GQ Corner

Q. We have an injured worker who accepted a bona fide job offer.  The hours she is working are knocked down to 40 hours a week so we are paying her a couple hundred dollars a week for TPD.

The injured worker is not doing well while working on light duty. On 6/17/19, the injured worker was sent home due to clothing issues. She is saying that she cannot wear blue jeans due to her hand not being able to button them up. She did not have safety toe work boots on either.

Do we need to continue to pay her TPD when she is non-compliant with the BOE?  Can I dispute all benefits if she is not working?

A. You should continue to take credit for the wages that she could earn IF she complied with the BOE. Reductions in her post-injury earnings due to causes other than her accepted compensable injury could be disputed.

Q. If the 90 days has lapsed and the IW is now requesting a designated doctor to address MMI, IR and extent of injury, how do we file our dispute with the DWC asserting 90 days is final?

A. You will want to make sure that the DWC has the first certification of MMI/IR on file. Then you can have our DDR department contact the schedulers to let them know that there is a 90-day issue (ddr@fol.com). When (if) they still set it, you have three business days to file a stay of the appointment. In no event is the issue waived, however.