Sometimes injured workers find themselves in a situation where they have to cover some initial medical cost out of their own pocket. In the event of this situation, a question arises: Can expenses covered by injured employees out-of-pocket be reimbursed by the DOL? The short answer is, “yes.” According to the DOL website, these expenses are recoverable [...]

According to hr.commerce.gov, filing a workers compensation claim should follow a particular order. Injured federal workers first need to notify their supervisor. Proper notification of a supervisor can help to initiate the process by ensuring that proper records are being kept as soon as the injury is sustained. This can help to establish early on the [...]

Some may not be aware that they are entitled to see a physician of their choosing according to the FECA. According to the DOL, “The employee is entitled to select the physician or facility which is to provide treatment. The provider must meet the definition of ‘physician’ under the FECA and must not have been excluded [...]

If you are an injured federal worker receiving OWCP benefits you need to understand that you are afforded the right to receive cost of living adjustments. These adjustments are based on changes to the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers which is a program that produces monthly data on changes in the [...]

Federal employees have a robust compensation package available to them if they are injured on the job. Compensation does not simply consist of financial compensation, but also includes programs to aid injured federal workers in returning to work. According to dol.gov, “The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) gives injured workers the right to reclaim their [...]

If you are in Indiana and you find yourself working in an unsafe environment, figuring out what to do can be confusing. Fear of retribution or job loss has silenced many workers that found themselves in unsafe or downright dangerous conditions, but there’s good news. The Department of Labor provides protection for whistleblowers in the [...]

As the holidays approach, nationwide travel increases and that means that the roads become more dangerous places than they normally are. AAA projects that nearly 44 million Americans will travel 50+ miles via automobile during the Thanksgiving weekend. That much traffic can certainly increase the risks on the road. There are few things you can [...]

Carol Lisa-Gutman defrauded the OWCP out of nearly $430,000 from 1987-2016. For thirty years, Lisa-Gutman received disability payments for an alleged back injury that she claimed resulted from the difficult and repetitive tasks performed by U.S. Postal workers. However, an investigation revealed that she was more than capable of performing difficult yard work and bending [...]

If you’ve suffered an injury on the job, it is possible that the injuries are severe enough that you may not fully recover to the capacity that you were at prior to the injury even after you have recovered and are stabilized. This is referred to as Maximum Medical Improvement. It means that the likelihood [...]