GQ Corner
Q. I have an injured employee who would like to be paid Temporary Income Benefits because she wasn’t able to work her second job. The injured employee hasn’t completed the wage statement, but she has brought in a few check stubs. We don’t know what her schedule would have been for the time she wasn’t able to work the second job, let alone the hours she was working prior to the injury. How much responsibility does the carrier have to get this information? Is it the carrier’s burden to obtain the information, or is it the injured employee’s burden?
A. It is entirely the injured employee’s responsibility to present the required documentation to the Carrier. Until you receive the wage statement (DWC-3ME), you are not obligated to pay for the lost wages at the second job.
Q. Why am I not allowed to share legal notes with my insured?
A. Your insured is not a party to the workers’ compensation case. The Supreme Court of Texas has held that any communications between the carrier and its representatives and the insured are not privileged and are discoverable by the claimant. Therefore, to the extent that any document is shared with the employer, all privileges are waived and the claimant can then become entitled to obtain such documents.
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