Arkansas § 11-9-502 - Limitations on compensation — Exceptions.

§ 11-9-502. Limitations on compensation — Exceptions.

The benefits shall be paid for a period not to exceed four hundred fifty (450) weeks of disability, except that this limitation shall not apply in cases of permanent total disability or death. For injuries occurring on or after March 1, 1981, but on or before December 31, 2007, and a claim for death or permanent total disability benefits filed on or before June 30, 2019, the first seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) of weekly benefits for death or permanent total disability shall be paid by the employer or its insurance carrier in the manner provided in this chapter. For injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2008, and a claim for death or permanent total disability benefits filed on or before June 30, 2019, the employer or its insurance carrier shall pay weekly benefits for death or permanent total disability not to exceed three hundred twenty-five (325) times the maximum total disability rate established for the date of the injury under this chapter. An employee or a dependent of an employee who has filed a claim for death or permanent total disability benefits on or before June 30, 2019, and who receives a total of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) in weekly benefits for injuries sustained on or before December 31, 2007, shall be eligible to continue to draw benefits at the rates prescribed in this chapter, but all benefits in excess of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) shall be payable from the Death and Permanent Total Disability Trust Fund. An employee or a dependent of an employee who has filed a claim for death or permanent total disability benefits on or before June 30, 2019, and who receives the maximum amount specified in subdivision (b)(1)(B) of this section shall be eligible to continue to draw benefits at the rates prescribed by this chapter payable from the trust fund. The trust fund shall consist of such funds as may be prescribed by law and shall be administered, invested, and disbursed by the Workers' Compensation Commission. Each employer or the insurance carrier of the employer in each case of death of an employee where there are no dependents shall pay into the trust fund the sum of five hundred dollars ($500). A claim against the trust fund shall not be filed later than June 30, 2019, regardless of the date of injury or death, or otherwise. The trust fund is not liable for a claim for permanent total disability or death filed after June 30, 2019. For a claim for permanent total disability or death filed after June 30, 2019, the employer at the time of the employee's compensable injury is liable for permanent total disability or death benefits under this chapter, excluding this section and any claim pending under § 11-9-525 on June 30, 2019. Upon satisfaction of the liabilities of the trust fund, the trust fund shall be terminated.