Workers’ Compensation. Option to Sue. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statutes.

Provides option, 90 days after injury, for injured employee to sue employer or insurer for civil damages, rather than continue in workers’ compensation system. Allows injured employees to choose their own medical providers, with treatment paid by employer or employer’s insurer. Findings of selected provider are presumed correct unless rebutted by preponderance of medical opinion. Authorizes employee-selected medical provider to sue employer or insurer if provider’s bills are not paid within 60 days. Repeals provision allowing employers and insurers to contract with pharmacies to provide medicines to employees. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Annual costs—potentially in the mid to high hundreds of millions of dollars—for state and local government work-related injuries. (SA2005RF0142.