New Mexico Governor Appoints Workers’ Compensation Director

Gov. Susana Martinez has appointed a state government lawyer from Albuquerque to run a regulatory agency overseeing New Mexico’s workers’ compensation program.

Darin Childers becomes director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration starting next week. He has served as the agency’s general counsel since 2011, and previously worked in a private law practice in Albuquerque.

Childers will replace Ned Fuller, who had been director since 2011 but has been named litigation bureau chief in the state’s Risk Management Division.

The agency has administrative law judges to resolve disputed claims for medical expenses and back wages for workers injured or disabled on the job. State law requires employers to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage.