Proceedings.

Awards.

Revision

Filing awards in court.

Stay.

Entry of satisfaction.

rate or incomplete, and the facts upon which he intends to rely. A copy of such answer must be forthwith served upon all adverse parties. SEC. 24. (a) No pleadings, other than the application and answer, shall be required. The hearing on the application may be adjourned from time to time and from place to place in the discretion of the commission. Either party shall have the right to be present at any hearing, in person or by attorney or by any other agent, and to present such testimony as shall be pertinent under the pleadings, but the commission may, with or without notice to either party, cause testimony to be taken, or inspection of the premises where the injury occurred to be made, or the time books and pay roll of the employer to be examined by any commissioner or any referee appointed by the commission, and may from time to time direct any employee claiming compensation to be examined by a regular physician; the testimony so taken and the results of any such inspection or examination to be reported to the commission for its consideration.

(b) The parties to a controversy may stipulate the facts relative thereto in writing and file such stipulation with the commission. The commission may thereupon make its findings and award based upon such stipulation, or may in its discretion set the matter down for hearing and take such further testimony or make such further investigations as may be necessary to enable it to completely determine the matterin controversy.

SEC. 25. (a) After final hearing by the commission, it shall, within thirty days, make and file (1) its findings upon all facts involved in the controversy and (2) its award which shall state its determination as to the rights of the parties.

(b) The commission in its award may fix and determine the total amount of compensation to be paid and specify the manner of payment, or may fix and determine the weekly disability indemnity to be paid and order payment thereof during the continuance of such disability.

(c) If, in any proceeding under sections twelve to thirty-five, inclusive, of this act, it is proved that an accident has happened for which the employer would be liable to pay compensation if disability had resulted therefrom, but it is not proved that any incapacity had resulted, the commission may, instead of dismissing the application, award a nominal disability indemnity, if it appears that disability is likely to result at a future time.

(d) The commission shall have continuing jurisdiction over all its orders, decisions and awards made and entered under the provisions of sections twelve to thirty-five, inclusive, of this act and may at any time, upon notice, and after opportunity to be heard is given to the parties in interest, rescind, alter or amend any such order, decision or award made by it upon good cause appearing therefor. Provided, That no award of compensation shall be rescinded, altered or amended after two hundred forty-five weeks from the date of the accident. Any order, decision or award rescinding, altering or amending a prior order, decision or award shall have the same effect as is herein provided for original orders, decisions or awards.

SEC. 26. (a) Any party affected thereby may file a certified copy of the findings and award of the commission with the clerk of the superior court for any county, or city and county, and judgment must be entered by the clerk in conformity therewith immediately upon the filing of such findings and award.

(b) The certified copy of the findings and award of the commission and a copy of the judgment shall constitute the judgment roll. The pleadings, all orders of the commission, its original findings and award, and all other papers or documents filed in the cause shall remain on file in the office of the commission.

(c) The commission, or any member thereof, may stay the execution of any judgment entered upon an award of the commission, upon good cause appearing therefor and upon such terms and conditions as may be imposed. A certified copy of such order shall be filed with the clerk entering such judgment.

(d) Satisfaction of a judgment entered upon the award of the commission may be entered in the manner provided by law for the satis

faction of judgment. When a judgment is satisfied in fact, otherwise than upon an execution, the commission may, upon motion of either party or of its own motion, order the entry of satisfaction of the judgment to be made, and upon filing a certified copy of such order with said clerk, he shall thereupon enter such satisfaction.

SEC. 27. The orders, findings, decisions or awards of the commission Court review. made and entered under sections twelve to thirty-five, inclusive, of this act may be reviewed by the courts specified in sections eighty-four and eighty-five hereof and within the time and in the manner therein specified and not otherwise.

SEC. 28. No fees shall be charged by the clerk of any court for the Fees. performance of any official service required by this act, except for the docketing of awards as judgments and for certified copies of transcripts thereof. In all proceedings under this act before the commission, costs as between the parties shall be allowed or not in the discretion of the commission, and the commission may in its discretion, where payments of compensation have been unreasonably delayed, allow the beneficiary thereof interest thereon, at not to exceed one and one half per cent per month, during such period of delay.

claims.

SEC. 29. (a) No claim for compensation shall be assignable before Assignment of payment, but this provision shall not affect the survival thereof, nor shall any claim for compensation, or compensation awarded, adjudged or paid, be subject to be taken for the debts of the party entitled to such compensation, except as hereinafter provided.

(b) The commission may fix and determine and allow as a lien against any amount to be paid as compensation:

(1) A reasonable attorney's fee for legal services pertaining to any claim for compensation or application filed therefor and the reasonable disbursements in connection therewith.

(2) The reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the injured employee and for which the employer is liable under the provisions of subsection (a) of section fifteen hereof.

(3) The reasonable burial expenses of the deceased employee, not to exceed the sum of one hundred dollars.

(c) If notice in writing be given to the employer setting forth the nature and extent of any claim, that may be allowed as a lien, the said claim shall be a lien against any amount thereafter to be paid as compensation, subject to the determination of the amount and approval thereof by the commission. The commission may, in its discretion, order the amount of such claim as fixed and allowed by it paid directly to the person entitled, either in a lump sum or in installments.

(d) No claim or agreement for the legal services or disbursements mentioned in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) hereof, or for the expense mentioned in paragraph (2) of said subsection (b), in excess of a reasonable amount, shall be valid or binding in any respect.

(e) A claim for compensation for the injury or death of any employee, or any award or judgment entered thereon, shall have the same preference over the other unsecured debts of the employer as is given by law to claims for wages. Such preference shall be for the entire amount of compensation to be paid, but this section shall not impair the lien of any previous award.

SEC. 30. The liability of principals and contractors for compensation under this act, when other than the immediate employer of the injured employee, shall be as follows:

(a) The principal, any general contractor and each intermediate contractor who undertakes to do, or contracts with another to do, or to have done, any work, shall be liable to pay to any employee injured while engaged in the execution of such work, or to his dependents in the event of his death, any compensation which the immediate employer is liable to pay.

(b) The person entitled to such compensation shall have the right to recover the same directly from his immediate employer, and in addition thereto the right to enforce in his own name, in the manner provided by this act, the liability for compensation imposed upon other persons by this section, either by making such other persons parties to the original application or by filing a separate application: Provided, however, That payment in whole or in part of such compensation by

Liens.

Claim a lien, when.

Preference.

Principals and contractors.

either the immediate employer or other person shall, to the extent of such payment, be a bar to recovery against the other by any person entitled to such compensation.

(c) When any person, other than the immediate employer, shall have paid any compensation for which he would not have been liable incependently of this section, he shall, unless he caused the injury, be entitled to recover the full amount so paid from the person primarily liable therefor.

(d) The liability imposed by this section upon such principal, general contractor and intermediate contractor shall be subject to the following limitations:

(1) Such liability shall exist only in cases where the injury occurred on or in or about the premises on which the principal, general contractor or intermediate contractor has undertaken to execute any work, or when such premises or work are otherwise under his control or management.

(2) Such liability shall not exist in the event that the immediate employer, or other person primarily liable for the compensation shall, previous to the happening of such accident, have taken out, and maintained in full force and effect, compensation insurance with any insu rance carrier, covering his full liability for compensation to the injured person or his dependents.

(3) The commission may, in its discretion, order that execution against the principal, general contractor and any intermediate contractor, be stayed until execution against the immediate employer shall be returned unsatisfied.

SEC. 31. The making of a lawful claim against an employer for compensation under this act for the injury or death of his employee shall operate as an assignment to the employer of any right to recover damages which the injured employee, or his personal representative, or other person, may have against any other party for such injury or death, and such employer shall be subrogated to any such right and may enforce in his own name the legal liability of such other party. The amount of compensation paid by the employer, or the amount of compensation to which the injured employee or his dependents is entitled, shall not be admissible in evidence in any action brought to recover damages, but any amount collected by the employer, under the provisions of this section, in excess of the amount paid by the employer, or for which he is liable, shall be held by him for the benefit of the injured employee or other person entitled.

SEC. 32. (a) No contract, rule or regulation shall exempt the employer from liability for the compensation fixed by this act, but nothing in this act contained shall be construed as impairing the right of the parties interested to settle, subject to the provisions herein contained, any liability which may be claimed to exist under this act on account of such injury or death, or as conferring upon the dependents of any injured employee any interest which such employee may not divert by such settlement or for which he, or his estate, shall, in the event of such settlement by him, be accountable to such dependents or any of them.

(b) The compensation herein provided shall be the measure of the responsibility which the employer has assumed for injuries or death that may occur to employees in his employment when subject to the provisions of this act, and no release of liability or settlement agreement shall be valid unless it provides for the payment of full compensation in accordance with the provisions of this act or until and unless it shall be approved by the commission.

(c) A copy of any such release or settlement agreement signed by both parties shall forthwith be filed with the commission. When such release or settlement agreement is filed with the commission and approved by it, the commission may of its own motion, or on the application of either party, without notice, enter its award based upon such release or settlement agreement.

(d) Every such release or settlement agreement shall be in writing, duly executed and attested by two disinterested witnesses, and shall specify the date of the accident, the average weekly wages of the employee, determined according to section seventeen hereof, the nature

of the disability, whether total or partial, permanent or temporary, the amount paid or due and unpaid to the employee up to the date of the release or agreement or death, as the case may be, and, if any, the amount of the payment or benefits then or thereafter to be made, and the length of time that such payment is to continue. In case of death there shall also be stated in such release or settlement agreement the date of death, the name of the widow, if any, the name and ages of all children, if any, and the names of all other dependents, if any, and whether such dependents be total or partial, and the amount paid or to be paid as a death benefit and to whom such payment is to be made.

SEC. 33. (a) At the time of making its award or at any time there- Lump sums. after the commission on its own motion, either with or without notice, or upon application of either party with due notice to the other, may in its discretion, commute the compensation payable under this act to a lump sum, if it appears that such commutation is necessary for the protection of the person entitled thereto, or for the best interest of either party, or that it will avoid undue expense or hardship to either party, or that the employer has sold or otherwise disposed of the greater part of his assets, or is about to do so, or that the employer is not a resident of this State, and the commission may order such compensation paid forthwith or at some future time.

(b) The amount of the commuted payment shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) If the accident causes temporary disability, the commission shall estimate the probable duration thereof and the probable amount of the temporary disability indemnity payable therefor in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen hereof and shall fix the lump sum payment at such amount so determined.

(2) If the accident causes permanent disability or death, the commission shall fix the total amount of the permanent disability indemnity or death benefit payable therefor in accordance with the provisions of said section fifteen and shall estimate the present value thereof, assuming interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, disregarding the probability of the beneficiary's death in all cases except where the percentage of permanent disability is such as to entitle the beneficiary to a life pension, and then taking into consideration the probability of the beneficiary's death only in estimating the present value of such life pension.

(c) The commission in its discretion may order the lump-sum payment, determined as herein before provided, paid directly to the injured employee or to his dependents, or deposited with any savings bank or trust company authorized to transact business in this State, that will agree to accept the same as a deposit bearing interest at not less than four per cent per annum, or the commission may order the same deposited with the State Compensation Insurance Fund. Any such amount so deposited, together with all interest thereon, shall thereafter be held in trust for the injured employee, or in the event of his death, for his dependents, who shall have no further recourse against the employer. Payments from said fund, when so deposited, shall be made by the trustee only in the same amounts and at the same times as fixed by the order of the commission and until said fund and interest thereon shall be exhausted. In the appointment of the trustee preference shall be given, in the discretion of the commission, to the choice of the injured employee or his dependents. Upon the making of such payment, the employer shall present to the commission a proper receipt evidencing the same, executed either by the injured employee or his dependents, or by the trustee, and the commission shall thereupon issue its certificate in proper form evidencing the same, and such certificate, upon filing with the clerk of the superior court in which any judgment upon an award may have been entered, shall operate as a satisfaction of said award and shall fully discharge the employer from any further liability on account thereof.

surance

nies.

compa

SEC. 34. (a) Nothing in this act shall affect the organization of any Mutual, etc., inmutual or other insurance company, or any existing contract for insurance or the right of the employer to insure in mutual or other companies, in whole or in part, against liability for the compensation provided for by this act; or, to provide by mutual or other insurance, or by

Liability not to be reduced.

Direct liability.

Employee's

rights.

re

arrangement with his employees, or otherwise, for the payment to such employees, their families, dependents or representatives, of sick, accident, or death benefits, in addition to the compensation provided for by this act.

(b) Liability for compensation shall not be reduced or affected by any insurance, contribution, or other benefit whatsoever due to or received by the person entitled to such compensation, except as otherwise provided by this act, and the person so entitled shall, irrespective of any insurance or other contract, except as otherwise provided in this act, have the right to recover such compensation directly from the employer, and in addition thereto, the right to enforce in his own name, in the manner provided in this act, either by making the insurance carrier a party to the original application or by filing a separate application, the liability of any insurance carrier, which may, in whole or in part, have insured against liability for such compensation: Provided, however, That payment in whole or in part of such compensation by either the employer or the insurance company shall, to the extent thereof, be a bar to recovery against the other of the amount so paid: And provided, further, That as between the employer and the insurance company, payment by either directly to the employee, or to the person entitled to compensation, shall be subject to the conditions of the insurance contract between them.

(c) Every contract insuring against liability for compensation, or insurance policy evidencing the same, must contain a clause to the effect that the insurance carrier shall be directly and primarily liable to the employee and, in the event of his death, to his dependents, to pay the compensation, if any, for which the employer is liable; that, as between the employee and the insurance carrier, the notice to or knowledge of the occurrence of the injury on the part of the employer shall be deemed notice or knowledge, as the case may be, on the part of the insurance carrier; that jurisdiction of the employer shall, for the purpose of this act, be jurisdiction of the insurance carrier and that the insurance carrier shall in all things be bound by and subject to the orders, findings, decisions or awards rendered against the employer under the provisions of this act.

(d) Such policy must also provide that the employee shall have a first lien upon any amount which shall become owing on account of such policy to the employer from the insurance carrier and that in case of the legal incapacity or inability of the employer to receive the said amount and pay it over to the employee or his dependents, the said insurance carrier may and shall pay the same directly to the said employee or his dependents, thereby discharging to the extent of such payment the obligation of the employer to the employee, and such policy shall not contain any provisions relieving the insurance carrier from payment when the employer becomes insolvent or is discharged in bankruptcy, or otherwise, during the period that the policy is in operation or the compensation remains owing.

(e) 1. If the employer shall be insured against liability for compensation with any insurance carrier, and if after the happening of any accident such insurance carrier shall serve or cause to be served upon any person claiming compensation against such employer a notice that it has assumed and agreed to pay the compensation, if any, for which the employer is liable, and shall file a copy of such notice with the commission, such employer shall thereupon be relieved from liability for compensation to such claimant and the insurance carrier shall, without notice, be substituted in place of the employer in any proceeding theretofore or thereafter instituted by such person to recover such compensation, and the employer shall be dismissed therefrom. Such proceeding shall not abate on account of such substitution but shall be continued against such insurance carrier.

2. If at the time of the happening of an accident for which compensation is claimed, or may be claimed, the employer shall be insured against liability for the full amount of compensation payable, or that may become payable, the employer may serve or cause to be served upon any person claiming compensation on account of the happening of such accident and upon the insurance carrier a notice that the insurance carrier has, in its policy contract or otherwise, assumed and