A.R.S. tit. 23 ch. 5 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 Chapter 5 — Employers' Liability Law

23-801. Liability of employer To protect the safety of employees in all hazardous occupations in mining, smelting, manufacturing, railroad or street railway transportation, or any other industry, as provided in section 7, article 18 of the constitution, any employer, whether individual, association or corporation, is liable for the death or injury, caused by an accident due to a condition or conditions of such occupation, of an employee in the service of such employer, in a hazardous occupation, in all cases in which the death or injury of the employee is not caused by the negligence of the employee killed or injured. 23-802. Declaration of policy Labor and services of workmen at manual and mechanical labor in the employment of a person in an occupation declared by section 23-803 to be hazardous is service in a hazardous occupation within the meaning of the terms of section 23-801. By reason of the nature and conditions of and the means used and provided for doing the work in a hazardous occupation, such service is especially dangerous and hazardous to the workmen because of risks and hazards inherent in such occupations and which are unavoidable by the workmen therein. 23-803. Hazardous occupations The following occupations are hazardous within the meaning of this article: 1. The operation of steam railroads, electrical railroads, street railroads by locomotives, engines, trains, motors or cars of any kind propelled by steam, electricity, cable or other mechanical power, including construction, use or repair of machinery, plants, tracks, switches, bridges or roadbeds, upon, over and by which the railroad is operated. 2. All work when making, using or necessitating dangerous proximity to gunpowder, blasting powder, dynamite, compressed air or other explosive. 3. The erection or demolition of a bridge, building or structure in which there is, or in which the plans and specifications require, iron or steel frame work. 4. The operation of elevators, elevating machines, derricks or hoisting apparatus used within or on the outside of a bridge, building or other structure for conveying materials in connection with the erection or demolition of the bridge, building or structure. 5. All work on ladders or scaffolds of any kind elevated twenty feet or more above the ground or floor beneath used in the erection, construction, repair, painting or alteration of a building, bridge, structure or other work in which a ladder or scaffold is used. 6. All work of construction, operation, alteration or repair where wires, cables, switchboards or other apparatus or machinery are in use which are charged with electrical current. 7. All work in the construction, alteration or repair of pole lines for telegraph, telephone or other purposes. 8. All work in or about quarries, open pits, open cuts, mines, ore reduction works and smelters. 9. All work in the construction and repair of tunnels, subways and viaducts. 10. All work in mills, shops, works, yards, plants and factories where steam, electricity or any other mechanical power is used to operate machinery and appliances in and about the premises. 23-804. Posting of notices by employer Every employer employing workmen in a hazardous occupation shall, by rules, regulations or instructions, inform all employees in such occupations as to the duties and restrictions of their employment for the purpose of protecting the safety of employees in their employment. 23-805. Right of action for damages; two-year limitation A. When in the course of work in any of the employments or occupations enumerated in section 23-803, personal injury or death by an accident arising out of and in the course of such labor, service and employment, and due to a condition or conditions of such occupation or employment, is caused to or suffered by a workman engaged therein, in all cases in which the injury or death of the employee is not caused by the negligence of the employee killed or injured, the employer is liable in damages to the employee injured or, in case death ensues, to the personal representative of the deceased for the benefit of the surviving widow or husband and children of the employee or, if none, then to the employee's parents or, if none, then to the next of kin dependent upon the employee or, if none, then to his personal representative for the benefit of the estate of the deceased. B. The action shall not be maintained unless commenced within two years from the day the claim or cause of action accrued. 23-806. Contributory negligence or assumption of risk as question of fact; effect of comparative negligence on damages In actions brought under this article, the question of whether the employee was guilty of contributory negligence or assumed the risk is a question of fact and at all times, regardless of the state of the evidence relating thereto, shall be left to the jury. The fact that the employee was guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery, but the damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the employee. 23-807. Agreement exempting employer from liability void; setoffs by employer A. Any contract, rule, regulation or device whatever, the purpose or intent of which is to enable an employer to exempt himself from any liability created by this article, is to that extent void. B. In an action brought under this article the employer may set off any amount he has contributed or paid for any insurance, relief, benefit or indemnity, or has paid to the injured employee or his personal representative on account of the injury or death for which the action is brought. 23-808. Limitation on attorney's fee; violation; classification A. In an action to recover damages for death or injury of an employee under any law of the state when the death or injury was sustained by the employee in the course of one of the occupations declared hazardous by this article, it is unlawful for an attorney to knowingly receive or agree to receive a fee or compensation for services as attorney exceeding twenty-five per cent of the amount recovered and collected exclusive of costs. Any contract, agreement or device in violation of this section is void. B. An attorney at law violating the provisions of this section forfeits all right to any fee or compensation in the action, is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor and is subject to disbarment.