GQ Corner
Q: I have a claimant who was incarcerated and we filed a PLN-11 to dispute her TIBs. We received an impairment rating today. Would I need to pay the IIBs or file a PLN-11 to dispute those as well in light of the fact that she’s still incarcerated?
A: A claimant who is incarcerated is not entitled to TIBs because the Appeals Panel has said they cannot meet the definition of disability – their inability to obtain or retain employment is not the result of the compensable injury, it’s a result of the incarceration. However, the same analysis does not apply to IIBs since IIBs are not wage replacement benefits. IIBS are compensation for permanent impairment. As a result, claimant is still entitled to and should receive her IIBs checks.
Q: I have been paying a widow death benefits with electronic funds since 2008. I had not heard from the widow for a while so I sent her a contact letter. Her son called me on April 27, 2016 and advised his mother, the widow, passed away on January 11, 2016. Because we were paying with electronic funds, we overpaid her by eight weeks. The son said he tried to call our home office to tell us of her passing, but he said the checks kept coming regardless. Are we allowed to try and recoup the overage from the estate?
A: You may ask for the money back from the executor of the estate, but there is no workers’ compensation administrative mechanism by which you can force the issue.
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