2006 Kansas Code - 44-508

      44-508.   Definitions. As used in the workers compensation act:

      (a)   "Employer" includes: (1) Any person or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, and the legal representative of a deceased employer or the receiver or trustee of a person, corporation, association or partnership; (2) the state or any department, agency or authority of the state, any city, county, school district or other political subdivision or municipality or public corporation and any instrumentality thereof; and (3) for the purposes of community service work, the entity for which the community service work is being performed and the governmental agency which assigned the community service work, if any, if either such entity or such governmental agency has filed a written statement of election with the director to accept the provisions under the workers compensation act for persons performing community service work and in such case such entity and such governmental agency shall be deemed to be the joint employer of the person performing the community service work and both shall have the rights, liabilities and immunities provided under the workers compensation act for an employer with regard to the community service work, except that the liability for providing benefits shall be imposed only on the party which filed such election with the director, or on both if both parties have filed such election with the director; for purposes of community service work, "governmental agency" shall not include any court or any officer or employee thereof and any case where there is deemed to be a "joint employer" shall not be construed to be a case of dual or multiple employment.

      (b)   "Workman" or "employee" or "worker" means any person who has entered into the employment of or works under any contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer. Such terms shall include but not be limited to: Executive officers of corporations; professional athletes; persons serving on a volunteer basis as duly authorized law enforcement officers, attendants, as defined in subsection (d) of K.S.A. 65-6112, and amendments thereto, drivers of ambulances as defined in subsection (b) of K.S.A. 65-6112, and amendments thereto, firefighters, but only to the extent and during such periods as they are so serving in such capacities; persons employed by educational, religious and charitable organizations, but only to the extent and during the periods that they are paid wages by such organizations; persons in the service of the state, or any department, agency or authority of the state, any city, school district, or other political subdivision or municipality or public corporation and any instrumentality thereof, under any contract of service, express or implied, and every official or officer thereof, whether elected or appointed, while performing official duties; persons in the service of the state as volunteer members of the Kansas department of civil air patrol, but only to the extent and during such periods as they are officially engaged in the performance of functions specified in K.S.A. 48-3302 and amendments thereto; volunteers in any employment, if the employer has filed an election to extend coverage to such volunteers; minors, whether such minors are legally or illegally employed; and persons performing community service work, but only to the extent and during such periods as they are performing community service work and if an election has been filed an election to extend coverage to such persons. Any reference to an employee who has been injured shall, where the employee is dead, include a reference to the employee's dependents, to the employee's legal representatives, or, if the employee is a minor or an incapacitated person, to the employee's guardian or conservator. Unless there is a valid election in effect which has been filed as provided in K.S.A. 44-542a, and amendments thereto, such terms shall not include individual employers, limited liability company members, partners or self-employed persons.

      (c) (1)   "Dependents" means such members of the employee's family as were wholly or in part dependent upon the employee at the time of the accident.

      (2)   "Members of a family" means only surviving legal spouse and children; or if no surviving legal spouse or children, then parents or grandparents; or if no parents or grandparents, then grandchildren; or if no grandchildren, then brothers and sisters. In the meaning of this section, parents include stepparents, children include stepchildren, grandchildren include stepgrandchildren, brothers and sisters include stepbrothers and stepsisters, and children and parents include that relation by legal adoption. In the meaning of this section, a surviving spouse shall not be regarded as a dependent of a deceased employee or as a member of the family, if the surviving spouse shall have for more than six months willfully or voluntarily deserted or abandoned the employee prior to the date of the employee's death.

      (3)   "Wholly dependent child or children" means:

      (A)   A birth child or adopted child of the employee except such a child whose relationship to the employee has been severed by adoption;

      (B)   a stepchild of the employee who lives in the employee's household;

      (C)   any other child who is actually dependent in whole or in part on the employee and who is related to the employee by marriage or consanguinity; or

      (D)   any child as defined in subsections (3)(A), (3)(B) or (3)(C) who is less than 23 years of age and who is not physically or mentally capable of earning wages in any type of substantial and gainful employment or who is a full-time student attending an accredited institution of higher education or vocational education.

      (d)   "Accident" means an undesigned, sudden and unexpected event or events, usually of an afflictive or unfortunate nature and often, but not necessarily, accompanied by a manifestation of force. The elements of an accident, as stated herein, are not to be construed in a strict and literal sense, but in a manner designed to effectuate the purpose of the workers compensation act that the employer bear the expense of accidental injury to a worker caused by the employment. In cases where the accident occurs as a result of a series of events, repetitive use, cumulative traumas or microtraumas, the date of accident shall be the date the authorized physician takes the employee off work due to the condition or restricts the employee from performing the work which is the cause of the condition. In the event the worker is not taken off work or restricted as above described, then the date of injury shall be the earliest of the following dates: (1) The date upon which the employee gives written notice to the employer of the injury; or (2) the date the condition is diagnosed as work related, provided such fact is communicated in writing to the injured worker. In cases where none of the above criteria are met, then the date of accident shall be determined by the administrative law judge based on all the evidence and circumstances; and in no event shall the date of accident be the date of, or the day before the regular hearing. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude a worker's right to make a claim for aggravation of injuries under the workers compensation act.

      (e)   "Personal injury" and "injury" mean any lesion or change in the physical structure of the body, causing damage or harm thereto, so that it gives way under the stress of the worker's usual labor. It is not essential that such lesion or change be of such character as to present external or visible signs of its existence. An injury shall not be deemed to have been directly caused by the employment where it is shown that the employee suffers disability as a result of the natural aging process or by the normal activities of day-to-day living.

      (f)   The words "arising out of and in the course of employment" as used in the workers compensation act shall not be construed to include injuries to the employee occurring while the employee is on the way to assume the duties of employment or after leaving such duties, the proximate cause of which injury is not the employer's negligence. An employee shall not be construed as being on the way to assume the duties of employment or having left such duties at a time when the worker is on the premises of the employer or on the only available route to or from work which is a route involving a special risk or hazard and which is a route not used by the public except in dealings with the employer. An employee shall not be construed as being on the way to assume the duties of employment, if the employee is a provider of emergency services responding to an emergency.

      The words, "arising out of and in the course of employment" as used in the workers compensation act shall not be construed to include injuries to employees while engaged in recreational or social events under circumstances where the employee was under no duty to attend and where the injury did not result from the performance of tasks related to the employee's normal job duties or as specifically instructed to be performed by the employer.

      (g)   "Burden of proof" means the burden of a party to persuade the trier of facts by a preponderance of the credible evidence that such party's position on an issue is more probably true than not true on the basis of the whole record.

      (h)   "Director" means the director of workers compensation as provided for in K.S.A. 75-5708 and amendments thereto.

      (i)   "Health care provider" means any person licensed, by the proper licensing authority of this state, another state or the District of Columbia, to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathy, chiropractic, dentistry, optometry, podiatry, audiology or psychology.

      (j)   "Secretary" means the secretary of labor.

      (k)   "Construction design professional" means any person who is an architect, professional engineer, landscape architect or land surveyor who has been issued a license by the state board of technical professions to practice such technical profession in Kansas or any corporation organized to render professional services through the practice of one or more of such technical professions in Kansas under the professional corporation law of Kansas or any corporation issued a certificate of authorization under K.S.A. 74-7036, and amendments thereto, to practice one or more of such technical professions in Kansas.

      (l)   "Community service work" means: (1) Public or community service performed as a result of a contract of diversion or of assignment to a community corrections program or conservation camp or suspension of sentence or as a condition of probation or in lieu of a fine imposed by court order; or (2) public or community service or other work performed as a requirement for receipt of any kind of public assistance in accordance with any program administered by the secretary of social and rehabilitation services.

      (m)   "Utilization review" means the initial evaluation of appropriateness in terms of both the level and the quality of health care and health services provided a patient, based on accepted standards of the health care profession involved. Such evaluation is accomplished by means of a system which identifies the utilization of health care services above the usual range of utilization for such services, which is based on accepted standards of the health care profession involved, and which refers instances of possible inappropriate utilization to the director for referral to a peer review committee.

      (n)   "Peer review" means an evaluation by a peer review committee of the appropriateness, quality and cost of health care and health services provided a patient, which is based on accepted standards of the health care profession involved and which is conducted in conjunction with utilization review.

      (o)   "Peer review committee" means a committee composed of health care providers licensed to practice the same health care profession as the health care provider who rendered the health care services being reviewed.

      (p)   "Group-funded self-insurance plan" includes each group-funded workers compensation pool, which is authorized to operate in this state under K.S.A. 44-581 through 44-592, and amendments thereto, each municipal group-funded pool under the Kansas municipal group-funded pool act which is covering liabilities under the workers compensation act, and any other similar group-funded or pooled plan or arrangement that provides coverage for employer liabilities under the workers compensation act and is authorized by law.

      (q)   On and after the effective date of this act, "workers compensation board" or "board" means the workers compensation board established under K.S.A. 44-555c and amendments thereto.

      (r)   "Usual charge" means the amount most commonly charged by health care providers for the same or similar services.

      (s)   "Customary charge" means the usual rates or range of fees charged by health care providers in a given locale or area.

      History:   L. 1927, ch. 232, § 8; L. 1965, ch. 319, § 1; L. 1968, ch. 102, § 2; L. 1974, ch. 203, § 7; L. 1976, ch. 370, § 18; L. 1977, ch. 175, § 2; L. 1979, ch. 156, § 2; L. 1983, ch. 167, § 1; L. 1985, ch. 175, § 2; L. 1986, ch. 189, § 1; L. 1987, ch. 187, § 2; L. 1988, ch. 167, § 5; L. 1990, ch. 183, § 1; L. 1991, ch. 144, § 2; L. 1993, ch. 286, § 28; L. 1995, ch. 1, § 4; L. 1996, ch. 79, § 3; L. 1997, ch. 125, § 3; L. 1998, ch. 120, § 3; L. 2000, ch. 160, § 6; L. 2001, ch. 121, § 1; L. 2002, ch. 122, § 1; L. 2004, ch. 179, § 15; L. 2005, ch. 55, § 1; July 1.

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Kansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.