What must I prove for Federal Workers Compensation?
Federal government employees have a unique workers compensation system, rather than the typical state workers compensation system that covers all injured workers, except for Federal government employees. The Federal system is run by the Office of Workers Compensation programs (OWCP) within the US Department of Labor & Industry. It’s rules and procedures are unique and at times substantially differ from Pennsylvania’s workers compensation system.
Federal employees that are likely to be covered under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) and therefore fall under Federal Workers Compensation include:
- US Postal employees
- VA Medical facility employees
- Civilian employees at one of our several military installations in Central PA (Letterkenny, Carlisle War College, Mechanicsburg Naval Yard, etc…)
- TSA employees at the Harrisburg airport
- Social Security employees from offices in the Central PA area
The Five Elements of the Burden of Proof in Federal Employee Workers Compensation Cases
If you are an injured Federal employee, what is the burden of proof under the FECA? OWCP Claims Examiners will look first to the five elements of the burden of proof. They are:
Time
You must provide notice to the employer agency within thirty days. That is usually done by completing CA-1 form for a traumatic injury or CA-2 form for an occupational disease, which includes a repetitive/over-use injury. The Statute of Limitations is three-years. You must bring a claim within three years of the date of injury.
Civil Employee
You must prove you are a covered employee. The FECA covers all civilian Federal employees except for non-appropriated fund employees. There are exceptions. Covered employees also include federal employees who are on a temporary status.
Injury Occurred
You have to show that an actual injury occurred. Essentially, you must provide proof that an injury happened and provide an actual medical diagnosis.
Injury due to Performance
This is essentially course and scope. The Federal employee has to show that the injury occurred while in the performance of his/her duties.
Causation
This is where legal experience is needed. The Federal employee’s injury or disease must have been proximately caused by, or aggravated by, a work-related injury or by employment conditions, ie., there must be a causal relationship. The medical evidence required is quite specific. Specifically, there will be two types of evidence under FECA: factual, which refers to evidence submitted by the employee; and medical, which refers to evidence submitted by physicians.
There are three main exceptions that may bar benefits. Those are:
- Willful misconduct
- Intentionally injuring yourself
- Intoxication when the injury occurred
Count on Mooney
We can help migrate through the complexities of Federal Workers Compensation. It can be difficult. The Federal system was suppose to be non-adversarial, but it simply is not that way. Mooney & Associates is on your side!
We have thirteen office locations throughout Central Pennsylvania and can represent injured Federal workers throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Maryland. If you are an injured Federal employee, learn more about our services and contact us today for a free consultation or call us at 717-632-HELP or toll free at 877-632-4656.
