BWC Information
If an employee is injured at work, an Ohio University Employee Injury/Illness/Incident Report Form MUST be completed within 24 hours of the incident. If the injured worker is unable to complete the form, his/her immediate supervisor must do so to the best of his/her knowledge.
The Occupational Health Clinic at Hudson Health Center is available for treatment, however, the injured worker has the right to select the physician or medical facility he/she desires as long as they are BWC certified, if more than one visit is required.
In order to file a claim with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), a First Report of Injury (FROI) must be completed and filed with the BWC. Let the medical facility know that Ohio University's Managed Care Organization (MCO) is CareWorks so they can file the FROI. The injured worker may also complete and submit the FROI on-line at www.ohiobwc.com. An injured worker has two years from the date of injury to file a Workers' Comp. Claim, but only has 24 hours to submit the OU Incident Report Form.
Please remember that the First Report of Injury form that is completed at the physician's office or hospital is NOT the same form as the Ohio University Employee Injury/Illness/Incident Report Form. This form needs to be completed immediately and turned in to the: Workers Compensation Administration Department, 126 HRTC, Attention: Marilyn McVey, in order to prevent any delays in your workers compensation claim.
These forms along with the instruction and codes can be accessed on line from the Workers' Compensation Administration Department front page.
Once a claim has been submitted to the BWC, the injured worker will begin to receive paperwork via postal mail regarding the claim. The paperwork will provide important information such as claim number, BWC case manager, general information, etc. A claim will be designated as "medical only" or "lost time."
A medical only claim is if the injured worker missed 0-7 days (calendar days, not business days) of work. A lost time claim is when 8 or more consecutive days of work are missed.
If an injured worker missed 8-13 consecutive days of work, he/she may be eligible to receive lost wages from BWC for days 8-13 only. If the injured worker missed 14 consecutive days of work, he/she may be eligible to receive wages from the first day forward of missed work. The BWC will only pay lost wages (if it is an allowed claim) if the following types of time are used during the injured workers absence:
- vacation,
- comp. time,
- personal time and/or
- leave without pay.
Again, the BWC will NOT pay lost wages if SICK TIME has been used; however, the injured worker may use sick time if he/she desires.
A claim will either be allowed or disallowed. The Industrial Commission makes the final decision regarding the allowance/disallowance of the claim. If it is a medical only claim and it is allowed by the Industrial Commission, the medical bills will be reviewed and paid by CareWorks. Ohio University has the right to appeal an allowed claim. If a claim is disallowed, the injured worker has 14 days from the day he/she received the order to submit an appeal in writing to BWC. Failure to submit an appeal within the time frame will result in permanent disallowance of the claim. The injured worker will receive written notification of the date, time, and place the appeal will be heard.
If the injured worker seeks medical care at a facility other than Ohio University's Occupational Health Clinic and the medical doctor feels that the employee cannot return to work, the employee MUST obtain a doctor's note to include the following:
- date(s) to be off work,
- diagnosis (why taking off work),
- restrictions (if any) and
- estimated return to work.
