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Rhode Island General Laws 45-19-1.1. Liability of third person for damages

     

Where the injury or sickness for which compensation is payable under § 45-19-1, was caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person other than the employer to pay damages in respect of the injury or sickness, the employee may take proceedings, against that person to recover damages, and the employee is be entitled to receive both damages and compensation; provided, that the employee, in recovering damages either by judgment or settlement from the person liable to pay damages, shall reimburse the city, town, or the state of Rhode Island by whom the compensation was paid to the extent of the compensation paid as of the date of the judgment or settlement, and the receipt of those damages by the employee does not bar future compensation. If the employee has been paid compensation under that chapter, the city, town, or state of Rhode Island, by whom the compensation was paid, is entitled to indemnity from the person liable to pay damages as previously stated, and to the extent of the indemnity, is subrogated to the rights of the employee to recover damages; provided, that when money has been recovered, either by judgment or by settlement, by the employee from the person liable to pay damages as previously stated, by suit or settlement, and the employee is required to reimburse the city, town, or state of Rhode Island by whom the compensation was paid, the employee or the employee’s attorney is entitled to withhold, from the amount to be reimbursed, that proportion of the costs, witness expenses, and other out-of-pocket expenses and attorney fees, which is the amount which the employee is required to reimburse the city, town, or state of Rhode Island by whom compensation was paid, bears to the amount recovered from the third party.

History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 196, § 1.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-19-1.1

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

Rhode Island General Laws 45-19.1-1. Legislative findings

     

(a)  The general assembly finds and declares that by reason of their employment:

(1)  Fire fighters are required to work in the midst of, and are subject to, smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic, poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances;

(2)  Fire fighters are continually exposed to a vast and expanding field of hazardous substances through hazardous waste sites and the transportation of those substances;

(3)  Fire fighters are constantly entering uncontrolled environments to save lives and reduce property damage and are frequently not aware of potential toxic and carcinogenic substances that they may be exposed to;

(4)  Fire fighters, unlike other workers, are often exposed simultaneously to multiple carcinogens, and the rise in occupational cancer among fire fighters can be related to the rapid proliferation of thousands of toxic substances in our every day environment; and

(5)  The onset of cancers in fire fighters can develop very slowly, usually manifesting themselves from five (5) years to forty (40) years after exposure to the cancer-causing agent.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-19.1-1

  • Occupational cancer: means a cancer arising out of the person's employment as a firefighter, due to injury from exposures to smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic, poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in the performance of active duty in the fire department. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-19.1-2

(b)  The general assembly further finds and declares that all of the previously stated conditions exist and arise out of or in the course of that employment.

History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 68, § 1.