44-557. Employer's duty to report accidents; limitation of actions; civil penalty for failure to report; recovery of penalties. (a) It is hereby made the duty of every employer to make or cause to be made a report to the director of any accident, or claimed or alleged accident, to any employee which occurs in the course of the employee's employment and of which the employer or the employer's supervisor has knowledge, which report shall be made upon a form to be prepared by the director, within 28 days, after the receipt of such knowledge, if the personal injuries which are sustained by such accidents, are sufficient wholly or partially to incapacitate the person injured from labor or service for more than the remainder of the day, shift or turn on which such injuries were sustained.

(b) When such accident has been reported and subsequently such person has died, a supplemental report shall be filed with the director within 28 days after receipt of knowledge of such death, stating such fact and any other facts in connection with such death or as to the dependents of such deceased employee which the director may require. Such report or reports shall not be used nor considered as evidence before the director, any administrative law judge, the board or in any court in this state.

(c) No limitation of time in the workers compensation act shall begin to run unless a report of the accident as provided in this section has been filed at the office of the director if the injured employee has given notice of accident as provided by K.S.A. 44-520 and amendments thereto, except that any proceeding for compensation for any such injury or death, where report of the accident has not been filed, must be commenced by serving upon the employer a written claim pursuant to K.S.A. 44-520a and amendments thereto within one year from the date of the accident, suspension of payment of disability compensation, the date of the last medical treatment authorized by the employer, or the death of such employee referred to in K.S.A. 44-520a and amendments thereto.

(d) The repeated failure of any employer to file or cause to be filed any report required by this section shall be subject to a civil penalty for each violation of not to exceed $250.

(e) Any civil penalty imposed by this section shall be recovered, by the assistant attorney general upon information received from the director, by issuing and serving upon such employer a summary order or statement of the charges with respect thereto and a hearing shall be conducted thereon in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act, except that, at the discretion of the director, such civil penalties may be assessed as costs in a workers compensation proceeding by an administrative law judge upon a showing by the assistant attorney general that a required report was not filed which pertains to a claim pending before the administrative law judge.

History: L. 1927, ch. 232, § 54; L. 1955, ch. 250, § 11; L. 1957, ch. 293, § 7; L. 1967, ch. 280, § 12; L. 1970, ch. 190, § 10; L. 1974, ch. 203, § 43; L. 1980, ch. 146, § 13; L. 1993, ch. 286, § 59; L. 2000, ch. 160, § 16; July 1.