Except as otherwise provided in this section, unless introduced as evidence in an administrative or judicial proceeding or filed with the clerk of the court as part of an enforcement or compliance proceeding, all records of the administration shall be confidential. Once an accident or disablement occurs, any person who is a party to a claim upon that accident or disablement is entitled to access to all files relating to that accident or disablement and to all files relating to any prior accident, injury or disablement of the worker. Upon the filing of a rejection of a recommended resolution, all records filed with the clerk of the court as part of the judicial proceeding shall be open to the public.
History: Laws 1990 (2nd S.S.), ch. 2, § 65; 2001, ch. 87, § 5.
The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, inserted "Except as otherwise provided in this section" at the beginning of the section; inserted "or filed with the clerk or the court as a part of an enforcement or compliance proceeding" near the middle of the first sentence; deleted "provided, however, that" following "shall be confidential" at the end of the first sentence; and inserted the final sentence.
Law reviews. — For survey of 1990-91 workers' compensation law, see 22 N.M.L. Rev. 845 (1992).