SUPERVISOR’S IMMEDIATE RESPONSIBILITIES

When notified of an employee's injury, the supervisor is to:

1. Get a brief description of how the injury occurred. The supervisor and/or the injured worker are to carefully list the facts surrounding the occurrence. This will assist the Claims Management Unit in determining the compensability of the claim.

2. Immediately send the injured employee for medical treatment to one of the Concentra Medical Center offices. In cases of severe or serious injuries, medical treatment is the first priority. In these cases, the supervisor is to call 911 or take the injured employee to the hospital emergency room.

3.Describe the injury. The supervisor and/or the injured worker is to list all of the injured
body parts. Failure to initially list an injured body part will cause doubts if injury is claimed at a later date.

4.Identify where it occurred.

5.Get the names and phone numbers of all witnesses.

6.Investigate the accident site. The supervisor is to personally visit the site of the injury and make
note of any unsafe working conditions, need for repairs, and/or safety violations.

7.Complete the “Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report”.

•A copy of the Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report is to be immediately faxed to the Baltimore County Workers Compensation Claims Management Unit (CMU) to the attention of Tia Melvin. Fax: 410-887-8432

•A copy of the Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report is to be immediately faxed to the CCBC Human Resources Office to the attention of Mary Livingston. Fax: 443-840-4841

•The original Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report is to be mailed to the attention of Mary Livingston in an envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL”

The Claims Management Unit will produce an Employer's First Report of Injury. It is mandatory by law that the First Report of Injury be sent by Baltimore County's Claims Management Unit to the Worker’s Compensation Commission. This starts the statute of limitations. The Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report is to be filed by the supervisor with Baltimore County's Claims Management Unit immediately, but absolutely no later than 72 hours after the injury.

Medical Treatment

In Maryland, an injured worker may be treated with any doctor of his/her choosing; however, if the employee is missing time from work and expects to receive full salary in the form of accident leave (OJI leave), then the employee MUST be seen at at Concentra Medical Center. Concentra does not have to "treat" the employee but they must "monitor" their progress while they are unable to work and under another doctor's care. An injured worker, who fails to be seen at Concentra Medical Center, is not entitled to accident leave (OJI leave).

Lost Time

The Supervisor is to notify HR immediately when an employee loses time. HR will contact the Baltimore County Claims Management Unit. Also, as soon as the employee returns to work, the supervisor must notify HR. The injured worker must provide their supervisor with a "disability slip" from his/her doctor and the medical release to return to work. The supervisor is to fax these documents to Human Resources. HR is responsible for forwarding the necessary documents to the appropriate individual in the Claims Management Unit.

HR will notify the supervisor if the Claims Management Unit determines the claim to be non-compensible, and advise the supervisor as to how the leave is to be charged.

The supervisor is responsible for submitting the original Attendance Exception Report or time card to payroll, using the on-the-job-injury (OJI) leave code. A copy of the Attendance Exception Report is to be faxed to CMU and to HR. A copy of the Worker’s Compensation Payroll Sheet is to be faxed to CMU and HR for employees paid by time cards.

Light Duty

The doctor may indicate that the injured worker is able to perform his job but with restrictions. The employee is to contact the supervisor to find out if light duty is available. This information must also be communicated to the Baltimore Claims Management adjuster assigned to handle the claim. If the employee refuses light duty the supervisor is to notify HR immediately. HR will communicate this information to CMU.

Attendance at Hearing

In some cases, the Adjuster may request that the Supervisor and/or witnesses appear for a hearing.

Subpoenas

If any employee receives a subpoena or telephone call from an attorney in reference to any claim, the employee must notify their supervisor immediately. The supervisor must then immediately notify the Claims Management Unit who can assist with the response.

Covered Injuries

Not all injuries are covered by the "Workers Compensation Law" even if the injury happened "on the job". It is the Claims Management Unit’s responsibility to determine the compensability of the claim.

Baltimore County Claims Management Unit

The claim will be assigned to a Medical Only Claims Assistant or Adjuster who will manage the claim. The Adjuster will do a full investigation of the claim. Not all injuries that occur on the job are compensable. The Adjuster will make a determination and notify CCBC Human Resources of the decision.

The Adjuster is in need of the following information from CCBC:

Wages

The CCBC Human Resources office will be asked to provide the Adjuster with a 13 week wage statement. This MUST be the GROSS wages earned by the injured employee for the 13 full weeks immediately prior to the injury. (This does not include the pay period for the date of the injury.) This information must be submitted to the Claims Management Unit within 48 hours.

Cooperation
The supervisor, employee, and/or witnesses should cooperate fully with the Adjuster in answering questions about the accident, giving recorded statements if requested, and assisting in gathering necessary information needed to complete the investigation and to continue handling the claim.

In some cases, the Adjuster may contact the Supervisor, Payroll, Human Resources, or other CCBC employees to get information regarding the injured employee's job duties, salary, attendance records, etc. CCBC's prompt cooperation is necessary. All information requested by the Claims Management Unit is time sensitive and is to be transmitted to within 48 hours of the request.

WORKERS COMPENSATION BENEFITS

Medical Bills
All medical bills incurred by the injured worker are to be sent to the Claims Management Unit for payment. The Maryland Medical Fee Guide established by the Workers Compensation Commission is used for the payment of these bills. The injured worker is not to put any of these medical bills through their personal health insurance or pay these bills themselves.

Prescription Reimbursement
All prescription receipts are to be sent to the Claims Management Unit for reimbursement. If the employee is in need of long-term prescriptions, the Claims Adjuster must be notified and can set up an account with a County provider.

Physical Therapy
Should the doctor recommend physical therapy, the Claims Management Unit has a list of approved Baltimore County physical therapists. The Adjuster will provide the injured employee with a list.

Third Party Claims
If the injury was actually caused by a third party, the Claims Management Unit will investigate and advise. Any inquires for information from the third party or their attorneys should be forwarded to the Claims Management Unit.

OJI Leave Time
Injured worker will receive their full salary for the first 90 days of an injury subject to the approval of the Claims Management Unit. The Adjuster must be kept informed of any change in the status of the OJI leave.

NOTE: The Baltimore County Claims Management Unit decides if a claim is compensable under The Maryland Workers Compensation Act. Any disputes can be resolved by the Maryland Worker’s Compensation Commission.