American Samoa § 32.0502 - Definitions.

§ 32.0502. Definitions.

As used in this chapter and Chapter 32.06, the following definitions apply: (a) “American Samoa”, when used in a geographical sense, means the Territory of American Samoa, including the Territorial waters thereof. (b) “Carrier” means any person or fund authorized under this chapter and Chapter 32.06 to insure under this chapter and Chapter 32.06 and includes self-insurers. (c) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age, a person 18 years of age or over and physically or mentally incapable of self-support, or any person 18 years of age or over who is actually dependent, or any person between 18 and 25 years of age who is enrolled as a full-time student in any accredited educational institution. The term “child” includes a posthumous child, a child legally adopted or regarding whom adoption proceedings are pending at the time or death, an actually dependent child in relation to whom the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent for at least one year prior to the time of death, an actually dependent stepchild and an actually dependent acknowledged illegitimate child. (d) “Commission” means the Workmen’s Compensation Commission. (e) “Commissioner” means the head of the Workmen’s Compensation Commission. (f) “Employees” means any individual in the service of an employer as defined in subsection (g). Every individual working with or without pay whose services are requested or volunteered, and who serves under the direction of a public official, shall be deemed to be an employee of the government for the purposes of this chapter and Chapter 32.06, and if injured in the course or such work, shall be entitled to the benefits of this chapter and Chapter 32.06. (g) “Employer”, except when otherwise expressly stated, includes any person, the government, the legal representatives of a deceased employer, and the receiver or trustee of a person, partnership, association, or corporation. (h) “Grandchild” means a child, as previously defined, of a child, except that as to the latter child, the limitations as to age in the above definitions do not apply. (i) “Injury” means any harmful change in the human organism arising out of and in the course of employment, including damage to or loss ot a prosthetic appliance, but does not include any communicable disease unless the risk of contracting the disease is increased by the nature of the employment. (j) “Person” means any individual, partnership, corporation or association. Case Notes: Although occupational diseases differ from “typical” injuries in that they generally do not have a discrete and readily identifiable instant of occurrence, and although this may give rise to difficulties in the proof of causation, such diseases are injuries under the American Samoa Workmen’s Compensation statute. A.S.C.A. § 32.0502(i). Continental Insurance Co. v. Workmen’s Compensation Commission, 15 A.S.R.2d 130 (1990).