BY:  Zal Linder | Partner

It’s a new year and you all are probably looking at some of your claims wondering why they are still hanging around, and even worse, stuck paying weekly TTD checks.  Maybe the claimant just doesn’t want to settle.  Maybe your defense counsel isn’t returning your emails.  Either way, you want to start reducing your exposure.  One easy, but forgettable way, is to file a WC-104 on your open claims.  Please remember that the WC-104 is a useful tool for reducing your indemnity exposure from 400 weeks to 350 weeks, provided that the claimant is able to perform light duty work (but isn’t actually working).

If this applies to your case, you have two major obligations that must be met in order to reduce the claimant from TTD to TPD pursuant to the WC-104. First, you must file the WC-104 with the Board and serve the claimant and his/her attorney with the WC-104 no later than 60 days from the date the claimant was released to work with restrictions by the ATP.   Please note that failing to send a copy of the form to the claimant and his/her counsel in addition to filing it with the Board will result in the WC-104 being null and void.

Furthermore, prior to filing the WC-104, you must attach to the WC-104 a supporting medical report from the ATP demonstrating the employee is capable of performing work with restrictions.  After you have filed the 104 with the Board, and also sent out the form to the claimant and his/her counsel, be sure to diary the conversion from TTD to TPD to 52 weeks from the date of the medical report (not the date you file the 104).  Once you have properly filed the WC-104, over the next year, be sure to check if the claimant has been released to full duty or taken completely out of work, as this tolls the 52 week time period.

If you have any questions about this process, or anything else for that matter, please feel free to contact me anytime.

Zal Linder | Partner