House Bill 555 Summary

• Establishes that Mississippi's Workers' Compensation Law shall not be presumed to favor either party and shall not be liberally construed, with primary purposes of paying timely disability and medical benefits to workers with legitimate work-related injuries and encouraging return to work.

• Requires claimants to provide medical proof of direct causal connection between work performed and alleged work-related injury or occupational disease when filing petitions to controvert, and allows apportionment for preexisting conditions regardless of whether they were occupationally disabling.

• Increases maximum disfigurement awards from $2,000 to $5,000, increases rehabilitation benefits from $10 to $25 per week, increases death benefits from $250 to $1,000 lump sum, and increases maximum funeral expenses from $2,000 to $5,000.

• Deems a physician the employee's selection if treating the employee for six months or longer or performing surgery, and prohibits attorneys from recovering fees based on voluntarily paid temporary or permanent disability benefits.

• Establishes presumptions favoring employers in drug and alcohol testing: positive test results presume drug/alcohol caused the injury, refusal to test presumes impairment, and the burden shifts to employees to prove substance use did not contribute to the accident.