Report: Advisory Panel Balks at Proposed Changes to Comp Laws

Friday, July 15, 2022 | 0

A South Dakota advisory panel gave itself more time to consider a proposal to require that nurse case managers copy injured workers or their attorneys in communications with medical providers and rejected a proposal to extend the time workers have to report injuries, according to a report by the Argus Leader.

Members of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council said they needed additional time to analyze the proposal to require that injured workers have access to communications between nurse case managers and their treating physicians, according to the report.

Nancy Turbak Berry, an attorney who presented the proposal, said nurse case managers who are supposed to be neutral sometimes appear to be working on behalf of insurance companies. She said allowing the case managers to communicate with providers without disclosing what was said to the worker makes it easier to manipulate an insurance claim.

Doug Abraham, an attorney representing the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the South Dakota Retailers Association, said the requirement would “cause more problems than it solves” and likely delay benefits for injured workers.

Among other things, he said the proposed language would likely require nurse case managers to include injured workers in all routine communications. And he said communications between a nurse case manager and a treating physician can be obtained through discovery if cases go to trial.

Council members said they wanted to think about the proposal and will likely revisit it when they meet next in November.

Separately, advisory council members rejected a proposal by state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, D-Sioux Falls, to extend the time workers have to report injuries to 30 days from three days.

Nesbia said the workers had 30 days to report injuries until the law was changed in 1994. And he said the state’s limit is not aligned with reporting requirements in most other states.

Council members also rejected a proposal that would have allowed workers to report injuries within seven days.