GQ Corner
Q. What is the deadline by which a DWC-06 Supplemental Report of Injury must be filed?
A. There are various timeframes depending on the events that trigger them:
• 3 days after lost time begins, if lost time does not begin immediately
• 3 days after the claimant returns to work
• 3 days after the claimant starts losing time again after previously returning to work
• 10 days after the end of a pay period when the claimant has a change in earnings
• 10 days after the claimant resigns or is terminated
The DWC-06 form may be viewed here: https://www.tdi.state.tx.us/forms/dwc/dwc006sup.pdf
Q. The claimant sustained a compensable injury and returned to modified duty work earning full wages but was recently placed on administrative leave (and thereby ceased earning any wages) due to a violation of company policy. Should I suspend temporary income benefits (TIBS) since it appears that his misconduct is the cause of reduced earnings?
A. Under these circumstances, yes. The claimant was not disabled – i.e. unable to obtain and retain employment at wages equivalent to the pre-injury average weekly wage because of the compensable injury – when he was placed on leave. Therefore, the reduced wages would appear to be due exclusively to the violation of company policy, having nothing to do with the compensable injury and without which the claimant would presumably have continued to earn his full wages absent a material change in physical condition.
Q. The claimant filed a DWC-52 application for supplemental income benefits (SIBS) after the filing deadline for the 3rd quarter and after the quarter actually commenced. May I dispute his entitlement to SIBS for the whole quarter on the basis that he filed late?
A. No. While the application is indeed untimely in relation to the filing deadline, the claimant retains eligibility for SIBS prospectively beginning the date he filed the application. Under these circumstances, the carrier may be liable for SIBS from that date forward if the claimant meets the relevant criteria.
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