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Supporters urge raising $15,000 cap on disfigurement benefits, expanding covered body areas
Summary
Lawmakers and advocates pressed the committee to update a workers' compensation formula that testifiers said caps disfigurement awards at $15,000 and limits scar-based awards to scars on the hands, neck and face; supporters proposed indexing the cap and expanding coverage to the entire body (House 2105).
Representative Chris Hendricks and Representative Bridal (filed with Hendricks) told the committee that House 2105 would remove a $15,000 statutory cap on scar-and-disfigurement awards and expand compensable disfigurement from scars limited to the hands, neck and face to scars across the entire body.
Why it matters: Testimony framed the provision as a 1990s-era limit that has not kept pace with wage growth or medical and financial realities. Supporters proposed linking the award cap to the state average weekly wage (or indexing it) rather than leaving a fixed $15,000 ceiling in statute.
Key testimony - Rep. Hendricks said “H2105 was drafted with the intention of making the distribution of workers' compensation benefits more fair,” and that the $15,000 cap “was created in 1990” and “went a lot further than it does today.” - Attorney testimony at the hearing explained the math: the laws in effect tie some scarring and disfigurement benefits to the state average weekly wage; a fixed-dollar cap has eroded over decades of wage growth and inflation and can leave seriously injured workers with limited compensation.
Discussion vs. decision: The committee took testimony from bill sponsors, attorneys and other witnesses but made no formal vote or amendment on June 18.
Ending: Sponsors asked the committee to advance H2105 to update the statute, index awards to wage changes and expand the body areas eligible for scar-based awards, and to consider related changes to funeral-benefit limits discussed elsewhere in the hearing.
