Rhode Island § 28-36-6 - Workers’ Compensation — Insurance

§ 28-36-6. Employee’s lien on insurer’s liability — Direct payment in event of insolvency.

Every policy shall also provide that the employee or, in the event of his or her death, his or her dependents, shall have a first lien upon any amount that shall become owing on account of that policy to the employer from the insurer because of any personal injury, as defined in § 28-33-1, to that employee, and that in case of the legal incapacity or inability of the employer to receive the amount and pay it over to the employee or his or her dependents, the insurer may and shall pay the amount directly to the employee or his or her dependents, thereby discharging to the extent of that payment the obligation of the employer to the employee or his or her dependents. No policy shall contain any provisions relieving the insurer from payment because of the employer’s inability to pay on account of insolvency, bankruptcy, or otherwise, during the period that the policy is in force or the compensation remains owing.