FL Tip of the Week – Employer + Carrier
Greetings,
I have had this issue come up several times in the last week…so I thought I would address it. For legal purposes, unless a conflict develops, the Employer and Carrier are viewed as one for certain aspects of the statute.
For issues regarding the 30 day notice requirement, notice to the employer is notice to the carrier. If it is a staffing agency/PEO/Temporary agency, notice to the on-site or client employer is notice to the actual employer and thus the carrier.
Same rule applies for the 120 day rule. If the Employer authorizes or pays for treatment for the work related injury, and no denial is issued within 14 days of that initial visit, that first visit starts the 120 day clock to pay and investigate compensability. It does not matter when the employer first reports it to the carrier, the employer started the clock.
This would not apply if the employer called 911 for something non-work related such as a heart attack or seizure. It may turn on whether the ER called and gave the hospital their WC information.
Bottom line, encourage your employers to report their claims to you timely.
There are some instances where they are not viewed as one and the same. One example is the 3 day and 10 day rule to respond to a request from an authorized doctor to provide treatment or waive medical necessity.
The one-time change request, while not entirely clear, does seem to imply it must be made to the carrier as well.