GA Reminder – WC-104
Good morning everyone,
Don’t forget to file those WC-104’s! As you know, the purpose of the WC-104 is to limit future TTD entitlement to 52 consecutive or 78 aggregate weeks, after which time the claimant can only receive TPD. Thus, you are ultimately limiting future indemnity exposure to a maximum of 350 weeks.
As soon as you receive a report from the ATP indicating that the claimant is released to light duty work, go ahead and prepare the WC-104. Make sure to attach a copy of the report to the WC-104 and then mail a copy of both the report and WC-104 to the claimant and his counsel (if represented). You must also file a copy of the WC-104 with the Board. At that point, just diary for 52 weeks from the date of the medical report. If the claimant has not been taken out of work during those 52 weeks, then all that is left to do is to file a WC-2 reflecting the suspension of TTD and commencement of TPD at the maximum TPD rate. Don’t forget to send a copy of the WC-2, along with the original WC-104 and medical report, when you file with the Board. Again, send a copy of these to both the claimant and opposing counsel.
Quick reminder – if the claimant is taken out of work or is actually working during any point of the 52 weeks after you file the WC-104, this tolls the ability to convert the benefits from TTD to TPD. At that point, you will need to wait until you hit the threshold for 78 aggregate weeks before you can file your WC-2 converting the benefits.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me anytime.