GQ Corner
Q. I have a claimant who paid for her treatment for her injury under her personal health insurance. She just wanted the initial treatment paid – hospital/ambulance – under the WC claim. She also wants her husband’s $1000 plane ticket paid for under the WC claim because he had to come get her as she was in a wheelchair.
Are we required to pay for the husband’s travel expenses? Or only billing related directly to the claimant?
A. You are not required to pay for the husband’s travel expense.
Q. I have been paying $133 per week for a perm total award on a 1981 claim. The claimant recently passed away.
– Can I stop the benefit or is there a procedure that I need to follow?
– Are there any notices that I need to send out?
– Is his widow, who has been taking care of him, entitled to any benefits?
A. You should suspend indemnity benefits based on the death. You should also complete the “A/2” portion of the “A/1, A/2, A/4” form and send that to the widow and file it with the Division.
If the employee died from the effects of his compensable injury, the widow is entitled to death benefits based on the death benefit rate applicable to the date of injury (not based on the rate at the time of death).
FOLIO
