1. The hearing officer shall:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 of NRS 616C.315, within 5 days after receiving a request for a hearing, set the hearing for a date and time within 30 days after his or her receipt of the request at a place in Carson City, Nevada, or Las Vegas, Nevada, or upon agreement of one or more of the parties to pay all additional costs directly related to an alternative location, at any other place of convenience to the parties, at the discretion of the hearing officer;

(b) Give notice by mail or by personal service to all interested parties to the hearing at least 15 days before the date and time scheduled; and

(c) Conduct hearings expeditiously and informally.

2. The notice must include a statement that the injured employee may be represented by a private attorney or seek assistance and advice from the Nevada Attorney for Injured Workers.

3. If necessary to resolve a medical question concerning an injured employee’s condition or to determine the necessity of treatment for which authorization for payment has been denied, the hearing officer may order an independent medical examination, which must not involve treatment, and refer the employee to a physician or chiropractor of his or her choice who has demonstrated special competence to treat the particular medical condition of the employee, whether or not the physician or chiropractor is on the insurer’s panel of providers of health care. If the medical question concerns the rating of a permanent disability, the hearing officer may refer the employee to a rating physician or chiropractor. The rating physician or chiropractor must be selected in rotation from the list of qualified physicians and chiropractors maintained by the Administrator pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 616C.490, unless the insurer and injured employee otherwise agree to a rating physician or chiropractor. The insurer shall pay the costs of any medical examination requested by the hearing officer.

4. The hearing officer may consider the opinion of an examining physician or chiropractor, in addition to the opinion of an authorized treating physician or chiropractor, in determining the compensation payable to the injured employee.

5. If an injured employee has requested payment for the cost of obtaining a second determination of his or her percentage of disability pursuant to NRS 616C.100, the hearing officer shall decide whether the determination of the higher percentage of disability made pursuant to NRS 616C.100 is appropriate and, if so, may order the insurer to pay to the employee an amount equal to the maximum allowable fee established by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 616C.260 for the type of service performed, or the usual fee of that physician or chiropractor for such service, whichever is less.

6. The hearing officer shall order an insurer, organization for managed care or employer who provides accident benefits for injured employees pursuant to NRS 616C.265 to pay to the appropriate person the charges of a provider of health care if the conditions of NRS 616C.138 are satisfied.

7. The hearing officer may allow or forbid the presence of a court reporter and the use of a tape recorder in a hearing.

8. The hearing officer shall render his or her decision within 15 days after:

(a) The hearing; or

(b) The hearing officer receives a copy of the report from the medical examination the hearing officer requested.

9. The hearing officer shall render a decision in the most efficient format developed by the Chief of the Hearings Division of the Department of Administration.

10. The hearing officer shall give notice of the decision to each party by mail. The hearing officer shall include with the notice of the decision the necessary forms for appealing from the decision.

11. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.380, the decision of the hearing officer is not stayed if an appeal from that decision is taken unless an application for a stay is submitted by a party. If such an application is submitted, the decision is automatically stayed until a determination is made on the application. A determination on the application must be made within 30 days after the filing of the application. If, after reviewing the application, a stay is not granted by the hearing officer or an appeals officer, the decision must be complied with within 10 days after the refusal to grant a stay.

(Added to NRS by 1979, 1040; A 1983, 645; 1985, 669, 864, 1547; 1991, 835, 2418; 1993, 738; 1995, 2150; 1999, 1785, 2217; 2001, 115, 1895; 2003, 2333, 2808; 2005, 238, 1267; 2007, 3352; 2009, 3033)