an information awareness program. The program shall:  Involve a statewide effort to consult with employers on the actions required;   Provide that employers with frequent incidents of injuries be targeted for referral to appropriate agencies on accident prevention;   Provide education and information aimed at preventing disputes and delays in the processing of claims, through the use of speakers' seminars and conferences;   Provide a system to communicate developments in the law to interested groups;   Provide injured employees with complete information on their rights to compensation and day-to-day assistance with problems on their claims;   Develop general informational literature and audio-visual aids for both employees and employers; and   Provide a toll-free number for employers and employees to receive information from and ask questions of the department.     Any publications for distribution under this section must be published in accordance with the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the state publications committee.
TN Code § 50-6-120 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-120. Liability of Construction Design Professionals

  No construction design professional, or any employee of the construction design professional, who is retained to perform professional services on a construction project, shall be liable for the personal injury or death of any nonemployee of the construction design professional, working on the construction project, unless the construction design professional or any employee of the construction design professional is guilty of negligence that is a proximate cause of the injury or death of the nonemployee.   Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights or responsibilities of any person under this chapter.   Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure  shall apply in all actions against construction design professionals.
TN Code § 50-6-122 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-122. Case Management and Utilization Review — Use of Hmos and Ppos — Legislative Intent — Claims by Health Care Providers

   It is the intent of the general assembly that quality medical care services shall be available to injured and disabled employees. It is also the legislative intent to control increasing medical costs in workers' compensation matters by establishing cost control mechanisms to ensure cost-effective delivery of medical care services by employing a program of medical case management and a program to review the utilization and quality of medical care services.   In order to assure that in workers' compensation cases quality medical care is rendered and to control medical care costs, an employer is authorized to use, but is not required to use, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). An HMO or PPO may contract with medical care providers as permitted by law. The contracts are authorized to use, but are not limited to the use of, the following managed care methodologies:  Medical bill review;   Establishment of medical practice guidelines;   Case management, subject to § 50-6-123;   Utilization review, subject to § 50-6-124; and   Peer review programs.     Section 50-6-204(a)(3), relative to medical care, shall apply to any managed care methodology employed pursuant to this section. For the purposes of § 50-6-204(a)(3), physicians and surgeons in the same HMO or PPO are considered to be associated in practice together if they share a common employer for purposes of their clinical practice, or are associated together in a group practice.     A health care provider shall not pursue a private claim against a workers' compensation claimant for all or part of the costs of health care services provided to the claimant by the provider unless:  The injury is finally adjudicated not to be compensable under this chapter;   The physician or surgeon, as provided in § 50-6-204, who was not authorized by the employer at the time the services were rendered, knew that the physician or surgeon was not an authorized physician or surgeon; or   The employee knew that the physician or surgeon was not an authorized physician or surgeon; provided, that subdivision (b)(2) and this subdivision (b)(3) do not apply to emergency care.     [Deleted by 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2014.]
TN Code § 50-6-122 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-122. Case Management and Utilization Review — Use of Hmos and Ppos — Legislative Intent — Claims by Health Care Providers — Collection Agencies — Reports to Credit Bureau. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

   It is the intent of the general assembly that quality medical care services shall be available to injured and disabled employees. It is also the legislative intent to control increasing medical costs in workers' compensation matters by establishing cost control mechanisms to ensure cost-effective delivery of medical care services by employing a program of medical case management and a program to review the utilization and quality of medical care services.   In order to assure that in workers' compensation cases quality medical care is rendered and to control medical care costs, an employer is authorized to use, but is not required to use, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). An HMO or PPO may contract with medical care providers as permitted by law. The contracts are authorized to use, but are not limited to the use of, the following managed care methodologies:  Medical bill review;   Establishment of medical practice guidelines;   Case management, subject to § 50-6-123;   Utilization review, subject to § 50-6-124; and   Peer review programs.     Section 50-6-204(a)(4), relative to medical care, shall apply to any managed care methodology employed pursuant to this section. For the purposes of § 50-6-204(a)(4), physicians and surgeons in the same HMO or PPO are considered to be associated in practice together if they share a common employer for purposes of their clinical practice, or are associated together in a group practice.     A health care provider shall not pursue a private claim against a workers' compensation claimant for all or part of the costs of health care services provided to the claimant by the provider unless:  The injury is finally adjudicated not to be compensable under this chapter;   The physician or surgeon, as provided in § 50-6-204, who was not authorized by the employer at the time the services were rendered, knew that the physician or surgeon was not an authorized physician or surgeon; or   The employee knew that the physician or surgeon was not an authorized physician or surgeon; provided, that subdivision (b)(2) and this subdivision (b)(3) do not apply to emergency care.     A health care provider shall not employ a collection agency or make a report to a credit bureau concerning a private claim against an employer for all or part of the costs of medical care provided to an employee that are not paid by the employer's workers' compensation insurer without having first exhausted all administrative remedies as provided by § 50-6-226(a)(4). The medical director may include the insurer in the administrative process.
TN Code § 50-6-123 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-123. Case Management System for Coordinating Medical Care Services. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

  The commissioner shall establish, pursuant to the commissioner's rule and regulation-making authority, a system of case management for coordinating the medical care services provided to employees claiming benefits under this chapter.   Employers may, at their own expense, utilize case management, and, if utilized, the employee shall cooperate with the case management. Case management shall include, but not be limited to:  Developing a treatment plan to provide appropriate medical care services to an injured or disabled employee;   Systematically monitoring the treatment rendered and the medical progress of the injured or disabled employee;   Assessing whether alternate medical care services are appropriate and delivered in a cost-effective manner based on acceptable medical standards;   Ensuring that the injured or disabled employee is following the prescribed medical care plan; and   Formulating a plan for return to work with due regard for the employee's recovery and restrictions and limitations, if any.     The commissioner may contract with an independent organization, not owned by or affiliated with any carrier authorized to write workers' compensation insurance in the state, to assist with the administration of this section.   Nothing in this section shall prevent an employer from establishing its own program of case management that meets the guidelines promulgated by the commissioner in rules and regulations.   Medical care, treatment, therapy or services provided at the employee's residence pursuant to this chapter, shall not be considered home health services as defined in § 68-11-201 when provided pursuant to direction of the employee's attending physician in the following specific circumstances only:  By a licensed health care provider who routinely provides services to employees at the place of employment, if the services rendered by the provider at the employee's residence are of the same type rendered by the provider at the place of employment; or   By a licensed physical therapist, occupational therapist or speech therapist practicing independently of a home health agency, when the employee's attending physician determines that it is in the best interest of the employee to be treated by the independent therapist because of the therapist's expertise in workplace injuries.
TN Code § 50-6-124 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-124. Utilization Review System — Pre-Admission Review — Penalties for Rendering Excessive or Inappropriate Services — Legislative Intent. [Applicable to Injuries Occurring Prior to July 1, 2014.]

  The commissioner of labor and workforce development shall establish a system of utilization review of selected outpatient and inpatient health care providers to employees claiming benefits under this chapter, by providers qualified pursuant to law or the utilization review accreditation commission.   The commissioner shall also establish a system of pre-admission review of all hospital admissions, except for emergency services; however, utilization review pursuant to subsection (a) and this subsection (b) shall begin within one (1) working day of all emergency hospital admissions.   Pursuant to the commissioner's established system of utilization review, the commissioner may contract with an independent utilization review organization, not owned by or affiliated with any carrier authorized to write workers' compensation insurance in the state, to provide utilization review, including peer review.   Nothing in this section shall prevent an employer from electing to provide utilization review; however, if the employee, provider or any other party not contractually bound to the employer's utilization review program disagrees with that employer's utilization review, then that employee, provider or other party shall have recourse to the commissioner's utilization review program, as provided for in this section.   Pursuant to the utilization review conducted by the commissioner, including providing an opportunity for a hearing, any health care provider who is found by the commissioner to have rendered excessive or inappropriate services may be subject to:  A forfeiture of the right to payment for those services that are found to be excessive or inappropriate;   A civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000); or   A temporary or permanent suspension of the right to provide medical care services for workers' compensation claims if the health care provider has established a pattern of violations.     It is the intent of the general assembly to ensure the availability of quality medical care services for injured and disabled employees and to manage medical costs in workers' compensation matters by eradicating prescription drug abuse through the employment of the system established by subsection (a) to review any healthcare provider prescribing one (1) or more Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances for pain management to an injured or disabled employee for a period of time exceeding ninety (90) days from the initial prescription of such controlled substances.
TN Code § 50-6-125 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 50 - Employer and Employee|Chapter 6 - Workers' Compensation Law|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-6-125. Medical Payment Committee

   The administrator shall appoint a medical payment committee. The committee shall hear disputes on medical bill payments between providers and insurers and advise the administrator on issues relating to the medical fee schedule and medical care cost containment in the workers' compensation system. Upon hearing disputes on medical bill payments between providers and insurers, the medical payment committee shall have authority to render a decision on the merits of a dispute. If the medical payment committee determines that a provider or insurer has acted in bad faith in refusing to provide payment for a medical bill or refusing to provide reimbursement for overpayment, the medical payment committee, upon a majority vote, shall refer the malfeasant provider or insurer to the bureau for consideration of assessment of a civil penalty of no more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per occurrence. Any provider or insurer aggrieved by the assessment of a penalty under this subsection (a) shall have the right to seek review of the penalty assessment in the manner provided by § 50-6-118(c).   The committee shall be comprised of seven (7) voting members appointed by the administrator as follows:  Three (3) members shall be representative of the medical provider industry;   Three (3) members shall be representative of the workers' compensation insurance industry; and   The medical director shall serve as the final member of the committee but shall not cast a vote unless a vote taken by members results in a tie. In that case, the medical director shall cast the deciding vote.       In making appointments, the administrator shall strive to achieve a geographic balance and, in the case of the physician members of the committee, shall assure, to the extent possible, that the membership of the committee reflects the diversity of specialties involved in the medical treatment and management of workers' compensation claimants.   Members of the committee shall serve without compensation but, when engaged in the conduct of their official duties as members of the committee, shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses in accordance with uniform regulations promulgated by the department of finance and administration and approved by the attorney general and reporter.   Each member appointed shall serve a term of four (4) years and may be reappointed by the administrator. If a member leaves the position prior to the expiration of the term, the administrator shall appoint an individual meeting the qualifications of this section to serve the unexpired portion of the term, and the individual may be reappointed by the administrator upon expiration of the term.   This section applies to all disputes of medical bill payments for services provided, pursuant to this chapter, on or after July 1, 2014.