Reports of Injury

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION REPORTS OF INJURY

Workers’ compensation insurance provides weekly cash payments and the cost of medical treatment, including rehabilitation, for covered employees who become disabled as a result of an injury or disease sustained on the job. The Workers Compensation Board is reengineering how they conduct business. They will no longer accept paper versions of the Employer’s First Report of Injury/Illness (former Form C-2). Claims are required to be reported electronically through your insurance carrier. This can be done on NYSIF’s website. Because many employers are unable to access the internet or find it inconvenient, the Workers’ Compensation Board has created a new paper form (Form C-2F) for submission to the insurance carrier who is then required to transmit it electronically to the Board. As a service to our clients, you may submit injury reports to our office and we will promptly perform the data entry onto NYSIF’s website and we will then provide you and the injured worker with a claim number. Completed forms (Form C-2F) may be faxed (212-269-6212) or emailed (claims@lovellsafety.com) to our offices.

By Law, injuries claims must be reported within 10 days of the incident. Failure on the part of the employer to file within the stipulated period can result in a fine of up to $1,000. In addition, the Board, or Chairperson of the Board, may impose a penalty of up to $2,500 on an employer who refuses or neglects to timely report a claim. If an accident occurs on the job but results in only one working day or shift of lost time over and above the day/shift on which the incident happened, and the injured employee sees a medical provider for two visits or fewer, then the employer is not required to report the claim. For further information on this topic, please access Section 110 and Payment of Minor Medical.

Remember that the Workers’ Compensation Law requires all employers to prepare and maintain reports on any and all injuries, whether they are classified as non–reportable or reportable. These records must be kept by the employer “for at least 18 years, and shall be subject to review by the Chairperson at any time.”

SECTION 110: MINOR INJURIES

At Lovell Safety Management Co., an effective way for group members to avoid indexing of numerous claims — which results in a higher experience rating assignment — is to assume payment of medical bills for employees’ minor injuries. (Please see instructions below.) Pursuant to Section 110 of the Workers’ Compensation Law employers are not required to report a claim and may assume payment of minor medical bills if the employee:

• Sustains a compensable injury
• Suffers no permanent disability as a result of the injury
• Loses a maximum of one workday beyond the date of injury
• Requires no more than two treatments by a medical provider rendering first aid

The employer may reap significant financial benefits, through improved experience ratings, by paying the cost of the required medical service. Whereas the employer does NOT have to report the claim to the Workers’ Compensation Board or insurance carrier, if he/she elects to assume payment of the medical costs for minor injury cases, a C–2F form MUST still be properly and completely filled out and kept in company records for 18 years. In addition, the employer should also prepare a Supervisor’s Incident Report Form.

HOW TO PAY A MINOR MEDICAL BILL

An injured employee should be supplied with a letter of notification to present to the medical provider at the initial visit in those instances when the employer has elected to pay for minor medical. Click here for a sample letter that you may copy onto your company’s letterhead. When you receive a bill from a medical provider, you may submit a copy to Lovell Safety Management so that we can determine to correct amount to pay. Bills for review may be faxed (212-269-6212) or emailed (claims@lovellsafety.com) to our offices.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE EMPLOYEE LOSES MORE TIME FROM WORK OR REQUIRES ADDITIONAL TREATMENT

In the event an employee eventually starts to lose time from work or requires additional treatment as a result of a work–related injury which was originally treated as a minor medical claim and paid directly by the employer, the employer can legally report the claim using the previously prepared and retained Form C-2F. The carrier cannot deny liability for failure to notify, since the original injury did not require filing.