California Posts New Guides for Injured Workers

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has posted a series of revised guides for injured workers on its Web site. The guides, which are produced by the DWC Information and Assistance Unit, provide “how to” information that helps injured workers fill out forms they may need to get a claim problem resolved at their local workers’ compensation district office. The guides now contain information on filing in the Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS).

“Our goal is to make sure injured workers have the information they need so we can help them resolve their claim,” said DWC Acting Deputy Administrative Director Destie Overpeck. “These guides are written to simplify the process and make it easy to follow.”

The 16 guides previously published by the division have been updated. Additionally, two new guides (guides 17 and 18) were added to explain how to fill out and submit the cover sheet and separator sheet, which are now required for the majority of forms filed by injured workers.

When new EAMS regulations were approved last fall, unrepresented injured workers’ were given a three month transition to move from legacy to OCR forms. Unrepresented injured workers must comply with the news EAMS filing requirements and OCR forms with any district office filing on or after June 1, 2009.

The division will update and post equivalent guides in Spanish in the near future.

The DWC Information and Assistance Unit provides information and assistance to employees, employers, labor unions, insurance carriers, physicians, attorneys and other interested parties concerning rights, benefits and obligations under California’s workers’ compensation laws. The unit plays a major role in reducing litigation before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and is often the first DWC contact for injured workers.

Source: DWC