Shooting Blanks Can Be Deadly For Employer and All Bystanders

Nearly all problems on a workers comp claim are traceable to the first report of injury (FROI). The first report (C-2 in NY) is one of two or three documents starting a claim. Other forms are the worker’s application for benefits (C-3 in NY) or an initial medical report sent to the workers compensation board.

 

 

However, the employer’s first report of injure (C-2) is determines, more than anything else, what the future course of the claim will be like, such as:

 

 

If these questions sound like unchecked chaos, it is really very close to an average performance than it is to a rare failure. Why?

 

 

Persons routinely review first reports coming in from a variety of employers know the answer: blank boxes. Or boxes marked “unknown” in answer to relevant questions. Questions an employer, with a bit of diligence, can answer; or explain why an answer is not possible.

 

 

The remedy to the above is a phone call and a document. The person required to complete the first report of injury is a witness to the incident and does not have the necessary knowledge to answer all, or even most, of the questions on a first report. If the person is a witness, usually a foreman, it’s unlikely answers to such questions as the workers compensation insurance policy number, date of coverage, etc., are known.

 

 

As a result, pressure to get a report, any report, in quickly inevitably leads to the deadly barrage of blanks. In time, the blanks metamorphose into land mines exploding unexpectedly at hearings months or years in the future.

 

 

The first measure to take when blank boxes are encountered is a phone call. People able to provide quick answers to transform the blank box into a source of useful information are within the sound range of a ringing telephone. Therefore, make the correct phone ring and get the answer.

 

 

The second measure involves some pieces of paper and a stapler. The first report of injury form may have nearly sixty boxes to complete, with little space for complicated answers. Therefore, let documents answer the questions and, to assure their presence, staple them to the report form. And put the best of all answers — “see attached”— into the appropriate box.

 

 

Be pro-active about dissemination of information. Send a copy to the carrier, of course, but also to the workers compensation board, the worker and the worker’s attorney. Sooner or later, all will need the information so make it sooner. (WCxKit)

 

 

Documents have certain advantages over witnesses, the chief being that they never change their stories. Share them with others. Ask Ted who should be copied on these documents – you'd be suprised.

 

Remember, if the employer leaves boxes blank the worker’s attorney will be happy to volunteer the answers and it’s rare the employer will agree with those conclusions.